eBay Allowing Dodgy Listings, Doesn't Take Them down?

Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 07:54

This pisses me off, and not sure there's much one can do about it, but seeking ideas.
No it's not my problem but I wouldn't enjoy being the person on the wrong end of these cunning tricks.

Some guy on ebay is doing a pretty good job of making a 'guide' seem like they're selling legit apple products.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/162092525533
and
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/162093714141

They're obviously working hard to conceal the fact that it's a guide, eg. by putting the info 500 lines down the listing and things like Warranty (yeh for a guide)

I've reported the listings to ebay under the category 'selling information that looks like tangible goods', but the listings are still up.

Only thing I can think of is to make a new ebay account and bid them up to ridiculous levels and then just not pay - taste of their own medicine if you will…
Although that seems harder than I first thought.

Any ideas?

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Comments

  • MrMcHairyHead on 06/06/2016 - 08:07
    +4

    I reported both of them. I doubt ebay gives a (profanity) though.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/06/2016 - 05:31
      +1

      Harrah OzBargain! We did it!

      • MrMcHairyHead on 08/06/2016 - 07:02

        Whoohoo!

      • ItsMeAgro on 08/06/2016 - 11:58

        Yep, both removed now! Victoly!

  • bluedufflecoat on 06/06/2016 - 08:22

    wow, that is insane. How do you report them?

    • Aniseed Steed on 06/06/2016 - 08:33

      Click on the "Report Item" tab just above the Item Number.

      • bluedufflecoat on 06/06/2016 - 08:38

        thanks.

        • StewBalls on 06/06/2016 - 08:39

          It is still ebay though, they don't seem to mind having a bet each way with sketchy listings…

          Whenever I've reported dodgy sellers, they've always been very noncommittal with their responses. :/

  • dasher86 on 06/06/2016 - 08:46

    incredible 25 bids

  • the-mal on 06/06/2016 - 08:47
    +11

    Message the guy and say

    "You do realise your eBay listing would be considered Deceptive and Misleading Conduct under Australian Consumer Law and if this sale goes through you could be liable for fines in excess of $750,000 and up to 3 years in jail? I have reported this to eBay and will not hesitate to report it to the ACCC and other relevant authorities if it remains up. I'd certainly get legal advice before leaving it up much longer if I were you. Your call… "

    Of course I made the figures up, but if you capitalise a few words it looks legit. And if he can be a deceptive jerk, so can we.

    Vigilante justice!

    • RockyRaccoon on 06/06/2016 - 08:50

      Problem is that they will probably have emptied their paypal account and taken off on their Harley before then. Will eBay cover the loss?

      • the-mal on 06/06/2016 - 08:53
        +6

        I should've known. Bikies!

    • Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 09:25

      Man I like that. However all these things I'd want to do from a new eBay account. I can imagine someone getting vindictive and just watching your account for new items for sale then bidding on them all and never paying. That would be a royal pain in the ass

      • Aniseed Steed on 06/06/2016 - 10:28

        Block their eBay ID so they can't bid on your listings or contact you.

    • jnewau on 06/06/2016 - 10:00
      +5

      It's a hijacked account (check the usual activity - it's mostly Magic The Gathering cards with last activity over a year ago)

      The new "owner" of the account probably isn't even in this country so you are wasting your energy messaging them - they don't care!

      Just report, shake your head at the amount of the suckers bidding on this, and move on.

      The really amazing thing is that some of the dopes bidding have 200+ Feedback so they're not new to Ebay

    • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 10:58

      Ebay denies it runs a business in Australia (Ebay invoices are from Switzerland) so Australian laws might not apply to Ebay transactions.

      • taoz on 06/06/2016 - 22:04

        to have .com.au you have to have an ABN don't you?

    • fruit on 06/06/2016 - 21:12
      -4

      It's spelt gaol.

      Spelt and spelled are both correct.

      • the-mal on 06/06/2016 - 21:34
        +1

        sigh

        It's actually more correct to spell it "jail" nowadays for Australian English unless you're more of an authority on Australian English than the Macquarie dictionary.

        There's always one…

        • fruit on 06/06/2016 - 22:04
          -4

          Nice try, in legislation it's spelt goal.
          Lifehacker horrible source, at least you tried.

        • Rick Sanchez on 06/06/2016 - 22:21
          +1

          @fruit: iamsosmart

        • mangoss on 07/06/2016 - 02:17
          +5

          Actually, Corrective Services NSW spell it as 'Gaol'. Used to work there on liaison. 'Jail' is not used by Dept Justice or NSW Police at all (having had to write 'gaol' ten thousand times in reports over the years, please trust me on this!) 'Jail'…it's a predominately American usage.

        • the-mal on 07/06/2016 - 03:55
          +2

          @mangoss: Corrective services and legislation have it spelt "gaol" due to fossilisation of the spelling.

          In general language (including the Macquarie Dictionary, the authority on Australian English) they recommend "jail".

          Gaol is accepted, but not preferred. And outside of fossilised usage (such as historical jails used as a proper noun, legislation etc) the only people who seem to use "gaol" in common language are those who want to feel "very smart".

  • RockyRaccoon on 06/06/2016 - 08:49
    +1

    Well maybe we can "broden" ebay with reports from here - if they dont at least some peons at eBay will have to look at hundreds of reports.

    Its supossed to be shipped from Blackheath

    OP how about a voting option

    Yes I will report
    No I fully support ebay scams

    Or something like that so we can guage the number of reports and whether or not ebay is serious about their integrity.

    • bluedufflecoat on 06/06/2016 - 09:34

      I've already reported, but I think I used the wrong category for my first one. :/

  • tomsco on 06/06/2016 - 09:19

    What category/reason for report (dropdown boxes) are people using?

    • Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 09:37
      +2

      I did:
      Listing Practices
      ->
      Compilation and Informational Items
      ->
      Misleading or excessive keywords

      Their description for that form of report is:
      "The listing uses techniques, including excessive keywords that may mislead a member to think the item is for a tangible item rather than for informational media, such as a wholesale list"

  • scrimshaw on 06/06/2016 - 09:19

    Reported to ebay under fraud category

    I think 'digitally delivered goods' also counts as well, since he is not selling a Tangible good but rather a guide, which implies just electronic communication.

  • Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 09:24

    I really think they don't care about reported listings, it's very strange, I'm not sure what process they have to cover their costs. As with PayPal.

    For example I recently purchased something and paid using PayPal. Following the purchase some clues led me to believe the seller was clearly a scammer (eg after I bought it they listed and sold the same thing several times more, negative feedback streams from >12 months ago that are 'reset' so they look to have a 100%). I notified PayPal and eBay immediately that they should probably put a freeze on the funds, and they just said 'if there's a problem within X days, here's the process to lodge a claim'.

    What's the deal?! Surely someone can just make sales like these 'guides' and whip the funds out of PayPal and close their bank account? I guess a fair bit off effort for a $1000 sum but yeh…

  • bengal tiger on 06/06/2016 - 09:38
    +1

    How long ago did OP report them? eBay takes a few days before they pull the plug on a page.

    eBay won't automatically pull a page just because of a few reports - they need time to investigate in-house whether the report is legitimate. eBay will also contact the seller, either for proof of product, their side of the story, or give them time to amend the page accordingly.

    I agree the seller is guilty of false advertising here, but report processing takes days not hours.

    • Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 09:38

      I think the phone I reported Saturday. The computer I only just noticed this morning, I think it's a new 1 day listing.
      Not sure why it would take so long, it's not very ambiguous what the seller is trying to do.

      • bengal tiger on 06/06/2016 - 09:49

        For the phone 'guide' sale, my guess eBay has already issued a 'please explain' and if the seller doesn't respond in time the ad will probably be pulled prior to the auction end.

        If a sale does occur, eBay must be satisfied that the ad didn't breach their policies (the word 'guide' is in the title and description, if it's a PDF guide then maybe the seller argued no photo is available, etc).

        For the computer guide, I'm not sure how eBay deals with short-duration auctions. Will be interested to see how eBay will respond to all our reports.

      • tomsco on 06/06/2016 - 09:51

        I guess it depends on their man power vs the sheer number of scams.

        I agree that it would be reasonable for eBay to see it and immediately identify it as deceptive and put a hold on, but we don't know how many cases in front of this they have.

        Regardless, I have also reported (thanks for the feedback above).

      • bengal tiger on 06/06/2016 - 09:52

        FYI I previously reported someone for selling a key generator as an illegal sale and breaching copyright. It took 4 days before the ad was pulled, not sure how many people were affected. My guess at the time was that eBay responded in a day and gave the seller 2-3 days to reply.

  • Almost Banned on 06/06/2016 - 09:57

    But it says 'guide' right in the title.

    • Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 10:00
      +1

      It also does many other things to cover up the fact that it's a guide. Who knows what the guide would actually be - 'go to Apple Store, give money'

      With that number of bids on it, my concern is that there are plenty of people who will be caught out.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 10:23

        step one: don't bid on dodgy ebay listings

      • RockyRaccoon on 06/06/2016 - 10:24

        And its a guide for only 64 GB grey iPhones.

        • bluedufflecoat on 06/06/2016 - 10:34
          +2

          it's a guide on how to BUY a phone! :/

      • Almost Banned on 06/06/2016 - 10:35

        Oh, clearly with the bids and value people are falling for it.
        And I agree it could certainly be clearer - the pic is not of a booklet, the explanation is WAY down the page, it is listed under phones, it specifies a memory capacity/band/camera etc…
        But it does say "guide" right there in the title.
        The fact that the seller makes a big deal about the sale being final and holding people to the contract is also a warning sign.

    • MrMcHairyHead on 06/06/2016 - 10:05
      +2

      It's also listed as a MacBook. So the seller is lying regardless. Plus the image is of a MacBook.

  • CheapskateQueen on 06/06/2016 - 10:43
    +1

    Wow! ! Crazy! ! Will definitely report them too!

  • pantsparty on 06/06/2016 - 11:33
    +1

    This is pretty funny. Reported on ebay.

  • mangoss on 06/06/2016 - 12:15

    Reported. Sometimes disruption is the only way to frustrate these crooks, as Ebay does nothing…

  • ode1online on 06/06/2016 - 13:01
    +1

    reported
    What a criminal

    You so badly want to send him a message, but he will just fake bid your listings in future and ruin it for you.

    grrr

    Possibly a HACKED account also.

  • Belistic on 06/06/2016 - 13:37

    Lol… Buyer beware… If it's too good to be true…..

  • Davo1111 on 06/06/2016 - 13:54

    News just in: ebay is crap

  • roguescholar on 06/06/2016 - 14:26
    +2

    Dammit, someone's taken the ad's down…

    Win for OZB?

  • Hoju on 06/06/2016 - 14:34
    +5

    Beauty! No more listings.
    Wonder if reports reached critical mass and they finally took notice.

    That's great

  • hypie on 07/06/2016 - 01:56
    +2

    damn, didn't get to this see. Good job none the less.

  • frostman on 07/06/2016 - 11:01

    guys, let all bid this to like $1,500!!

    Teach this dog a lesson

    • Hoju on 07/06/2016 - 11:02

      HEhe damn yeh I was thinking more like $150,000

  • frostman on 07/06/2016 - 11:11

    lol they're gone,

    I actually just finished making a fake ebay account to bid him a few $1,000s

    • SnoozeAndLose on 07/06/2016 - 11:46

      they just re create a new listing which it is nothing to them

    • tomsco on 07/06/2016 - 14:29

      Haha. Would be tempted to then leave neg feedback for them.

  • godofpizza on 07/06/2016 - 15:01

    now selling desktop backgrounds?

    http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/zeeshan_dar/m.html?item=231966619…

    • SnoozeAndLose on 07/06/2016 - 15:07

      after buying the picture you can save the picture from listing.

      How cant I just save the picture and not need to pay anything?

      • roguescholar on 07/06/2016 - 15:28

        Stop it! You're ruining the scammers business model.

  • Sex on 07/06/2016 - 15:31

    I don't get how they can get away with something like this. Would'nt Paypal's buyer protection return the funds from the scammer to the buyer?

    • scrimshaw on 07/06/2016 - 16:49
      +1

      Paypal only sees the transaction and will just process it, unless the sale reported by an actual human (the payer) Paypal will not know the item in question is bogus.

      Sometimes they just hope to catch a buyer who is stupid and don't know how to contest it.

      • Sex on 07/06/2016 - 19:02

        Yeah true. So in the case that the buyer disputes the scam transaction,Paypal will refund them right? Because I'm guessing 90% of buyers would. And once the seller fails, they'll probably get a negative vote and a comment from the buyer that warns against buying from them (maybe even banned?)

        So my question is: why do they bother? Because these scam seller accounts all have like 50+ feedback scores anyway. They have to go to the effort of getting this much feedback via legitimate sales for just one chance of scamming someone who is likely to dispute it anyway.

        • Hoju on 07/06/2016 - 20:20

          I'm unclear as to whether or not the buyer is always refunded from the original funds (so the seller gets nothing), or if paypal has an 'insurance' style payout method for cases when the seller takes the money and runs.

        • Sex on 07/06/2016 - 21:14

          @Hoju: From my experience PayPal forces a refund if the buyer can prove a scam. I was once sold a pair of counterfeit adidas shoes. I initiated a dispute and PayPal took the money from the seller and refunded it to me.

          In these instances with the phones it seems so much easier to prove the scam. You only have to see the listing. Which is why I'm wondering why they still bother haha.

  • Hirolol on 07/06/2016 - 16:46
    +5

    what was the item?
    its been removed so we cant see what it is now:(

  • Sinful on 07/06/2016 - 20:00

    What listings?

  • Hoju on 07/06/2016 - 20:24
    +3

    FYI for anyone interested it was someone selling 'a guide' on how to buy an iphone or macbook pro, but the listing was very clearly making it look like it was a product not a guide, and the items were bid up quite high. Just blatant deception, scumbaggery and skullduggery

  • jlogic on 07/06/2016 - 21:23

    Any cache? The listings are gone.

    • Hoju on 08/06/2016 - 06:35
      +1

      Yeh tried loading from my cache.
      Basically a stock photo of iPhone 6S
      Title of the listing was Apple iPhone 6S 64GB Grey - Guide 6 MONTH WARRANTY

      So yes, it says guide. But jeez, it was bid up to $510 at the time.

      And in the listing itself it talks about the warranty, brand new etc. Then I kid you not, scroll down 10 pages of blank and at the bottom it says "this is for a guide only"

      • jlogic on 08/06/2016 - 10:40

        Can't imagine the feedback they will receive then. Must be throwaway accounts.

        • ItsMeAgro on 08/06/2016 - 12:06

          Hacked accounts. eBay is one of the larger sites in the world, set a bot to guessing "p@55w0rd1" on various accounts and eventually you'll break into a few.

        • scrimshaw on 08/06/2016 - 15:41

          Here's an article dating back from 2014… detailing how easy it was for a hacker to gain access into any account that was exposed in a data breach months before.

          http://thehackernews.com/2014/09/hacking-ebay-accounts.html

  • tomsco on 08/06/2016 - 19:56

    I'm just trying to imagine the bidders reactions when they thought they were winning the auction only for it to disappear. Bet they feel like numpty's.

  • sjbartley on 08/06/2016 - 21:14

    I was defrauded in purchasing a Toyota SatNav SD map card - the guy sells counterfeit SD cards that don't work (I was honestly trying to buy a legit upgrade - and he lists his as real). I've tried everything and he is still ripping suckers off $110 at a time; I even had a call from the police when they were going to go over to his place as a formality, but they didn't expect to be able to do anything. Ebay don't care and won't remove his listings. Somehow he has even managed to get rid of negative feedback from people like me - I don't know how.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/06/2016 - 01:01

    This pisses me off

    You are not alone. But in the end, you are probably better off to just accept reality -> that ebay, aliexpress etc allow anyone to sell anything, anytime, by any method, crooked or not, to provide fees from listing or sales.

    Been thru this carp for two decades, I've learnt to use it to my advantage, and expect maybe 80-95% of gear to arrive working, and don't keep track anymore. It works out pretty good in the end.

    NB: Spending effort scamming the scammers is defunct too.
    Eg. I sent scammers an email 10 years ago about a hot car shipped from London, advertised in Oz. I said I was a detective from my local police station in WA, would have plods in Interpol London check out the vehicle personally, address please?
    The advert was removed next day. Hahahaha.
    Point is dont waste time or effort.

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