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eBay Square Trade?
- Thread starter 0490043
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I never had major problems with sellers on ebay because i follow the rules. If someone contacts me to buy this listing outside ebay i dont accept, i follow everything to the line.
About your post, i have no idea what the sqaure thingy is. It never crossed my eyes sincei began using ebay.
About your post, i have no idea what the sqaure thingy is. It never crossed my eyes sincei began using ebay.
No. It doesn't sound safe, and I would stay away from it.
Tell him to relist it on ebay and you'll consider purchasing it.
But just from what you wrote it's MOST LIKELY a scam. No BIN button, just an e-mail address indicates that the account was most likely hijacked and the scammer tells people to contact him (via e-mail) rather than eBay, because then it will go to the real account holder.
What's the normal price on the item? If it's $1800 is EXTREMELY good, then it's almost 100% a scam.
Tell him to relist it on ebay and you'll consider purchasing it.
But just from what you wrote it's MOST LIKELY a scam. No BIN button, just an e-mail address indicates that the account was most likely hijacked and the scammer tells people to contact him (via e-mail) rather than eBay, because then it will go to the real account holder.
What's the normal price on the item? If it's $1800 is EXTREMELY good, then it's almost 100% a scam.
When i was looking for a powerbook on ebay, i found pages like this that said "this is a buy it now auction" (but no bin button) "contact me for the price. do not bid" Also, the price was amazing, so i stayed away from it. I'm pretty sure it was a scam.
Collin973 said:
This is always bad news...
As for the OP... I was under the impression that an eBay seller soliciting a private sale with an eBay buyer that isn't "listed" in the eBay system is a violation of eBay's policy to begin with? Psssh, Square Trade? Unless the person re-posts the item correctly and allows you to purchase it through the system, no way.
Danger, Danger Will Robinson!
SquareTrade helps to settle disputes between buyers and sellers and adds a measure of trust to the transaction. But it doesn't guarantee the sale. So the seller is misleading in his statement. He may not have even been a member of SquareTrade. A good friend of mine was bidding on a Lois Hill bracelet and after losing the auction was contacted by the seller who said he was holding a private auction off Ebay for another similar bracelet. My friend instinctively knew something was wrong as the seller's feedback score was low but the bracelet being offered was a limited edition, not available in any stores, and way below the retail price. Long story short, she and several other buyers who had been contacted bid via email on the bracelet and sent payment via paypal straight from their checking accounts (seller wouldn't accept charge card payment) were scammed. Since the sale wasn't done on Ebay, it refused to help, same with paypal. She now belongs to a community who polices Ebay and contacts buyers who are bidding on items put out by suspicious sellers. She tells me that the biggest areas for scamming are digital equipment like camera and laptops, jewelry, and tickets for sports games and concerts. Tons of people got scammed for World Series and Rolling Stones tickets. It's safe to say you were almost a victim.
SquareTrade helps to settle disputes between buyers and sellers and adds a measure of trust to the transaction. But it doesn't guarantee the sale. So the seller is misleading in his statement. He may not have even been a member of SquareTrade. A good friend of mine was bidding on a Lois Hill bracelet and after losing the auction was contacted by the seller who said he was holding a private auction off Ebay for another similar bracelet. My friend instinctively knew something was wrong as the seller's feedback score was low but the bracelet being offered was a limited edition, not available in any stores, and way below the retail price. Long story short, she and several other buyers who had been contacted bid via email on the bracelet and sent payment via paypal straight from their checking accounts (seller wouldn't accept charge card payment) were scammed. Since the sale wasn't done on Ebay, it refused to help, same with paypal. She now belongs to a community who polices Ebay and contacts buyers who are bidding on items put out by suspicious sellers. She tells me that the biggest areas for scamming are digital equipment like camera and laptops, jewelry, and tickets for sports games and concerts. Tons of people got scammed for World Series and Rolling Stones tickets. It's safe to say you were almost a victim.
generik said:
generik is absolutely right, stay away from this "sale" Bowie- this guy is trying to pull a fast one on you.
And by the way, just to add on to my earlier post:
I'm also a member of SquareTrade, and to be quite honest with you SquareTrade pretty much does nothing. They do require new members to go through address verification at sign up though, but when sales are performed off site, there essentially is no official record of the sale, apart from your funds leaving your bank account and entering his.
Simply put, it is your word against his. He can simply claim "Oh, ----Bowie---- paid me $1600 for an hour of chatting with me over the phone", and essentially there is nothing very little you can do about it, apart from perhaps filing a lawsuit against him and getting subpeonas for a whole load of information from eBay and Squaretrade before even naming him as a defendent. Extra bonus points if the perp is from a different state!
What that fella is trying to do is to lure newbies into trusting him to trade offsite by means of Squaretrade. Newbies need to know that trading offsite has absolutely nothing to do with Squaretrade. Squaretrade really all boils down to feedback mediation services, and with no eBay transaction there is obviously no eBay feedback.
I'm also a member of SquareTrade, and to be quite honest with you SquareTrade pretty much does nothing. They do require new members to go through address verification at sign up though, but when sales are performed off site, there essentially is no official record of the sale, apart from your funds leaving your bank account and entering his.
Simply put, it is your word against his. He can simply claim "Oh, ----Bowie---- paid me $1600 for an hour of chatting with me over the phone", and essentially there is nothing very little you can do about it, apart from perhaps filing a lawsuit against him and getting subpeonas for a whole load of information from eBay and Squaretrade before even naming him as a defendent. Extra bonus points if the perp is from a different state!
What that fella is trying to do is to lure newbies into trusting him to trade offsite by means of Squaretrade. Newbies need to know that trading offsite has absolutely nothing to do with Squaretrade. Squaretrade really all boils down to feedback mediation services, and with no eBay transaction there is obviously no eBay feedback.