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I'm a regular user of Ebay. Here's how to spot the scams: They stipulate that the bidder must be "pre-approved". When you contact them, they will tell you to send them a Western Union money transfer, to do the deal. By doing this, they avoid all the normal "protections" of buying through Ebay/PayPal/Credit cards. Some of them will even suggest using an "escrow" service, but, unless it is through Escrow.com, or another well known, well established escrow service, BEWARE, as some of them have set up phony escrow websites, that look very legit, but are just scams also! If you are ever unsure about a deal, just request that the deal be done through Escrow.com. That way, the escrow service holds your money till the merchandise is received, and both you and the seller are protected. Any time anyone suggests using a Western Union transfer, or any other method of payment other than PayPal, Postal Money-order or certified check, BEWARE. (Even if you use a credit card to pay for the Western Union transfer, you have no protection, because the credit-card protection ends when Western Union receives the money, and it is the same as if you are sending cash.) And I would recommend not dealing with anyone outside of the United States- as there is nothing you can do if it turns out to be a scam. I've been selling relatively big-ticket items on Ebay (recently sold a truck for $13,000) and have not had any problems.....but always be leary of anyone who mentions Western Union, or an unknown Escrow service....or any other means of avoiding the normal protective mechanisms. If you send money to Europe via Western Union, you'll never see your money again, nor receive what you paid for. With a little common sense, Ebay trading can be a great way to do business. Another hint: Look at the sellers feedback, and see what kind of items he sold in the past. I looked at one "too good to be true" tractor auction recently (a new John Deere compact tractor for $2500 included shipping!)....and the sellers feedback was 100% positive- but when I looked at what he had sold in the past- it was all small, cheap stuuf, like CD's and books. I figured something was wrong- either he sold some small things, just to build a good feedback- or he was hijacking someone elses I.D. And sure enough, when I contacted the guy, turns out he was in Luxemburg(!) and wanted a Western Union transfer! (and would not accept Escrow.com, as "He needed the money right away") The next day, Ebay pulled this guys auctions and banned him. And...oh, yeah, usually the scammers will use someone elses pictures (as they dont actually have the item being offered)- or even pictures from a dealer website, etc. (This particular guy was using someones pictures from a legitimate auction a few pages down!- the real tractor had a starting price of $12,000)
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