# eBay story, scamming the scammers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292 "2010-12-15T22:49:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/41 "2010-12-17T12:57:56Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > eBay disputes are a pain in the butt. She will give him a negative rating and ruin his feedback score even if she’s in the wrong. He could have left it simple and not let her know he was the original seller. That line about it not being a car dealership is just too pat. A single negative no longer ruins a seller’s feedback score. Heck, I’ve yet to see a power seller that doesn’t have at least one. But I agree that the ending is a bit pat. Whether that means the whole thing is made up, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/42 "2010-12-17T13:53:14Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I think the story is fake. > > 1. There is no way that the fake buyer could have gotten her email address off of eBay. The only person for whom the email address is visible is the seller. There is absolutely no way to contact an auction participant unless you are the seller or buyer. Why didn’t she know that? It’s quite plain. I was thinking this myself yesterday - by rights, she should have been very suspicious of the fake buyer created by the seller, because it shouldn’t be possible for a third party to identify and contact the winner in an auction. However, maybe she just doesn’t understand that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/43 "2010-12-17T13:54:40Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > 1. He isn’t open to her craziness, she doesn’t know where lives or his name or anything useful. Can’t a buyer or seller request the contact details of the other party in a transaction? I thought this was possible. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/44 "2010-12-17T14:07:57Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Can’t a buyer or seller request the contact details of the other party in a transaction? I thought this was possible. It used to be, but not any longer. So back in the olden days, you could request anyone’s contact information for whatever reason you wanted. All sorts of back-door deals could ensue. And since this story didn’t say how old it was, it definitely could have happened like written. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/45 "2010-12-17T16:11:53Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > It used to be, but not any longer. So back in the olden days, you could request anyone’s contact information for whatever reason you wanted. I know that, but I thought it was still possible for a seller to pull the contact details of a buyer, and vice versa, if they are in a transaction (which, if true, does mean the angry buyer could track down the crafty seller here) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/46 "2010-12-17T16:32:47Z")
Don’t know if it’s fake, but the seller’s only mistake was letting the buyer know he was the fake buyer. Now he has to watch out for this crazy woman. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292/47 "2010-12-17T16:44:38Z")
I find the story a little Too Perfect. The buyer was selfish, nasty and rude in all ways. She was acting purely out of greed. Whereas the seller was just a regular guy who acted like a perfect gentleman. And the line about the car dealership providing a great zinger at the end of the story was also too perfect. It’s probably fake or, if true, highly embellished. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-story-scamming-the-scammers/564292.md?page=2)