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Something I read about in an ecommerce bulletin, and now have experienced first hand....
You see something maybe 30% cheaper than you've ever seen it in stores. In this case, it was a Lowrance 4x DSi sonar with transducer, new for $70. I've seen it on sale for $99, but it usually sells for $149. However... It's being sold from Hong Kong and warns that you can expect 15-30 business days for package to arrive.
Well, I'm a suspicious dude, so I checked it out. Seller has zero feedback (not always true, but true here). And seller is registered in US. Odd, why is product being mailed from Hong Kong? I didn't order, but I nearly did, so I researched the scam.
What happens is that you pay your $70, and they sure enough mail you a package from hong kong. The contents of the package will NOT be the sonar you bought, most likely a dollar store item totally unrelated to the sonar you ordered.
6 weeks later, you get package. Paypal holds payment for 4 weeks, so they have already released the payment. YOu open package... See a dollar store item and get all upset.... Contact seller... They apologize, and tell you that you can get a full refund (they're out of the sonar's) if you return the item. You price mailing this to china, with tracking, and find that it is nearly $40. You contact Ebay and paypal... You're told that they have shipping confirmation that the item was sent (what item was sent isn't confirmed), and that if the seller requires a return, you have to send it, with tracking information. That's the rules. No changing.
So seller sells 300 or so fish finders for $70 each. Net $21,000. Ebay and paypal profit from this in terms of $3500 or so, so net is $17,500. Arranges for dollar store items to be mailed from hong kong by a drop shipper with tracking. Might cost him $2 an item, or $600. Seller gets 300 negative feedbacks, closes account and banking account, and moves on to next scam item. Perhaps laptops, tablets, or whatever, with $16,900 in his pocket.
Of course, if you were stubborn, and spent the $40 to return your dollar store item, the address you're sending it to promptly opens your package, returns the dollar store item to their shelves for the next sucker, and ignores everything.... What will ebay do to them? Nothing, they're a drop shipper, not the seller. They don't deal with ebay at all.
So.... If something looks too good to be true, it's still true to be careful.
Right now, I do not buy from any non-US merchants on Ebay. It's just too risky.
Items with this scam....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lowrance-El...ltDomain_0&hash=item2339a75c54#ht_1089wt_1230
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lowrance-EL...ltDomain_0&hash=item19ec6a67ca#ht_1921wt_1230
Please be careful out there.... The criminals are getting smarter.
You see something maybe 30% cheaper than you've ever seen it in stores. In this case, it was a Lowrance 4x DSi sonar with transducer, new for $70. I've seen it on sale for $99, but it usually sells for $149. However... It's being sold from Hong Kong and warns that you can expect 15-30 business days for package to arrive.
Well, I'm a suspicious dude, so I checked it out. Seller has zero feedback (not always true, but true here). And seller is registered in US. Odd, why is product being mailed from Hong Kong? I didn't order, but I nearly did, so I researched the scam.
What happens is that you pay your $70, and they sure enough mail you a package from hong kong. The contents of the package will NOT be the sonar you bought, most likely a dollar store item totally unrelated to the sonar you ordered.
6 weeks later, you get package. Paypal holds payment for 4 weeks, so they have already released the payment. YOu open package... See a dollar store item and get all upset.... Contact seller... They apologize, and tell you that you can get a full refund (they're out of the sonar's) if you return the item. You price mailing this to china, with tracking, and find that it is nearly $40. You contact Ebay and paypal... You're told that they have shipping confirmation that the item was sent (what item was sent isn't confirmed), and that if the seller requires a return, you have to send it, with tracking information. That's the rules. No changing.
So seller sells 300 or so fish finders for $70 each. Net $21,000. Ebay and paypal profit from this in terms of $3500 or so, so net is $17,500. Arranges for dollar store items to be mailed from hong kong by a drop shipper with tracking. Might cost him $2 an item, or $600. Seller gets 300 negative feedbacks, closes account and banking account, and moves on to next scam item. Perhaps laptops, tablets, or whatever, with $16,900 in his pocket.
Of course, if you were stubborn, and spent the $40 to return your dollar store item, the address you're sending it to promptly opens your package, returns the dollar store item to their shelves for the next sucker, and ignores everything.... What will ebay do to them? Nothing, they're a drop shipper, not the seller. They don't deal with ebay at all.
So.... If something looks too good to be true, it's still true to be careful.
Right now, I do not buy from any non-US merchants on Ebay. It's just too risky.
Items with this scam....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lowrance-El...ltDomain_0&hash=item2339a75c54#ht_1089wt_1230
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lowrance-EL...ltDomain_0&hash=item19ec6a67ca#ht_1921wt_1230
Please be careful out there.... The criminals are getting smarter.
