Check this out - Really fishy ebay auction

[Rebel76]

I was browsing ebay for clie accessories and I came across this auction. I was really suprised to find this Clie for so low price.... :cool: It makes you have second thoughts doesn't it?

What do you guys think? Too good to be true?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5732353499&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

[bobby jones]

yes, looks fishey. brand new seller with no past history. and the pic's of the pin up girls is rather cheesy.

[wARsZaWiaK]

whats fishey about this auction ?? everybody on ebay starts with 0 feedback.

[bobby jones]

well at least for me, i prefer not to buy higher priced items from sellers with no history and sellers with bad history. but to each their own. i admit that i started out on ebay by selling (not buying), so my first sell had no history either. but i was not selling a top of the line product that is not commerically available in the u.s., let alone worry about the warranty and return policy.
my personal opinion, though, is that someone who has to use pin up girls in their add is a bit cheesy. the auction might not be fishy per se, but it is cheesy.

[dmitrygr]

I saw this picture on a different auction, which was then featured on the scam list. I wouldn't risk it.

[wARsZaWiaK]

well at least for me, i prefer not to buy higher priced items from sellers with no history and sellers with bad history. but to each their own. i admit that i started out on ebay by selling (not buying), so my first sell had no history either. but i was not selling a top of the line product that is not commerically available in the u.s., let alone worry about the warranty and return policy.
my personal opinion, though, is that someone who has to use pin up girls in their add is a bit cheesy. the auction might not be fishy per se, but it is cheesy.


In May I bought UX50 on ebay brand new for $400.00 from US seller with 250 positive feedbacks.Guss what happened ?? He cashed out my M/O and I got : no money no UX50(after 4 months I got $175.00 insurance from eBay).I July I bought onother UX50 from seller in Canada I use Pay Pal and Visa and I got :no money from Pay Pal ,no PDA.I had to wait 1.5 month for visa to get my money back.Pay Pal said SORRY NO MONEY for you.

You never know who are you dealing with.

[SonyStyle]

too good to be true, this thing is selling for 1000 US so no way and look at the seller's rating, only 1.

[Reggie]

It's a scam! The pics are photoshop jobs. Checkout the actual photos from Japan Clie User Club (http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/index.html):

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/thumbnails/IMGP0035_JPG.jpg

and

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/thumbnails/IMGP0003_JPG.jpg

On the buyer's 1st pic, check how the size of the VZ90 compared to the mouse. LOL

In the second image, the VZ90 was slighly rotated clockwise.

[wARsZaWiaK]

too good to be true, this thing is selling for 1000 US so no way and look at the seller's rating, only 1.


so what is only 1.I started with 0 and I was selling memory chip for sony picurebook $250.00US a chip and I sold few of them.People you heve to start somehow.
What if he is selling one ??

Then what ??

[wARsZaWiaK]

too good to be true, this thing is selling for 1000 US so no way and look at the seller's rating, only 1.


look

it is still 2days + to go.

[Reggie]

wARsZaWiaK, have you seen my last reply?

[wARsZaWiaK]

It's a scam! The pics are photoshop jobs. Checkout the actual photos from Japan Clie User Club (http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/index.html):

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/thumbnails/IMGP0035_JPG.jpg

and

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/thumbnails/IMGP0003_JPG.jpg

On the buyer's 1st pic, check how the size of the VZ90 compared to the mouse. LOL

In the second image, the VZ90 was slighly rotated clockwise.


ya u right.the rotation.

can we "frame" him ??

get over it.look how meny fake auction is going on ebay.I reported a few of them but Im not a ebay saint.they do not care i f some one get rip off.

I was and pay pal did not help me.

did you read me post about loosing money to 250 positive feedback seller !!\

and he is exlusive car dealier !! cars $25000.00 + :mad: and he went for $413.00 to scam me !!

[IsLNdbOi]

wARsZaWiaK, if you feel it is not a scam, why not bid on it then?

[wARsZaWiaK]

wARsZaWiaK, if you feel it is not a scam, why not bid on it then?

it is not the poit if bid on it or not but why is scam ??

how do u know ??

[wARsZaWiaK]

wARsZaWiaK, if you feel it is not a scam, why not bid on it then?

I placed a bid on it .

are you happy now ??

[wARsZaWiaK]

wARsZaWiaK, have you seen my last reply?


yes I have.

whats so special about it ??

[Reggie]

yes I have.

whats so special about it ??

omg, can't you see how the seller cut and paste the pictures to his desk?

In any case, I think I will report this item to Ebay.

[wARsZaWiaK]

omg, can't you see how the seller cut and paste the pictures to his desk?

In any case, I think I will report this item to Ebay.
go ahead they do not care.he did not do anything wrong,did he ?? :mad:

[Rebel76]

I saw this picture on a different auction, which was then featured on the scam list. I wouldn't risk it.

Sorry but didn't you bid on the item?

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=5732353499

[Reggie]

go ahead they do not care.he did not do anything wrong,did he ?? :mad:

Manipulating images to make people believe that the seller has a vz90? Isn't that fraudaulent? You don't think that's wrong?? :confused:

Geesh! I give up. :(

[SamuraiCatJB]

if he is going to fake another photo, I have some advice for him. Every material has a BRDF value, this is the reflectance of the surrounding environment light. When you move a photo from one environment to another, the BRDF light reflection no longer matches. It would be better to extract the BRDF values by looking at the scene in which the photo is in, then change the environment and recreate the reflections.

[wARsZaWiaK]

Manipulating images to make people believe that the seller has a vz90? Isn't that fraudaulent? You don't think that's wrong?? :confused:

Geesh! I give up. :(
just report him to ebay.

[wARsZaWiaK]

if he is going to fake another photo, I have some advice for him. Every material has a BRDF value, this is the reflectance of the surrounding environment light. When you move a photo from one environment to another, the BRDF light reflection no longer matches. It would be better to extract the BRDF values by looking at the scene in which the photo is in, then change the environment and recreate the reflections.


I do not agree with u .See you are talking about reflectance of the surrounding environment light.Im talking about then change the environment and recreate the reflections.

[wARsZaWiaK]

Sorry but didn't you bid on the item?

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=5732353499
how do you know I did not bid on this item ???

[SamuraiCatJB]

I do not agree with u .See you are talking about reflectance of the surrounding environment light.Im talking about then change the environment and recreate the reflections.

easier said than done. There are PhD papers on attempted methods to do just that, you can find a slew at every Siggraph ACM conference since the 1980's computers and math are barely getting to "believable" but still distinguishable from real environments. he kept the specular highlights from the original photos and simply moved them, redefining shadows and luminance values, but not the actual environmental reflectance. Thus by increasing the luminance his specular differences are off.

[SamuraiCatJB]

You can believe what you want, it is a free world. I am just telling you my assessment backs Reggie's. This doesn't necessarily mean it is a fake, he could fake the photos since the equipment is still in the box. But then if he fakes the photos what stops him from faking the whole thing? what is the purpose of creating faked photos if you intend to sell a real product?

I personally do not buy multi-hundred dollar items from someone who has sold one game program for $30 to get one happy response. Less chance of being ripped off.

As P.T. Barnum is acclaimed to have said, "there's a sucker born every minute."

[wARsZaWiaK]

[QUOTE=SamuraiCatJB]easier said than done. There are PhD papers on attempted methods to do just that, you can find a slew at every Siggraph ACM conference since the 1980's computers and math are barely getting to "believable" but still distinguishable from real environments. he kept the specular highlights from the original photos and simply moved them, redefining shadows and luminance values, but not the actual environmental reflectance. Thus by increasing the luminance his specular differences are off.[/QUOT


ya !! but what about distinguishable from real environments ??

[wARsZaWiaK]

You can believe what you want, it is a free world. I am just telling you my assessment backs Reggie's. This doesn't necessarily mean it is a fake, he could fake the photos since the equipment is still in the box. But then if he fakes the photos what stops him from faking the whole thing? what is the purpose of creating faked photos if you intend to sell a real product?

I personally do not buy multi-hundred dollar items from someone who has sold one game program for $30 to get one happy response. Less chance of being ripped off.

As P.T. Barnum is acclaimed to have said, "there's a sucker born every minute."

I was riped off from 250 positive feedbacks seller !!!!

any comments ???

[SamuraiCatJB]

I was riped off from 250 positive feedbacks seller !!!!

any comments ???

there is no quick and easy way to protect yourself fully. All I am saying is I am cautious to "reduce" the chance of trouble. Eventually I also will probably be ripped off, and I will still take precautions to reduce the impact of that eventuality and the occurance. Unnecessary chances only increase the risk.

I talk with ever seller I will buy from. Wether it is a small question or a long one doesn't matter. If he/she doesn't respond, I don't bid. Again, not a full guarentee, there are none. you are dealing with people and small businesses. With dealing with people, you will always have someone attempting to rip you off and take advantage of you. That is a fact of life. You can choose how often and what level of risk you are willing to take.

When I bid several hundred for a native flute, I was prepared to be ripped off, though I had several communications with the seller before bidding and I read every single review, and he normally sold flutes, so it wasn't unusual for him and he had been doing it a while. Still not any guarentees, but a lesser risk than just bidding on a $350 native flute from a seller that previously had sold nearly 100 baseball card sets for a maximum single price of $6.95 (a real seller). The latter may have been legit, but the flute was not worth that kind of risk to me. And I am happy with the one I got.

[wARsZaWiaK]

ok.

thank you

[Rebel76]

how do you know I did not bid on this item ???

If you read my post more carefully you will see that I was referring to dmitrigr 's post not yours...

[seraphim_9:11]

Thanks for the heads-up guys ... I follow a rule of thumb when I buy from E-bay. I only use Paypal. If a problem does occur, I simply refuse payment with the Bank (Card-issuers) and dispute the transaction (that doesnt cost me much). If he claims that he is right and I'm the problem maker, all he has to do is show a POD (proof of delivery) and I withdraw. I agree with SamCat - when nothing is certain - it is always best to go with the safer options. I personally dont trust paypal for getting money back if I have a problem. Just my 2 paise ...

[Ezra4no1]

IT's a scam.. No one would beselling one of these without a reserve. Considering how much this costs brand new, than shipping it to the states and the pictures look like they were doctored from another site... stay away from it or someone report this person to eBay..

But by all means ... Warszawiak.. Please let us know if you win the item and if you ever receive it..

[klotzwotz]

There is an very easy way to handle this.
The only problem is you have to live in a not so great distance from the seller.
i got my nr70 here in germany from a seller with a high amount of negative feedback.
he was living 3hr driving for me so I called him and said i come check the device if its ok you get cash.
So i geot my clie much cheaper eveb with the costs fot drivin cause nobody else wanted to bid on it.

P.SSorry for bad english.

[Unregisterd]

That's a great attitude you've got, Warszwiak. "I got screwed, so screw everyone else." Sounds like you got what you deserved.

[SonyStyle]

It's a scam! The pics are photoshop jobs. Checkout the actual photos from Japan Clie User Club (http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/index.html):

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/thumbnails/IMGP0035_JPG.jpg

and

http://www.clieclub.jp/review/rev_vz90/thumbnails/IMGP0003_JPG.jpg

On the buyer's 1st pic, check how the size of the VZ90 compared to the mouse. LOL

In the second image, the VZ90 was slighly rotated clockwise.


LMFAO, THANKS FOR TELLING US, AFTER A SECOND LOOK FROM WHAT YOU WROTE, THE VZ90 IS DEFINITLY SMALL, LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL AND YES IT LOOKS SO PHOTOSHOPPED, I DINDT NOTICE THAT TEH FIRST TIME ILOOKED.

[SonyStyle]

I saw this picture on a different auction, which was then featured on the scam list. I wouldn't risk it.

WOW YOU WERE ATCUALLY BIDDING ON THAT THING?

[Rebel76]

Just a quick update on the auction... As of this morning the auction has been withdrawn.
According to ebay...

Explanation: The seller ended the listing early and cancelled all bids.

[dmitrygr]

hehe, he emailed me with an offer to buy 3 of them for $900 totoal, i reported him. thats y the action if off! i ha dno worries, so i could have bit 1000000 cause i knew it would be removed! :-D

[m8rk]

Can I just relay a story here:

I won an auction for a DV Camcorder a while back. It was only £600 [uk] but to me this was a lot of money - I was wary. I exchanged emails with the seller and all was quite amicable. I saw reference to using Escrow - an independant middle man who holds the money 'till the buyer is happy for it to be released, so I suggested using it and set up my part. The seller suggested an actual meeting in London but that was too awkward [and expensive] for me so I declined. After a period of silence I made enquiries and discovered that the Belgian police were on the case of this seller, who had done many scams on ebay in the past. Don't get me wrong - I don't think escrow is perfect - but it sure saved me from disaster.

I'm coming to the conclusion that ebay are supporting criminal use of their service. Why is it so difficult to report bad sales? - because ebay will profit - that's why. A friend reported someone selling copies of photos from her website - a few days later the seller was doing the exact same thing again - using the same id!

I didn't notice the minute VZ90 - hillarious!:D:D:D

[TJ37]

Can't believe you guys couldn't see it was a photo job. Either you're all slow or I have super human powers that can detect Photoshopping.

[The Mad Dog]

*gg*
The seller ended this listing early because the item is no longer available for sale.

[lmame]

*gg*
The seller ended this listing early because the item is no longer available for sale.


Oh no!!! I wanted to buy it so badly.... I'm sooooo unlucky... I was so sure he had so much VZ in stock (something like an entire truck) and I wanted to loose my money, I'm so desapointed... :(
He told me it was the French version because the guy was so strong he succeeded in tweaking the ROM and did all versions I wanted (french, english, polynesean, russian) in only 15 minutes...

But I'm confident, he told me he was about to sell Playstation 3 next week and future Nintendo home console (The CubeGame), he sent me photos, they're gorgeous :)




Of course, just kidding, I hope wARsZaWiaK is not too desapointed...

[Reggie]

go ahead they do not care. :mad:

Well, I did report it. Perhaps Ebay does care... ;)

Anyone remember the ebay username of the seller? He/she was selling around 50 128MB Memory Sticks too.

[Reggie]

Good thing my Google Desktop was able to cache the pages. The username of the scammer was:

downeyking101

Just an update, Ebay did remove the this user from their database:
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=downeyking101&iid=5732353499&frm=284

Congrats everyone! Thanks to Rebel76 for finding the auction! :D