Am I getting totally hosed?

elvinstheman · #1 10-17-2005, 04:07 PM

I won a 75 Fender Jazz reissue a few weeks ago on ePay. I sent the guy the $$ in a postal money order, yet he wanted to make sure it got into his account OK before he sent it. He let me know he got the money about a little over a week ago and the he was going to send the bass the next day via UPS. I asked him for a tracking number and he never responded to that part of my email (though he did respond to my email in general). He said the bass should be here a week from when he sent it (which was a week ago last Friday) but it did not get here at that point. So this Saturday first thing I sent him another email asking him again for a tracking number again and he still hasn’t responded to it and so far the bass hasn’t come today (Monday).

Does this sound like fraud to anyone? I’m thinking not, because he said in two separate emails that he got my money. If I was going to defraud someone I’d get their money and never contact to them again because it seems like those acknowledgments would be incriminating to the fraudster. It just makes me queasy that a few times now he’s ignored my request for a tracking number.

~Anxious

Figjam · #2 10-17-2005, 04:15 PM

I would wait a little longer, i recently waited a month for something to come from ebay.

hateater · #3 10-17-2005, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Figjam

I would wait a little longer, i recently waited a month for something to come from ebay.

Plus one.

Just kick back, smoke a number, and listen to some Bobby Digital.

spalka621 · #4 10-17-2005, 04:17 PM

Also you can usually get the website to get you your money back. This happened to me if you contact the security on the site they can fix it up for ya.

Knavery · #5 10-17-2005, 04:20 PM

Be careful. They are obligated to send you tracking info as SOON as they get your money to let you know that they have done what they are supposed to do, which is send the bass.

bassjus · #6 10-17-2005, 05:28 PM

I'd give it a little more time, and if for some reason things don't work out with it but you get your money back shoot me a PM, I've got a 75 RI that needs a new home.

Best of luck, some people are ebay are just busy/lazy people and it's just low priority for them.

Templar · #7 10-17-2005, 06:26 PM

I would'nt go into panic mode just yet, but you're definitely getting less-than-good smoke signals so far.

Paying by MO leaves you totally at the mercy of the seller. If he decides to "go bad", well...you're screwed. It happened to me on a ebay bass once, I ended up stuck $425.

Paypal via plastic is the safe way to go, as you have recourse thru your credit card for fraud. Ebay itself is of little help in these matters.

Do this immediately: Get the sellers contact info from ebay, and start phoning this guy for answers. Be firm, but polite and business-like.

Probably he's just lazy and you'll be fine. You don't deserve this grief, so get on him til he gets with the program.

superbassman2000 · #8 10-17-2005, 08:00 PM

true...just don't wait until its too late...i won this cool SG copy about 3 years ago...needless to say i was too patient, and fortunatly i only lost 80 bucks...i tried to get ebay and paypal involved but i didn't realize they only would take action within x days...

elvinstheman · #9 10-19-2005, 02:36 PM

Well, I'm trying to keep cool, smoke a fattie and all that, but it's starting to look grim. The bass still hasn't come, the seller won't respond to my emails, eBay contact info is inaccurate and in looking at the sellers ID history and feedback, I see that their account was inactive for a couple years then changed ID in 2003. No items bought or sold after the ID change until Sept of this year and that was from a seller who's ID history is the same - inactive for a few years and then the ID changed in 2003 just month after MY seller's ID changed. And get this - both their old IDs/screennames ended with the same, rather obscure, email server address.

Anyhow, from what I can glean from old auctions, both of these sellers sold antiques and curios under their previous IDs and then vintage guitars with their new IDs (though of course, they each only have one transaction under their new IDs). And in looking at the listing, both the one I bid on and the one my seller supposedly bid on last month, they are VERY similar, including graphics, format and location (listed generically as "United States"). So it seems to me that maybe these IDs were both hijacked at some point and taken over by the same fraudster who used one to stage a fake auction in order to generate recent positive feedback for a related item and then post a bogus listing. I really hope I'm wrong and some parts of this don't make sense to me (like why wait two years after you take over an ID to commit fraud?) but if I'm right, I'm out 900 frickin' clams. Shoot.

reasonbass · #10 10-19-2005, 02:42 PM

Conctact your post office. They might be able to do an investigation for postal fraud or something. Just an idea.