Home› U.S. Coin Forum

What's this? eBay'er poaching winning auctions!

braddickbraddick Posts: 23,967 ✭✭✭✭✭
in U.S. Coin Forum
Unreal. Just heard of someone who won an eBay auction lot (not coins) for a dirt cheap, giveaway price. A poacher came along and PAID for the auction via Paypal ('Pay Now') with HIS address.

HE gets the item without even having to bid or snipe it!
::Shesh::
It's not like the REAL winner is out anything, after all the other guy paid for the auction, but his time spent finding the good deal and winning the auction and then having someone come in and kind of 'steal' it out from under him and screwed him out of it ticked him off.

eBay shananigans! Will the creative ways people dick others ever cease to amaze?

peacockcoins

Comments

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,530 ✭✭✭✭✭
    At least the winner will get the positive feedback. image

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • PlacidPlacid Posts: 11,299 ✭✭✭
    Paypal payments can be reversed.
    If I was the seller I would keep person who paid but didn't really win money for a few weeks for being a dirtbag.
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭
    What's a "poucher"?image

    Russ, NCNE
    eBay consignment sales | | Collectibles from Resco CCC
  • braddickbraddick Posts: 23,967 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>What's a "poucher"?image Russ, NCNE >>



    Thanks. Fixed.

    peacockcoins

  • Dog97Dog97 Posts: 7,874 ✭✭✭
    I've never heard of such. That's interesting. I can do a search of the items you have bid on and then steal them from you. WOW!!
    And don't even have to worry about bad feedback. That's probably against the rules aint it? image
    Change that we can believe in is that change which is 90% silver.
  • PlacidPlacid Posts: 11,299 ✭✭✭
    Yep and the seller dosen't even have to worry about you giving them a negative when they don't send you anything.
  • baccarudabaccaruda Posts: 2,588 ✭✭
    one thing i'm always cautious of now is someone else watching an auction end and sending me an email telling me to send money to his paypal account - referencing that auction. sometimes in my haste to fininsh the transaction i'm not always careful to match the email to the seller's. and once you send that cash to someone else's account, you can kiss it goodbye.

    1 Tassa-slap
    2 Cam-Slams!
    1 Russ POTD!
  • supercoinsupercoin Posts: 2,323 ✭
    It would be ok, presumably, if the item won was an egg. image

    baccaruda's got the more nefarious idea. I've wondered about that one myself.
    imageLibertarian Party
  • NeptuneNeptune Posts: 2,221
    Wow - Thanks for the heads up. I had never heard of this either. image This is truly quite scarey. I guess you could really get ripped both ways. I will certainly be more careful to match up email addresses from now on.

    A lot of times folks reply with different email addresses from the eBay address - wonder how you would verify something like that??? Those folks need to be reported NOW. Not that I am the snitch type, but something like this could really get out of control. If one person gets away with it - and the Seller's start getting ripped too, that could really turn into an epidemic. Of course, I bet that email address won't be good for too long - they will probably delete it - but it can be tracked. Like those spammers who send that junk mail all the time, and keep changing their address each day.

    Not that anyone asked my opinion, but if I were the seller, I would definitely hold true to the bidder and report the fraudulent rip off artist.
  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,380 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Run that by me again - what are the mechanics involved?? Sounds like the actual buyer and seller BOTH would have to be asleep at the wheel.

    If I, as a seller, send a invoice to the winner...then someone else comes along and asks what the total is....I would be wondering why this clown is asking me for the total since I just sent it to them. If on the other hand a poacher sends money, the odds of them guessing he correct amount (with shipping) is small.

    I don't get it - help me out!image
    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • LucyBopLucyBop Posts: 14,001 ✭✭✭
    Good point baccaruda, I never considered this either. You gotta double check, better safe then sorry... Great tip!
    imageBe Bop A Lula!!
    "Senorita HepKitty"
    "I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
  • Dog97Dog97 Posts: 7,874 ✭✭✭
    I don't know about that Lakesammman. Paypal sends out my winning notifications and my listing say "free shipping, your winning bid is what you owe" and it seems that ½ the buyers spend the next week emailing me back and forth asking me what my addresss is, how much is shipping, what's the total etc.
    This thread has been a good heads up for me too.
    Change that we can believe in is that change which is 90% silver.
  • braddickbraddick Posts: 23,967 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Punch up any concluded Paypal auction right now. You'll see the "Pay Now" Paypal logo that can easily be clicked on. Most sellers simply respond to THIS notification and payment- sending the winning item to the person who paid, never thinking or assuming it would be someone different.
    It isn't until the real winner turns up there is then a conflict.

    peacockcoins

  • KINCOINKINCOIN Posts: 320 ✭

    See what happens when religion is taken out of schools. One does not learn right from wrong.image

    KINGCOIN KING OF COINS
  • TwowoodTwowood Posts: 518 ✭
    I wonder what the consequences would be if the seller was aware that the first payer was a poacher and the seller kept the poachers paypal payment. Then, when the real payer pays,he ships the coin to him,pocketing both payments.
    Who's the thief in this scheme? Twowood
  • nwcsnwcs Posts: 13,386 ✭✭✭
    The seller would be a thief and the auction hijacker. I hadn't thought of this being a possibility. Vigilance can only take you so far, unfortunately. I wonder how this will be solved/addressed/ignored when ebay integrates paypal into their system?
    Blog and Pics
  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,380 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very interesting....thanks for the tips/warning....guess I had never noticed before.image

    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • TwowoodTwowood Posts: 518 ✭


    << <i>one thing i'm always cautious of now is someone else watching an auction end and sending me an email telling me to send money to his paypal account - referencing that auction. the sometimes in my haste to fininsh the transaction i'm not always careful to match email to the seller's. and once you send that cash to someone else's account, you can kiss it goodbye. >>

  • newbiecollectornewbiecollector Posts: 2,992
    As a bidder/buyer (not a seller) on ebay I found this thread confusing but for some reason it worries me. I don't purchase or even bid on high value coins but for me 2-300 bucks is big. I would hate it if I finally won an auction and someone else got the coin.
    Sorry, but it confuses me that this can even happen. I recon I can't get the mechanics straight in my brain.

    Just my comments....and they did not benefit this tread/question at all.....sorry
    Becoming informed but still trying to learn every day!
    1-Dammit Boy Oct 14,2003

    International Coins
    "A work in progress"


    Wayne
    eBay registered name:
    Hard_ Search (buyer/bidder, a small time seller)
    e-mail: wayne.whatley@gmail.com
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
    newbiecollector, here's how it can be done.

    Let's say you win an auction for a coin at a very cheap price. I'm watching the auction. As soon as it ends, I send payment via Paypal to the seller, and then I email the seller and say I won the auction, giving him the Paypal information and my address. If the seller isn't careful to make sure I am the true winner of the auction, he might send me the coin. Why not? He knows I paid for it already.

    By the time you contact the seller to make payment and shipping arrangements, the coin might already be shipped to me!

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • baccarudabaccaruda Posts: 2,588 ✭✭
    that scenario doesn't make much sense to me. if the price is so good and you're watching it end then why not just bid on it and have a little security? seems like taking a pretty big risk sending money to someone else's account with the hopes of getting him to send you something worth the same amount.

    ebay is very reliant on the good nature of human beings.

    1 Tassa-slap
    2 Cam-Slams!
    1 Russ POTD!
  • nwcsnwcs Posts: 13,386 ✭✭✭
    >ebay is very reliant on the good nature of human beings.

    I think we've seen enough examples of how reliable this is. image
    Blog and Pics
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭


    << <i>that scenario doesn't make much sense to me. if the price is so good and you're watching it end then why not just bid on it and have a little security? >>



    I'll use an extreme scenario to illustrate the point. Let's say the item something that normally goes for $100. For whatever reason (bad or misspelled title, wrong category listing, whatever) the final price is $20. If I'm the scammer, I might figure the winner had a proxy bid that might go up to $80. Why take a chance if I think I can snag the item without placing a bid? If the seller realizes I wasn't the true winner, I can always say I made a mistake and the payment was meant for another auction, so please reverse the payment.

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • newbiecollectornewbiecollector Posts: 2,992
    kranky...

    Thanks for the expanation. I really did not see the problem. It did confuse me and I only have limited experience with "winning" on ebay, but I think almost all my winners had a check-out procedure. So I would not pay and not get the coin, I think, maybe, perhaps...well who can say.

    Thanks I really do understand now....perhaps.
    Becoming informed but still trying to learn every day!
    1-Dammit Boy Oct 14,2003

    International Coins
    "A work in progress"


    Wayne
    eBay registered name:
    Hard_ Search (buyer/bidder, a small time seller)
    e-mail: wayne.whatley@gmail.com
  • baccarudabaccaruda Posts: 2,588 ✭✭
    ebay is very reliant on the good nature of human beings.


    I think we've seen enough examples of how reliable this is.


    i think there are examples, but for the most part the people i've dealt with have been pretty honorable. i've done easily over 200 transactions without ever a deal going foul. there has been the occasional dispute, but never a scam.

    it's human nature to consider the flaws with any system. how many people have actually NEVER thought about how they'd plan out a bank robbery? there will be all kinds of different scams and ideas, but they make up a tiny fraction of the deals on ebay. pretty good considering it's pretty easy to get away with quite a bit on ebay. people in general are pretty decent.
    1 Tassa-slap
    2 Cam-Slams!
    1 Russ POTD!
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭


    << <i>A lot of times folks reply with different email addresses from the eBay address >>



    I'm one of those. I originally signed up during a beta phase back in 1997. The account got screwed up, and those complete utter morons at eBay wouldn't even release my own eMail address back to me so I could re-sign up with it. Had to create a whole new account with a different ID and eMail address, than change the eBay ID back to the original. Still can't get my eMail address back. Fortunately, it's my own domain so identity confirmation hasn't been an issue.



    << <i>I send payment via Paypal to the seller, and then I email the seller and say I won the auction, giving him the Paypal information and my address. >>



    Kranky,

    You don't even have to eMail the seller. All of the necessary information, including amount, auction number and shipping address is contained within the notice generated by Paypal. So, the poaching is even easier.

    Russ, NCNE
    eBay consignment sales | | Collectibles from Resco CCC
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
    Thanks for the clarification, Russ. You're right - that's even easier!

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • Steve27Steve27 Posts: 13,274 ✭✭✭
    "It's not like the REAL winner is out anything...." I don't agree, the buyer got something at below market value. Thus, he is "out" the difference between the two and can sue the interloper for the difference. In reality, he would probably just have to contact the seller before the item was shipped, but I could see this happening. Actually, I always wondered if the system would let someone other than the winner "check out." I guess this just a "feature" in the eBay software (the kind that needs to be fixed).
    "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them." Adlai Stevenson
  • baccarudabaccaruda Posts: 2,588 ✭✭
    i'm pretty sure that's why they added the "checkout" option - so you know you're dealing with the other involved party and not some yahoo. i don't like messing with it though as it just complicates the matter, and i have a feeling a lot of other people don't use it either.

    1 Tassa-slap
    2 Cam-Slams!
    1 Russ POTD!
  • mdwoodsmdwoods Posts: 5,546 ✭✭✭
    eBay shananigans! Will the creative ways people dick others ever cease to amaze?

    Pat, with your job, I imagine you get to see a lot more of the worlds less than finest individuals. I am also amazed at the efforts people will go to, to con someone. It seems as though if they would have put that much effort into something legit, they would be further ahead, without having to screw someone. It makes me wonder... Mark
    National Register Of Big Trees

    We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
  • vamseekervamseeker Posts: 28
    It would also be a great story if you didn't shill and the item sold too low.

    "I'd love to send you the item at that price but you'll never guess what happened.........."

    Vamseeker

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Format
SpoilerCodeQuote
Heading 2Heading 1
Emoji
:):D:(;):/:o:s:p:'(:|B):#:*<3o:)>:)
Url
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file
Home • U.S. Coin ForumComment As ...