I wondered if anyone else has experience of this situation or could offer any thoughts?
The advert for my Pete Beer Concert Classical guitar has been replicated and now appears on eBay at a vastly inflated price. The person who placed the advert only joined eBay four days ago and has no history of selling anything else, or of pulling this particular stunt with anyone else's property.
So should I consider this nothing more than an opportunistic "agency sale" and do nothing, accepting the additional exposure? Should I contact eBay and let them know they are likely to have a vendor selling product that is not in their ownership or possession? What if the vendor sells the guitar, takes the money and disappears? I surely run the risk of a very angry buyer tracking me down from adverts elsewhere and pursuing me as a criminal scammer?
Any thoughts, experiences, or other sage wisdom will be very gratefully received. Thank you so much.
Keith
Comments
Report the advert.
At best, this person is planning to "sell" the guitar on Ebay when they don't actually own it - which is illegal - then try to buy it from you for the lower price, and pocket the difference.
At worst, it's an outright scam and they intend to defraud the buyer.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I have reported the seller to eBay and explained the situation fully, so I assume that at some point within the next few weeks the spurious advert will be taken down or, as @John_P suggests, reappear on eBay in a different town with a new vendor's account details ...
Thanks again for all your kindness.
Keith
It's now Sunday afternoon and the scammer's copy of my Pete Beer Concert Classical advert is still live on their site and has now acquired 7 watchers. My legitimate, genuine bargain advert at less than 80% of the scammer's asking price has attracted 130 views, but no firm interest. Is there no justice? Hey ho ...
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
From experience their reaction to reporting fraudulent listing practices is much slower, if they act at all, than reporting under contact information in description or photos.
Just a thought.
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
Absurdly, in the meantime, I might just have rediscovered my love for Pete Beer's craftsmanship after all. Mmmm ...