Found an item I want on eBay for a very good price. Seller does not have Buy It Now button, and says that it’s due to two non-paying Buy-It-Now bidders. He says he’ll end the auction early for a certain price.
I went to PayPal (he says he accepts it) and entered his e-mail address as the recipient and $1 for a Goods/non-auction item. When I hit Continue, it said he is not a registered user. :dubious:
He has 101 feedbacks, two of which are negative. There are multiple feedbacks from the same user. That is, three feedbacks from the same buyer for three identical items ending seconds apart. There are several multiple-buyer feedback sets (including the two negatives). :dubious: :dubious:
From what I’ve seen, his other sales were for LSAT books. This is the only camera I’ve found that he’s selling. (I haven’t checked all of the current links; but the ones I did check were for LSAT books.) :dubious:
So I’m looking at this expensive camera that’s selling for half of what similar ones sold for. (Or a third, for a couple of them. And for 1/6 what it would cost from a camera store.) No batteries or charger. Only a prime lens. Still, an incredible price. That’s why I’m thinking of spending money I don’t have for it, and pay over time on a credit card.
Suppose he’s a scammer? I think PayPal only offers $1,000 protection. Do credit card companies (Visa) have fraud protection? Suppose I buy it and request overnight shipping. If I don’t get it, will Visa refund my stolen money? What kind of protection do I have?
Yeah, skip this item. Take it from someone who’s done a lot of buying on eBay. If something smells funny, it’s not worth the potential hassle after the sale. Also, I don’t recommend buying a really pricey item via eBay without a lot of confidence that the seller is totally legit. You do get some protection if you charge to your credit card, but it does not mean that it will be a pleasant experience to get a credit card chargeback. On eBay, when in doubt, let it go.
Just got off the phone with USAA. They said that if I pay through PayPal (or otherwise use my credit card for a purchase – no way I’d give it to this guy directly, BTW) I’m authorising the transaction. If I don’t receive the item I would have to file a dispute. That takes 30-45 days, and they can’t forecast which way the resolution team will decide.
There’s another Aaton XTR with no lens for $5,300 (current bid). One sold recently for $9,600 (with a PL mount and Arri baseplate, no lens) and another sold for $8,200 (no lens, probable Arri matte box – which is more than double the price of a Chrosziel). The one for $5,300 (current bid) is from Sweden. The seller does not have any feedback, but his handle is sameisellarri. His photos look like isellarri’s photos (whom I’ve dealt with before, a few years ago). Could be the same guy. Visual Products, a reputable company in Ohio, sells XTRs for about $24,000 with a zoom lens and a warranty.
I wonder if private sellers are going to DV? Prices on these cameras seem to be coming down.
Johnny
If you have to ask, then I think you know the answer. I suspect that you do not have these kind of funds to kiss off in the event that this deal goes south.
My suggestion is run. Run fast, run far.
That’s true. But I’m not going to be unemployed forever! And with an Aaton, I’d have a better chance of getting hired for local produtions than I have with my Éclair.
I guess you guys are right though. I’ll have some money when mom’s estate is settled, and they did make more than one XTR. And if prices are coming down under $10K, they might be lower in a few months. Still, it’s a great deal if it’s legit. I can change the mount on my Zeiss, and I’ll have the Zeiss 50mm f1.4 too. If it’s still available tomorrow, I’ll call the dispute resolution department to see what they say about a fraudulent seller.
Did he give you the ID to try on PayPal? It may just be that his PayPal account is set up with a different email account from the one that he uses for day-to-day contact (mine is set up this way simply because I had the PayPal account before I got my own domain for email.
Just my two cents, but if this guy is a legitmate seller, he should be able to work with you to alleviate your concerns. Trying to get reimbursed after getting ripped off is certainly possible, but an *incredible hassle.
Checked this morning, and the camera is no longer there. And I got an e-mail from eBay. It doesn’t say, ‘This guy is a scammer’; but it says that sometimes eBay accounts are used to commit fraud. (They knew I contacted the guy because, naturally, I used the ‘ask seller a question’ button.)
My instincts were right, and all of you were right. But I was sorely tempted! :mad: that someone would use a cine camera as bait!
