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Let's get proactive about LEGO scams on eBay.


StarPod

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Absolutely a scam, most likely stolen credit card. His feedback score of 10 is 99 cent items he purchased on the same day - 1/17. He likely created a few accounts with the same method of getting quick feedback. He has eleven completed listings of selling Lego sets - the shuttle and a train, two that end in the next 18 hours. No seller feedback yet, his standard shipping could take 9 days. So, he will take in over $1,000 but ebay will hold his paypal payments for a couple weeks as a new seller. If there isn't bad feedback, he will get his money. If buyers don't complain he will just do it again until feedback goes bad then he will move on to another account.

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Read the article on the home page of Brickpicker entitled - 'Drop Shipping LEGO: How To Avoid Being Scammed'

Well, this isn't going to be drop shipped, since you can't buy it anywhere. Unless he drop ships it from another legitimate eBay auction. Hopefully that doesn't create a paradox that destroys the world.

More likely he ships out a small, tracked envelope USPS to another address in victims zip code, tracking shows delivered, victim screwed.

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Huh, so all you have to do is ship it to their zip code? That shouldn't be too hard to prove it never arrived to you right?

USPS tracking/confirmation only shows it was delivered to your zip code. Paypal/ebay sees that the package was sent, and delivered. That's typically good enough for them to release the funds. As for proof, as far as paypal is concerned, it was delivered. Then you get to fight with them for a month or 2 about getting your money back, if ever.

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The big clues about an ebay scam are: 1. Quickly acquired ebay feedback purchasing cheap items 2. Deal too good to be true Sellers count on buyer's greed on getting a good deal to overcome these obvious clues. And then, there is the moral hazard situation created by having the paypal safety net which leads to more fraud than you would normally see as the buyer incurs less financial risk. As a buyer what you don't want to do is put yourself in a place where a big box retailer like Walmart or Lego will ban shipping anything to your address, effectively cutting you off from purchasing anything shipped from them.

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Whoa, whoa, guys, unless I'm mistaken, this is an AUCTION, it's not fixed buy-it-now at $109. Which means it might very well still end at over $160. And there's still 7 hours left. There's probably going to be lots of bidding war action in the last few hours. In the old days when I sold beanie babies, I always started auctions at a PENNY. This worked in the old days, maybe not in today's auction marketplace, but it creates high number of bids on the auction, giving illusion to others that the item is hot. And no, this isn't a scam. Yes, I put myself into risk and lose money if the final price ends up being much lower than expected, but that rarely happens if one knows what one is doing with the supply, demand, and pricing out there. I would still stay away from this one though - no photo (have someone asked him yet to show real life photo of the item?) and his feedback history is also suspect. But just because auction price is currently lower than the market price doesn't mean it's going to end at that price, and it doesn't mean it's a scam. Again, unless I'm mistaken. Was I? Edit: Well, now I do think it's a scam, because OP mentioned there were multiple 24-hour listings by this guy. If they all end at the same time, then that's a huge red flag too. Had this guy's feedback been less suspect, and if there were only one listing by this seller, what I said stands, but right now it doesn't ;) I'm curious what the seller would say if someone asked him for real life photo of the item, with his ebay display name written on a piece of paper next to the item.

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Whoa, whoa, guys, unless I'm mistaken, this is an AUCTION, it's not fixed buy-it-now at $109.

Which means it might very well still end at over $160. And there's still 7 hours left. There's probably going to be lots of bidding war action in the last few hours.

In the old days when I sold beanie babies, I always started auctions at a PENNY. This worked in the old days, maybe not in today's auction marketplace, but it creates high number of bids on the auction, giving illusion to others that the item is hot. And no, this isn't a scam. Yes, I put myself into risk and lose money if the final price ends up being much lower than expected, but that rarely happens if one knows what one is doing with the supply, demand, and pricing out there.

I would still stay away from this one though - no photo (have someone asked him yet to show real life photo of the item?) and his feedback history is also suspect.

But just because auction price is currently lower than the market price doesn't mean it's going to end at that price, and it doesn't mean it's a scam.

Again, unless I'm mistaken. Was I?

Edit: Well, now I do think it's a scam, because OP mentioned there were multiple 24-hour listings by this guy. If they all end at the same time, then that's a huge red flag too.

Had this guy's feedback been less suspect, and if there were only one listing by this seller, what I said stands, but right now it doesn't ;) I'm curious what the seller would say if someone asked him for real life photo of the item, with his ebay display name written on a piece of paper next to the item.

Well i sent him a message that I need to see actual photos of the item. This was his reply.

"hello I am not the one who is shipping these it goes straight from the warehouse thank you for your interest!"

with this i suspect that he might be using stolen credit cards and buying from 3rd party at amazon

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What's amazing to me is that picture he's selling has the exact same scuff marks as the one available from the hollywoodmemorabilia.com site. What are the odds! You can't even see the condition of the boxes, although he states they have shelf wear. Can anyone tell if he actually has them in hand, or did he lift that picture from the web as well. Not to mention the price. Even if this was all legitimate and he had everything he claims, which I doubt, then you're paying at least a 30% markeup on those Lego sets with a "bonus" worthless promo signed photo thrown in that poor Mr. Radcliff was probably forced to sign thousands of at knifepoint in between takes which is why his signature looks so jacked. And $4.2K BIN? It's like Inception. There's a scam, within a scam, within a scam.

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