Who is Ebay savvy?

[jasontiff]

I won a 2001 GTS on Ebay this afternoon. I called the seller and asked how they wanted the deposit. I also asked if I could send them $1k instead of $500 if they'll hold the car till Friday so I can fly out and write the check in person and drive back. He said he'll call the owner and call back in an hour. I call back 2 hours later after seeing prices on Expedia going up, and he says "the owner was pissed and we sold it to the second-highest bidder. He already wired the money. It's sold."

What can I do about this? I've never gone from so excited to so pissed in such a short amount of time.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

If you're the winner bidder according to eBay, you can start with giving them an unsatisfactory seller rating.

Pissed at you or pissed it sold at a lower price or...

 

[jasontiff]

If you're the winner bidder according to eBay, you can start with giving them an unsatisfactory seller rating.

Pissed at you or pissed it sold at a lower price or...

Pissed that I wanted to wait 7 days, I guess? The seller said that they wanted the money wired immediately so the lien could be paid off and could go with the car. I told them I didn't care if the title didn't come with me and if they mailed it after the note was satisfied that's okay. We'll have an adequate enough paper trail to prevent any fraud.

 

[jasontiff]

For those that want to see it, here is the Ebay listing number:

180376809301

Or this URL may work:
Dodge : Viper:eBay Motors (item 180376809301 end time Jul-09-09 10:46:42 PDT)

 

[2snakes4us]

file a dispute . after looking at his feedback he has done it before. he did not put a reserve on it but was not willing to let it go for 30k.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

It may just come up for auction again....

 

[Paul Hawker]

Ebay auto sellers that want all their money up front may indicate a con. You gotta be careful.

On ebay the deal is not done till it is done. Buyers and sellers back out all the time.

 

[big-n-italian]

file a dispute . after looking at his feedback he has done it before. he did not put a reserve on it but was not willing to let it go for 30k.

this is what i think happened too. i think the seller HAD SECOND THOUGHTS and decided to NOT let it go for the final bid price.

i can think of no valid reason to sell it to anyone but the highest bidder. if he is pissed about anything, he is pissed that the car went for alot less then he thought it would go for, AND/OR, he messed up and forgot to put a reserve on the listing.

 

[jasontiff]

Well, if nothing comes of it I'll be pissed but I'll get over it. If anyone knows of anything I can do legally within the "laws" of Ebay, let me know. I'm expecting nothing to come of this but it's still nice to know the "rules" governing the site.

Maybe my deposit becomes a bounty...

 

[sirhc76]

this is what i think happened too. i think the seller HAD SECOND THOUGHTS and decided to NOT let it go for the final bid price.

i can think of no valid reason to sell it to anyone but the highest bidder. if he is pissed about anything, he is pissed that the car went for alot less then he thought it would go for, AND/OR, he messed up and forgot to put a reserve on the listing.

While I agree with that I think that a simple shill bid would take care of that issue. Maybe we should all call the business and ask them what they think, oddly enough Ballistic Cycles looks like the site based on the Ebay listing.

Ballistic Cycles L.L.C.
10967 Division Street
Blue Mounds, WI 53517
PH: 608-437-1556
Fax: 608-437-1560
[email protected]

 

[GTSnake]

Whenever anyone wants money with a time limit the red flags start flying. You may be better off letting this one go. There will always be another one that comes along possibly even better.

 

[Brentt]

Check out the guys feedback. He's a repeat offender. Back in Feb. someone filed a complaint for the same thing, refusal to sell item. Report the transaction to Ebay. As I remember, there's some type of three strikes your out, but it may only pertain to fraudulent sales.

 

[Brentt]

Another thought. Send the guy his $500 deposit, but be sure to use Paypal.
Then if he doesn't sell you the car, report it to Paypal. Paypal will then freeze his account until the matter is resolved.

 

[jasontiff]

Another thought. Send the guy his $500 deposit, but be sure to use Paypal.
Then if he doesn't sell you the car, report it to Paypal. Paypal will then freeze his account until the matter is resolved.

I like the way you think. I think I'll give that a whirl.

He was extremely adverse to using PayPal and wanted a cashier's check overnighted.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I like the way you think. I think I'll give that a whirl.

He was extremely adverse to using PayPal and wanted a cashier's check overnighted.

I know your pissed (I would be too), but I dunno about sending $$ to a guy who you already know not to trust. Its been proven time and time again that Paypal "buyer protection" is a joke. I think you may be setting your self up for a bigger headache than this is worth. Plus, if he's smart, he'll never transfer your $500 to his bank account and will just "refund" it back to you.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Another opinion - Paypal did me extremely well after some fraudulent activity with my account. I expected hassles, delays, loss of funds. They had it 100% restored in 2 days. This might be because they are part of eBay now. I was amazed.

 

[BOTTLEFED]

I like the way you think. I think I'll give that a whirl.

He was extremely adverse to using PayPal and wanted a cashier's check overnighted.

yeah, that's a good way to lose $500
paypal has no plan to "pay" your $500 back if he keeps it
so they freeze his account
he will just open a new one

you may contact a lawyer and see if the ebay auction is a legal contract
just having a lawyer contact him may be enough to scare him into selling it to you

but do you really want a car that is being sold by such a shady seller?
if he is being dishonest about this, there maybe some other surprises about the car he is not telling you

 

[BOTTLEFED]

Another opinion - Paypal did me extremely well after some fraudulent activity with my account. I expected hassles, delays, loss of funds. They had it 100% restored in 2 days. This might be because they are part of eBay now. I was amazed.

I've lost $$ in paypal transactions twice
one of them I got 30% of my money back
and the other, the guy took the $$ and ran and there was nothing paypal could do

paypal does not insure your $$
if they can get it out of the other person's account, they will
otherwise they don't do much more than that

 

[okloneranger]

If you use paypal with the visa option, you can refuse payment with your visa. Visa will want documentation of all dealings and contact with the seller, so keep copies. Good luck.

 

[Chrissss]

I have an ebay store and have had one for quite a while. While ebay certainly considers what he did unethical, the bottom line is there isn't anything really to do about it. You can file a complaint with ebay and he will say you didn't agree to the terms of the sale. They can and maybe will warn him and over time they could suspend his account but not likely.

I STRONGLY recommend you NOT do that silly $500 payment through paypal just to file a complaint. He could easily and quickly withdrawal that money and then you would have to go through the paypal dispute process. All that just to get your money back and try and make some point?? Very very bad advice there. Who knows why he wouldn't sell. Just move on. When you buy and sell on ebay, you are basically on your own.

 

[GTS1997]

DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY. I may be giving away me profession here but........... I deal with issues like this all day long, every day.

I have seen it hundreds of times. When he says the owner is pissed, he is hoping that you will panic and send the full amount right away. I guarentee you this 3rd person does not exist. It is one person, and what he is doing is fruad.

Unfortuneatly, before any crinimal investigation can be intiated, you would have to be a victim. Don't do it. That means you would have to let him cash a check, then file a fraud report with your local law enforcement agency. DON'T do it. Because less than 10% of fraud cases get solved, and less then 10% of the solved cases ever result in any money being repaid.

The reason he doesn't want the $500 paid with PayPal or a credit card is because he wants to be able to disappear. PayPal and credit cards makes that harder, not impossible, but harder to get away with your money without a trace. Paypal and credit card companies have long drawn out ways for you to reclaim your money.....you cant reclaim your money with a check, or at least it is MUCH MUCH harder.

The winning price on that car seems to good to be true any way, and anything that seems to good to be true, most likely is. Most fraud victims think that they found the deal of a lifetime, and they fall for it. This ebay add is most likely a picture of a Viper that is not his, with a too good to be true price, and I guarentee you are not the first one he has done this to.

He wont give you an answer about when, where, how to meet up (or buy your palne ticket) because he wants your money sent to him, not delivered in person. That way you can not put a face to the criminal.

Hope this helps......

 

[Chrissss]

I read the listing and I doubt this is a fraud case in that he is trying to rip you off but don't send any money anyway. Nothing you do is going to make him sell you the car. This is a bad seller. Just move on.

 

[dave6666]

I would never buy a car on ebay that wasn't as close as any other used car dealer that I could (and would...) drive to.

 

[jasontiff]

I was hoping Dave would tell me he had this whackjob vigilante cousin in Wisconsin...dammit.

Yeah, I've cooled off some. It's nothing a little Photoshop won't fix. I think their website needs some Judas Priest-looking dudes on their bikes, if you catch my drift

 

[ronniej]

Take it from me who just got scammed last week for Viper wheels/tires on eBay. PayPal is a joke! They're reviewing my case at the moment and can take up to 30days. The seller provided them with a FedEx tracking number yesterday. Get this, he shipped 4 Viper wheels/tires in one package weighing in at an astonishing "1 pound"!!!!!!!! Yet, they still have to investigate with all the other proof that I've provided! I've bought and sold literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on eBay and can't believe I finally got scammed after 10 years. I guess it was my time ;-(

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I've lost $$ in paypal transactions twice
one of them I got 30% of my money back
and the other, the guy took the $$ and ran and there was nothing paypal could do

paypal does not insure your $$
if they can get it out of the other person's account, they will
otherwise they don't do much more than that

Sorry it didn't work out for you. Someone used my Paypal account to buy crazy eBay stuff, the amount which drew down the bank account it was linked to and pulled from my credit card. Three purchases in 2 days and not small change. Paypal replaced the money in the bank account and refunded the amount to the credit card in 2 days after I contacted them. I basically only pointed them to the eBay purchases and said that I didn't do it. The only unnerving part is that you never talk to anyone, it was all by email. They could have logically denied my claim or pushed me to prove I really didn't buy the goods, but it was hassle-free. Amazing, really. And getting way off topic.

 

[got one]

sorry man...stuff like this happens all the time. that would have been one hell of a deal...hence why he pulled it plenty of more vipers out there to buy

 

[dave6666]

I was hoping Dave would tell me he had this whackjob vigilante cousin in Wisconsin...dammit.

I am the whackjob.




WhereTF is Wisconsin?

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Hold the car until next Friday (week+) or tomorrow? Speaking strictly from a terms and conditions perspective, if you were talking about next Friday they can rightfully decline as their terms state payment in full within 3 days. If it is for tomorrow than you can demand they sell it to you accordingly. Indeed, as the deposit is within 48 hours, you could conceivably fly out tomorrow and do it all at once. They are legally obligated to sell it to you as long as you are complying with their terms. Otherwise here are some of your options as provided by eBay:

Seller Performance Policy

Personally, it looks like you should steer clear as the response you received isn't one you would probably get from a more reputable seller - even if you are politely asking for different terms.

 

[Darbgnik]

I've bought cars on eBay before. Everybody looks at it with doubt, but I just use it as a search engine. Besides eBay adds always have the most pictures. What I do is email or call the seller before bidding and make sure that they're OK with me buying now and paying in person. Only way to be sure. Of course this was always "Buy It Now", and not an auction. Seems seller is OK with waiting for the money when they get the money, or close to the money, they're asking for. Auctions for expensive cars always seems shady to me anyway. Ask yourself, would you sell a car to chance on an auction? I wouldn't. A CD player sure, but not a car, especially an expensive one.