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Lowest Priced New Basses Ever??

It's better to sell 300 invisible basses at $18, than 50 at $50.
Bingo. Not only do people order $18 no-name Chinese basses in much greater numbers than $180 no-name Chinese basses, they don't spend much time thinking about it, because the deal will be gone and if it's crap they're only out $18. A scammer needs a lot of orders in a short period of time. That said, I remain hopeful that those who ordered from robhe8875 will get their basses. She (or he) has built up something of a reputation, and while it's possible that she decided to blow it all in one big scam, it doesn't seem likely since that storefront has value and could have been sold.

I will say that while I've been scammed by an American eBay seller, I've never been outright scammed by a direct-from-China seller. I've received a brass nut whose "cutting" was no more than a score on the surface, but it WAS a brass nut, and it cost me less than an equivalently sized piece of brass locally. My biggest problem has been damage, since every small/cheap thing I've ordered came in a standard padded manila mailing envelope. I received a rosewood two-piece archtop bass bridge for a viola bass which was cracked (luckily I could use my old base - I'd feel bad asking for a $2.97 rosewood bridge to be replaced) and an absolutely smashed brass cigar box bridge which I had to have replaced.
 
The low price is both an incentive to buy ("It's cheap, what's the risk?") and a small enough amount so as to not raise too many red flags at ebay/amazon.

The seller sells a couple hundred (or thousand) at $18 each, pockets the cash, and ebay/amazon/paypal/buyers eat the loss. As much as several thousand dollars for a week's work- even easier and quicker if you had a team. ;)




Bad feedback is never the way to go with Ebay/Paypal. Opening a case at the moment it’s allowed, usually after the expected delivery date gets results. I had an empty e-packet envelope arrive. I took a picture of the label showing the weight of .04 lbs and explained how that envelope could not have contained my item. I was promptly refunded. I would say 3 of ten Ebay experiences with direct purchases I made from China had problems. Never did I leave feedback, one way or the other and never was I not refunded. I should add that this purported scam smoking up this thread looks like brewing hysteria. If you were going to engineer a scam, why would you do it for 18 bucks a pop? If you’re going to use EBay to go crooked wouldn’t you go for something more than the equivalent of a couple of frozen pizzas?
 
The low price is both an incentive to buy ("It's cheap, what's the risk?") and a small enough amount so as to not raise too many red flags at ebay/amazon.

The seller sells a couple hundred (or thousand) at $18 each, pockets the cash, and ebay/amazon/paypal/buyers eat the loss. As much as several thousand dollars for a week's work- even easier and quicker if you had a team. ;)
If hundreds or thousands had been offered for sale. There is a limit to what EBay/Paypal will allow to go on. They will yank a seller with remarkable quickness if he/she starts messing. I still contend the hysterical overtones of this thread aren’t warranted. EBay is buyer friendly. It’s been spurred on by “it’s too good to be true, so it must be.” I say maybe.
 
Considering that USPS says they are delivering "small packets", I doubt any of us will be getting basses. Getting something. Just not basses (robhe orderer here).
It's possible that robhe decided to end his storefront and will be shipping out everything he had left in place of what was ordered. It's also possible that he simply sold out of everything, or so nearly so that he decided to yank everything until he can get product in quantities that justify running the storefront - remember that some areas of China are extremely disrupted and/or under quarantine. And it's possible that his account has been hacked by fraudsters. Lots of things are possible, but in the end it's unlikely that anyone here will be out of anything but time.

Or... He sold out of basses! "A positive anything is better than a negative nothing."
Unless it's a positive hepatitis test. :smug:
 
Did you go to

tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=LW*******CN<-replace with your tracking number

and then expand "product information"?

okay, it does say small packet. could be a china post/USPS communication issue, could be we're getting ripped off or it could be something else. apparently i'll find out on tuesday.
 
She (or he) has built up something of a reputation, and while it's possible that she decided to blow it all in one big scam, it doesn't seem likely since that storefront has value and could have been sold.

They have 130 feedback...and maybe half of those appear fake. Especially for a Chinese eBay account, 130 is nothing....that's a prime example of an account you should be extremely wary of. The only place robhe's name currently carries any kind of weight is on TB in this thread...or maybe another message board with a similar thread. If he/she actually delivers on all the instruments they sold in the last week or so, then you might have the start of something, but me personally, my guard doesn't drop on Chinese eBay accounts until they're many thousands in and over 99% positive. I've seen previously known good sellers with 500-1000 feedback and 100% positive turn scammy and take the money and run. In other words, that account has zero value at this moment in time. Worse, it looks like an account you'd particularly want to avoid with all the brand new account feedback.