OT: Question about eBay please.

[DannyBoy]

When bidding for a few laptops on eBay i distinctly remember seeing some warning/message or something saying something like, "You may be contacted by private blah blah".

Im not sure if the message was to say DONT buy from them, but i remember it saying it had nothing to do with eBay.


Some woman has contacted me from Rome but made a very nice offer for a laptop.

What do i do?

Im not one to stitch people up, but im pretty sure this person isnt going to trust me by sending it then getting paid when i recieve it.

I on the other hand am questioning whether i should trust this person?

What do you guys think, especially the experienced traders around here.
Please give your opinions

 

[PClark99]

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If the seller is out of country I would pass on that "Good Deal".

 

[ViviTheMage]

i have ZERO experience on ebay because ive heard ALOT of bad things from there....but good luck!

 

[Jon187]

Have her meet you half-way in person, somewhere in Greenland I figure.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Mallow]

When transactions occur out of the country you basically have 0 recourse for getting your money back. If it is a reasonable offer tell her to send you a MO you will cash it then mail her the laptop.

 

[Jon187]

I think ya got it backwards Mallow, she has the laptop for sale, not him...

 

[ThaGrandCow]

You could use one of the escrow services.

 

[MagicSalsa]

if you use an escrow make sure your the one who chooses one, i've heard stories of fake escrow services used to scam people

 

[AnyMal]

don't do it. there are plenty laptops at good prices right here in USA, you just have to look.

 

[DannyBoy]

This is the spec shes given me and i think its FAR too good to be true for 800 GBP


Processor
Intel Pentium 4 3.06 Ghz
533 Mhz External Bus Frequency

Memory
1024 MB DDR SDRAM
512KB On-Die L2 Cache
64 Bit Data Bus System Memory
Sony Memory Stick Slot
Two DIMM sockets
BIOS
256KB Flash ROM
Phoenix BIOS with Plug & Play

Disk Storage
Built-In 2.5" Hard Disk Drive 60 GB (5400)
Ultra ATA/100 Hard Disk Drive
Built-in 3.5" 1.44MB FDD Drive
Flexible Media Bay

DVD-ROM,
or CDRW Drive
8X16X10X24X Max. Variable for DVD/CDRW Combo Drive.
Modular Bay will hold Optional 2nd ROM Drive or 2nd
Hard Drive (Optional)

Modular Bays
Built-in TV-Tuner with Multi-Function Remote Control
1 portable MP-3 Player with 32MB SD Memory Card
(Upgradable to 64 MB or 128MB SD Memory
Card)
1 Smart Bay for Optional Secondary Hard Drive or
CD/DVD/CDRW Drive

Displa
16.1" 1600 x 1200 UXGA TFT Active Matrix Display
128MB DDR Video SDRAM
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (demo)
ATI HYPER Z technology
PIXEL TAPESTRY architecture
Supports MPEG II playback of 32 frames per sec
Video Capture Support
CRT: Support up to 1600 x 1200, 16M Colors
Supports two DIFFERENT applications open at one
time; one on the External Monitor, and one on the
Laptop Screen

Audio
1 Built-in Microphone
2 Built-in Speakers
AC 97 Compliant, AC-3 Virtualization MRTF 3D
Positional Audio, Direct Sound 3D Acceleration
Detachable MP3 Player w/Storage Disk w/up to 128MB SD
Memory S/PDIF Digital output (5.1 CH) for DVD Content
Built-in Front Panel Audio DJ
Sound Blaster compatible
Wavetable 3D Stereo Audio

PCMCIA Slot
2 PCMCIA Type II & 1 Type III
Card Bus Support

Input Device
Full Size 102 Keys Win 95 Keyboard with Integreted
numeric keypad
Integrated Touchpad Pointing Device with Scrolling
Key

Interfaces
IEEE 1394 Port
Fast Infrared (FIR), IrDA 1.1 Compliant, Support 4M
Bit FIR
4 USB (Universal Serial Bus) Ports (2.0!)
Serial Port
Parallel Port with ECP/EPP Support
External Keyboard/Mouse Ports
External CRT Port
Kensington Lock Port
S-Video Jack for TV Output
Coaxial TV -tuner Input
1 S-video Jack for Video-in
Optional Internal 802.11b Mini PCI Wireless Card
(Wi-Fi)
3 Audio Jacks for Line-In, Line-Out and Microphone-In
and S/PDIF-Out
Built-in 56K V90 Fax/Modem and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
LAN Card- 1 Sony Memory Stick Slot

Power System
Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery
Full Range 110-220V AC, 50-60Hz Auto Sensing Auto
Switching
Operating System
Windows XP Home

I wait your mail to let me know if we complet the deal
Thank you


Sheesh she cant even spell complete properly

I am however looking for a laptop w/ a similar spec to this for around 1k GBP.

Anyone?

Thanks
dan

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: AnyMal
don't do it. there are plenty laptops at good prices right here in USA, you just have to look.

Im in UK mate.

If anyones willing to ship to UK for me a decent priced laptop with similar spec then please tell me now

In response to:

Have her meet you half-way in person, somewhere in Greenland I figure.

PMSL!

 

[NetworkDad]

escrow.

 

[ActuaryTm]

This machine sounds strikingly similar to this Sager model.

 

[XCLAN]

<-----------------------------was robbed 900$ on ebay and the guy ended up in jail. i didnt get squat.

 

[SilverThief]

I just got fvcked royally from a person on ebay.
I wouldnt/wont trust anyone there again.

:|

 

[emmpee]

DONT buy/sell ANYTHING unless it is through an actual ebay auction. I sold a laptop on ebay a while back, and a guy with a similar username impersonated me by contacting all of my non-winning bidders and offering them "the same laptop" at roughly half price, but he needed paypal "very quickly". so again, do NOT trust people that randomly email you.

 

[DalyTek]

Unless, of course, she's willing to ship the laptop to you first. Spring on that, if that's the case. Otherwise, avoid her like the plague.

 

[Jeff7]

Oh, maybe you could ask her if it's a tower case. Someone else posted a thread in OT about a scammer on eBay; he asked the seller if it had a tower case, and "yes it does." Someone else also asked "I'd like to upgrade my 2400 kilobaud internet connection to a fiber optic T1 line..." and whatever else it was that comic book guy in The Simpsons said - "yes, it can do that." I bet this thing would have made coffee too had someone asked that.

 

[labgeek]

A common ploy for out of the country large auctions is them saying that you can wire the money to someone else's name you make up. You give them the tx number and once the confirm it they'll ship. They'll claim that since they don't have the name or the person, nor thier ID, they can't pick it up from Western Union or whereever. Once you receive the product, you go back to WU and change the recipient. Well, they usually have someone on the inside, and they do pick up the money, and you SOL. In short, unless you get your hands on the product first, don't even consider it.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Rome? Yea right....never ship out of country

 

[brigden]

If I was going to rip you off, I'd be nice to you too.

 

[Mallow]

Originally posted by: Jon187
I think ya got it backwards Mallow, she has the laptop for sale, not him...

lol, doh!

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: brigden
If I was going to rip you off, I'd be nice to you too.

Lol exactly.

Its a shame really, some of these deals are amazing.

I mean jesus, i didnt even know you could get a 3.06 P4 laptop,

I mean comon ffs.

At 3.06 the battery would drain in 10 mins.

It probably runs at like 2ghz "Speedstep" constantly or something real gay like that.

 

[slycat]

Ebay is the ultimate scam camp so be super crazy paranoid when dealing with people there...