Let's get proactive about LEGO scams on eBay.

[Snowcrash]

This is a $200 MSRP set. Where are these coming from where resellers can afford to list them at these prices, pay the associated eBay/Paypal commissions, and ship the items to their customers while turning a profit? Granted, on occasion someone might acquire one through some method where they'd be willing to take a loss or even manage to turn one for a profit, but look at all those listings. Sellers on eBay routinely must be walking away with somewhere in the $130's on these sets after accounting for all their costs, and this happens dozens of times a month on just this one set. There's no way that's legitimate, almost all of those sets have to be stolen. If it isn't being "drop shipped" with a stolen credit card, then its being shoplifted or stolen by an employee.

[Pirate]

This is a $200 MSRP set. Where are these coming from where resellers can afford to list them at these prices, pay the associated eBay/Paypal commissions, and ship the items to their customers while turning a profit? Granted, on occasion someone might acquire one through some method where they'd be willing to take a loss or even manage to turn one for a profit, but look at all those listings. Sellers on eBay routinely must be walking away with somewhere in the $130's on these sets after accounting for all their costs, and this happens dozens of times a month on just this one set. There's no way that's legitimate, almost all of those sets have to be stolen.

If it isn't being "drop shipped" with a stolen credit card, then its being shoplifted or stolen by an employee.

Correctomundo! This is undoubtedly stolen, one way or another.

[Ed Mack]

could it possibly be stolen merchandise? it would allow him to undercut other sellers on the same item since he has $0 invested in it. what ever he sells it for would be pure profit.

Not every listing on eBay that is below MSRP is stolen or drop shipped. In these trying economic times, some unfortunate people are scouring their houses to sell anything they can find to pay the bills. I am not saying this is the case here, but there are honest deals to be found on eBay.

[redeemed763]

Going through his sales history, it looks like he sold quite a few 8043's for the exact same price last year, he also sells quite a few megablocks Halo Forward Until Dawn sets for $229/free shipping. He is only getting about $140 for each of these unimogs and motorized excavators he sells, the guy has to make some money after he sells the merchandise too, how much do you think he wants for the hassle of selling the set and having his money tied up? I know many people here get good deals on ebay, but those typically are not as cut and dry sales as this, for example, a lot of several items together or they auction and people don't bid so it goes for less or they state the wrong list price and want their money back ect. I would love it if this was legit, I would love if it sales like this were legit, we will just have to see.

[gte206w]

If you really want to settle this mystery, just buy a second one. If both come direct from lego and there are two different "Sold To" names & addresses on the invoices, then it was a scam. In this specific case, given the feedback level of the seller, it would imply that they had responded to a "Sell my items, get X% cut of the sales!" ad.

[Pirate]

Going through his sales history, it looks like he sold quite a few 8043's for the exact same price last year, he also sells quite a few megablocks Halo Forward Until Dawn sets for $229/free shipping. He is only getting about $140 for each of these unimogs and motorized excavators he sells, the guy has to make some money after he sells the merchandise too, how much do you think he wants for the hassle of selling the set and having his money tied up?

I know many people here get good deals on ebay, but those typically are not as cut and dry sales as this, for example, a lot of several items together or they auction and people don't bid so it goes for less or they state the wrong list price and want their money back ect. I would love it if this was legit, I would love if it sales like this were legit, we will just have to see.

Oh, I'm sure it's 'legit'. You'll get your set and everything will seem fine. But that doesn't mean he or someone else didn't pilfer it from TRU...

[redeemed763]

That's just it, I can't see how they'd do that, they always have a security alarm in the stores, so I don't know how you'd steal them from the retail store. As for the illegal drop shipping, I just don't see how it adds up for a seller with 1000+ positive feedback with loads of legitimate purchases and sales to be using stolen credit cards, he has way too much to loose.

[gte206w]

That's just it, I can't see how they'd do that, they always have a security alarm in the stores, so I don't know how you'd steal them from the retail store. As for the illegal drop shipping, I just don't see how it adds up for a seller with 1000+ positive feedback with loads of legitimate purchases and sales to be using stolen credit cards, he has way too much to loose.

They dont use stolen cards. They respond to an ad saying something to the effect of, "We are looking for eBay sellers with good feedback history and a clean Paypal account to sell our products! You will get 20% of the auction value in exchange for your time and effort."

The originator of the ad is the one using the stolen cards; the person running the auction is simply a middleman pawn (albeit one that is getting a kickback).

As an example, the person I bought legos from had over 130 feedback and had sold other misc. items, too. I discovered the truth because she accidentally had them send me three of the item instead of just the one, and all three had different invoice addresses. I then dug around and followed the trail, found her profile on freelancer.com and the ad she had responded to, and the rest is history [as was her eBay account after I reported it].

[redeemed763]

Wow, that sucks, I guess it pays to investigate before you list stuff for people on ebay!

[gte206w]

Wow, that sucks, I guess it pays to investigate before you list stuff for people on ebay!

Here is the specific ad that my seller had responded to:

http://www.freelancer.com/projects/Data-Entry-Excel/Ebay-amp-Amazon-needed-start.2395026.html

If you go through that site you will find tons of examples with similar wording.

[Ed Mack]

Oh, I'm sure it's 'legit'. You'll get your set and everything will seem fine. But that doesn't mean he or someone else didn't pilfer it from TRU...

...or does it mean that they did, either. I'm not saying that this auction doesn't have some questionable qualities, but there is zero proof either way, except an exceptional feedback of over 1000. In this country, we are innocent until proven guilty. eBay has an excellent record in dealing with situations like this. You cannot lump every good deal into the fraud or criminal category. People are constantly buying storage lockers and trailers full of all sorts of product or going into bankruptcy, liquidating everything they have. To be honest, I would pass on the set because I think I can get it lower in the future, but it is a solid deal nevertheless.

[Jackson]

Some of you guys seem a little paranoid about possible scams. I especially disagree with a stock photo being a warning sign. I list hundreds of items each month. If there is a stock photo available, I usually use it. That way, I don't have to waste my time taking hundreds of photos and uploading them.

[terrymc4677]

That's just it, I can't see how they'd do that, they always have a security alarm in the stores, so I don't know how you'd steal them from the retail store. As for the illegal drop shipping, I just don't see how it adds up for a seller with 1000+ positive feedback with loads of legitimate purchases and sales to be using stolen credit cards, he has way too much to loose.

a ton of retail theft goes out the back door, not the front. internal theft is as big if not bigger than everyday joes using the five finger discount. i was a manager at sam's club for 11 years, and throughout my time in that role i personally was involved in terminating dozens of employees for this very reason. some were big (laptops out the back door overnight), and some were small (bottled water from the snack bar), but theft is theft. these were just the ones who got caught. who knows how many didn't?

[Pirate]

...or does it mean that they did, either. I'm not saying that this auction doesn't have some questionable qualities, but there is zero proof either way, except an exceptional feedback of over 1000. In this country, we are innocent until proven guilty. eBay has an excellent record in dealing with situations like this. You cannot lump every good deal into the fraud or criminal category.

Sure I can. Why can't I? I'm not the judicial system here. I'm a logical person. That's how I operate. I don't look for loopholes or ifs or maybes to convince myself something isn't stolen. Even more importantly, I don't like the idea of buying stolen merchandise. I don't want to support these thieves, or have anything to do with them. If there is evidence it's likely stolen (and in my eyes losing money on each and every sale of a set is good enough for me), I don't want to have anything to do with it, regardless of how good a deal it is.

People are constantly buying storage lockers and trailers full of all sorts of product or going into bankruptcy, liquidating everything they have. To be honest, I would pass on the set because I think I can get it lower in the future, but it is a solid deal nevertheless.

In this guy's profile he says he's a pawn shop owner. He's been selling $200 technic sets off and on for months. So even if he's not the one stealing them, he's buying them from someone who is. He's probably paying the person who brings them in $70 each. So sure, what does he care if he only gets $140 out of them in the end. He just doubled his money.

I agree with you on your other point. I have a pile of these I paid $150 for, legitimately. No need to pay $180 on ebay. If you're patient enough and are persistent enough, you can always find deals just as good or better elsewhere (not counting getting lucky with auction listings or whatnot).

[redeemed763]

Some of you guys seem a little paranoid about possible scams. I especially disagree with a stock photo being a warning sign. I list hundreds of items each month. If there is a stock photo available, I usually use it. That way, I don't have to waste my time taking hundreds of photos and uploading them.

The stock photo in itself is not a warning sign, it can just add up with a bunch of other warning signs to point to possible fraud. If there was not a stock photo, the sale would definitely look more legitimate.

[redeemed763]

So, just to clarify, if the guy ships the item and it comes straight from the toysRus distribution center, how is that going to NOT be a IDSSSSWUSCCTMFPOYB?

[Talon]

There are legit good deals better than you can get in a retail store or online. They are just more rare and you are lucky to stumble upon them. Years ago I used to live near a Salvage store and a Liquidation store. When there was a traffic accident involving a big rig or freight train or a building fire/water damage nearby the salvage place would clean up the accident (hired by the insurance company) and keep any merchandise for resale. Usually about half the merchandise was destroyed, but they had many toy sets for sale at 50% off retail (including Lego sets) in their retail store. Some were 90% off because their boxes were destroyed. It wouldn't surprise me to learn they are selling some of it online and probably charging just below average ebay prices. The liquidation store had in merchandise from closings of stores, distributors, storage lockers, etc. I saw toys there usually at least 50% off.

[kerrmando]

Where did you live Talon?

[Talon]

Where did you live Talon?

The Salvage and Liquidation stores were in Salt Lake City but I haven't lived there for many years.

[eklein03]

okay, i've been reading this thread and am sure this is illegal.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/10223-Kingdoms-Joust-V39-by-LEGO-/121080052041?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item1c30eef949 am i right? this is a prime example of illegal drop shipping? its from cali, lego.com photos, free shipping, and a low seller rating

[Talon]

am i right? this is a prime example of illegal drop shipping?

I would totally agree that it is illegal, mostly because one of the feedback entries says likely using stolen credit cards. It is a little surprising someone has lasted this long (since the end of November selling expensive Lego sets), but ebay doesn't seem to care much. It is pretty easy to tell when you get a set from Lego and it has someone listed as paying with a totally different address and name than the seller, not to mention the sales price being higher than you paid.

Looks like a smart low volume scammer, right now only selling the 2xKingdoms Joust ($100) and 5xUnimog ($155). But has sold arkham asylum, pet shop, tower bridge and horizon express all with lower than MSRP pricing and free shipping.

I think a lot of people don't complain because they either don't recognize what is going on or they are so greedy about getting a good deal they don't care. But this would likely only work once for the buyer because if they buy from someone else their address will be blocked at Lego S @ ****.

[redeemed763]

From what I can tell, the stores flag it when there are multiple items from different billing addresses all shipped to the same house, the number that used to slip by was two, it likes like it is starting to be one now, each time they do this, it cuts down the fraud possibilities.

[redeemed763]

****Update***** The item has shipped from the sellers home town, it looks like it is a legit as far as not being a shyster shipper. Don't ask me where he gets all of these same sets for such a ridiculously low price for though, the fact that his Lego sales are all exclusives to TRU and Lego stores sure seems fishy to me, you can't even get them from Walmart, Target and Amazon's online stores. I have no idea what his source is. It would be one thing if a down and out person had a technic set to pawn, but a steady stream of them coming in over the past 6 months?

[kingcars]

So I'm currently in India for job training, but I figured that while I was here, I would order a lego set or two online and have them sent to my house (I live in the US) so I will have something to build when I get home. One of the sets I had been looking at was the 8110 Unimog. I watched on ebay for a while, and found some listed for $155 and free shipping. I had seen similar listings in the past in the $160-165 range so I figured it was decently normal. I checked the seller's feedback and it seemed legitimate, so I took the plunge. Not two hours after making the purchase, I was reading here on brickpicker about drop ship scams, and realized that the listing I bought from met several of the criteria. Unfortunately, there were no obvious warning signs, but it was enough to worry me and I kindly asked the seller for a refund since it hadn't shipped yet. Luckily, he obliged, and I have now ordered the set through lego's site (though, ironically enough, not 2 hours after I did THAT, I found it on the Toys R Us site for $167....I just can't win! haha). So I just wanted to thank the folks here for all the great information that's available, because it saved me from a lot of potential headache. Yeah, I paid a good bit extra, but it's more than worth the piece of mind. Can't wait to be home in 6 weeks and build that beast!

[tubs89]

If they refunded u so easily, it probably wasn't a scam and you lost out lol.