placed ad on ebay - instant response - i'm suspicious Help!
Discussion
I have just placed an ad on ebay to sell a car. No sooner have I placed the ad, and I get an instant bidder. He has no history/feedback. I dunno, it just seemed too quick. Is it some kind of ebay-bot scam thing?. I have never used ebay before (it's my brothers account). What should I be wary of?
Any info on who the bidder is? Anything that smells of <randomfirstname><randomamericansurname><number> is iffy. For higher value items (well, anything over £5) it is generally not a good idea to accept bids from people without any history. It might be a good idea to update your listing.
Zad said:
Any info on who the bidder is? Anything that smells of <randomfirstname><randomamericansurname><number> is iffy. For higher value items (well, anything over £5) it is generally not a good idea to accept bids from people without any history. It might be a good idea to update your listing.
He's only been a member for 4 days, zero history. What do you mean update my listing? (i'm an ebay virgin...)I think it depends on what you've listed.
I've listed cars that have never received a single bid or contact and I've listed cars which have had multiple questions and bids within the first hour of it hitting the listings.
Remember, a lot of people have email alerts set up, so if you've listed something popular it will quickly have been brought to a lot of people's attention.
I've listed cars that have never received a single bid or contact and I've listed cars which have had multiple questions and bids within the first hour of it hitting the listings.
Remember, a lot of people have email alerts set up, so if you've listed something popular it will quickly have been brought to a lot of people's attention.
Dunno. I am also very wary. I placed my old van on eBay and had a bid within hours by a chap who registered that day.
Deal went through without a hitch and payed in cash
He has never left any feedback and still has a zero rating! So I suppose he was just after the van.
Deal went through without a hitch and payed in cash
He has never left any feedback and still has a zero rating! So I suppose he was just after the van.
Edited by Morningside on Saturday 12th June 20:53
It may be enitrely innocent, or a hardened scammer.
I recently advertised a car on eBay, and added a 'Buy It Now' price to give them something to aim for. I fully expected the auction to run its course and not even meet the reserve - but the next day it had 'sold' - somebody had clicked the BIN button. His e-mail address was from Japan so I thought I'd fallen victim to some foreign kid doing it for a bet. Except that the next day he arrived with the cash and drove the car away!
So you can never tell...
I recently advertised a car on eBay, and added a 'Buy It Now' price to give them something to aim for. I fully expected the auction to run its course and not even meet the reserve - but the next day it had 'sold' - somebody had clicked the BIN button. His e-mail address was from Japan so I thought I'd fallen victim to some foreign kid doing it for a bet. Except that the next day he arrived with the cash and drove the car away!
So you can never tell...
I hate eBay and other such sites for this reason. Yes I use them, but I'm very dubious about selling stuff because of these bloody t
ts.
When selling stuff, I've had BIN bids that have turned out to be timewasters. Then again I have had snipers who have been brilliant customers. By the same token my Mondeo was listed for only 15 minutes before I rang, and I insisted on doing x and y checks and the transaction in the bank right under a CCTV camera. The seller was really concerned at me buying it (which 19 year old buys a Mondeo as a second car?) but after every single test he did on my validity was true we did a good deal and I now have a Mondeo on my drive.
ts.When selling stuff, I've had BIN bids that have turned out to be timewasters. Then again I have had snipers who have been brilliant customers. By the same token my Mondeo was listed for only 15 minutes before I rang, and I insisted on doing x and y checks and the transaction in the bank right under a CCTV camera. The seller was really concerned at me buying it (which 19 year old buys a Mondeo as a second car?) but after every single test he did on my validity was true we did a good deal and I now have a Mondeo on my drive.
Crikey you guys are a suspicious lot.
You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
Appreciate it's somebody who's only registered recently, but that's no reason for it to be a scam.
Usual prudence applies, the same as if you sold it through any other medium (Autotrader, PH classifieds, etc.). Cash on collection, test the notes if it's a lot, and pay straight in at the bank if you're really unsure.
UK has quite a lot of active users, but a huge majority of ebay France users are 0 rated, new buyers. Makes no difference as long as they pay.
I sold a boat on ebay a year or so ago. 0 rated, recently registered bidder turned up with well in to 5 figures in bundles of £50s. Cash was good, never heard from him again so he must have been happy.
Took me a couple of weeks to pay it in the bank mind, they don't like large cash transactions....
You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
Appreciate it's somebody who's only registered recently, but that's no reason for it to be a scam.
Usual prudence applies, the same as if you sold it through any other medium (Autotrader, PH classifieds, etc.). Cash on collection, test the notes if it's a lot, and pay straight in at the bank if you're really unsure.
UK has quite a lot of active users, but a huge majority of ebay France users are 0 rated, new buyers. Makes no difference as long as they pay.
I sold a boat on ebay a year or so ago. 0 rated, recently registered bidder turned up with well in to 5 figures in bundles of £50s. Cash was good, never heard from him again so he must have been happy.
Took me a couple of weeks to pay it in the bank mind, they don't like large cash transactions....
maser_spyder said:
Crikey you guys are a suspicious lot.
You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
It wasn't quite like that; my point was that no sooner had I placed the ad, I had a bidder. I didn't even have time to refresh the page, as when I did, there he was with a bid. I don't think he even had time to read the whole ad or look at the various pics of the car. That was why I was/am suspicious.
You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
It wasn't quite like that; my point was that no sooner had I placed the ad, I had a bidder. I didn't even have time to refresh the page, as when I did, there he was with a bid. I don't think he even had time to read the whole ad or look at the various pics of the car. That was why I was/am suspicious.
Police State said:
maser_spyder said:
Crikey you guys are a suspicious lot.
You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
It wasn't quite like that; my point was that no sooner had I placed the ad, I had a bidder. I didn't even have time to refresh the page, as when I did, there he was with a bid. I don't think he even had time to read the whole ad or look at the various pics of the car. That was why I was/am suspicious.You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
It really isn't unheard of.
And in any case, if you want to cancel their bid, cancel it. Go to ebay help and put 'cancel bid' in the search, it'll tell you how to do it.
Police State said:
maser_spyder said:
Crikey you guys are a suspicious lot.
You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
It wasn't quite like that; my point was that no sooner had I placed the ad, I had a bidder. I didn't even have time to refresh the page, as when I did, there he was with a bid. I don't think he even had time to read the whole ad or look at the various pics of the car. That was why I was/am suspicious.You advertise a car for sale. Somebody is interested and places a bid. You have kittens.
FFS. If you didn't want people to buy it or register an interest, why advertise it for sale?
If so, plenty of people substitute a social life for pretending to be auction big shots and bid early on everything; albeit safe in the knowledge that they will never risk winning anything.
I bought a car off Ebay recently with a buy it now (booze, eBay app = badness) with no pictures and I didn't ask any questions. Met the guy at the train station and he had all the documents with him, which were not in his name. Gave him money and that was it.
I don't normally do that and insist on going to the "owners" house but I trusted my judgement and he seemed genuine and why would he risk doing something dodgy for a £260 car!
I don't normally do that and insist on going to the "owners" house but I trusted my judgement and he seemed genuine and why would he risk doing something dodgy for a £260 car!
V8mate said:
If so, plenty of people substitute a social life for pretending to be auction big shots and bid early on everything; albeit safe in the knowledge that they will never risk winning anything.
I think some people use low bids in place of putting them on a watch list, or perhaps put a low max in the hope of getting it for a very low price (you never know).Gareth79 said:
V8mate said:
If so, plenty of people substitute a social life for pretending to be auction big shots and bid early on everything; albeit safe in the knowledge that they will never risk winning anything.
I think some people use low bids in place of putting them on a watch list, or perhaps put a low max in the hope of getting it for a very low price (you never know).
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