Be careful...

I've been on ebay for a few years now and I am always suspicious of certain sellers. My suspicions may be wrong but I still express them anyway as I have seen many scammers come and go.
My concerns are for this auction:

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sideshow-Wet...618351676QQcategoryZ29799QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Why?
No Paypal (accepts Paypal on other auctions)
No statue number
Hidden ID

He also bought this one last week from Big Al:

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sideshow-Wet...615481566QQcategoryZ29799QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know what everyone else thinks but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... it normally is a duck.

Notice how all his other auctions for weta pieces state 'MINT IN BOX' in title however this one doesn't even say it in the description or anything!!

The fotos are pretty far away too.

Something fishy

This seller has a pretty wide resume for buying, I think they have purchased from me a few times.

Not really a bargain price ...

And to have them all huddled up on cardboard ...

I am not saying this is a scam, but those things certainly stick out to me.

What is also worth noting, as I pointed out a while back, is that he has two IDs and he has bid on one of his own auctions (sideshow-weta) using his cutlao's account. He also bought the damaged Balrog with his sideshow-weta account which sends alarm bells ringing in my head too.

I also get aggravated with sellers who list an item you want (say, a Cave Troll statue), accept bids on it for several days, then cancel all the bids and pull the auctions. Usually this indicates the seller has made a deal to sell the item off ebay and avoid the fees. Has this ever happened to you? Not a very honest way of conducting business, IMO.

The easiest way to make yourself a hero, is to make others look like criminals.

warlock664 said:

I also get aggravated with sellers who list an item you want (say, a Cave Troll statue), accept bids on it for several days, then cancel all the bids and pull the auctions. Usually this indicates the seller has made a deal to sell the item off ebay and avoid the fees. Has this ever happened to you? Not a very honest way of conducting business, IMO.

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Why isn't it honest? I state that it is advertised elsewhere and, unless you are lacking in intelligence, it is blatantly obvious that it may be withdrawn if it does sell elsewhere. Ebay is but one of the means of selling an item. Trying to maximise sales is what 99% of sellers aim to achieve. If you don't like the strategies, you don't have to bid.

Hells of Iron said:

The easiest way to make yourself a hero, is to make others look like criminals.

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Did you get that from a chinese fortune cookie?

CaptainCaveTroll said:

Why isn't it honest? I state that it is advertised elsewhere and, unless you are lacking in intelligence, it is blatantly obvious that it may be withdrawn if it does sell elsewhere. Ebay is but one of the means of selling an item. Trying to maximise sales is what 99% of sellers aim to achieve. If you don't like the strategies, you don't have to bid.

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On the other hand , If you're wanting to sell something for a specific price, don't put it on an auction site with a very low starting bid. I agree with warlock. Because as bidders , you're always hoping on a nice price. And now you just never know what's gonna happen. You might follow the item for a few days and than WHOOP! it's gone! It's just irritating.

Just put it down for a minimum starting price you want to have. That way everyone knows where he's at. All IMHO ofcourse.

Xeno said:

On the other hand , If you're wanting to sell something for a specific price, don't put it on an auction site with a very low starting bid. I agree with warlock. Because as bidders , you're always hoping on a nice price. And now you just never know what's gonna happen. You might follow the item for a few days and than WHOOP! it's gone! It's just irritating.

Just put it down for a minimum starting price you want to have. That way everyone knows where he's at. All IMHO ofcourse.

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I fully appreciate what you both of saying and it has happened to me on several occasions but such is life. If you put a high starting price, you don't generate as much interest as when you start it at a low price. An alternative would be to place a reserve on it but Paypal charge extortionate fees on this and, if you sell it elsewhere, the fees have been lost.

This is the way in which I operate and there is no obligation to bid or even watch my auctions. When I want something, I will often try to secure it with a buy it now price. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I am one of those people that pursues something when I want it while others may be more laid back and consequently miss out.

CaptainCaveTroll said:

Why isn't it honest? I state that it is advertised elsewhere and, unless you are lacking in intelligence, it is blatantly obvious that it may be withdrawn if it does sell elsewhere.

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It is DISHONEST because it circumvents ebay rules; you are using their site, basically, as free advertising (less the negligible listing fees) for your item, to enhance your opportunities to sell at a higher price, then avoiding the payment of fees to ebay for use of their site as a tool to sell it. Hey, I realize ebay fees are considerable in cases with high-price items, but if you use them to help sell an item, you should play by their rules. This is CLEARLY A VIOLATION OF THEIR POSTED RULES. If you don't see that, it is YOU, sir, who are "lacking in intelligence".

What bums me out, is if a auction gets cancelled just before the end, because the seller sees that the price isn't high enough yet. It's happened to me a couple of times.
If you gamble with a low starting bid, don't back out of it if it doesn't work.

warlock664 said:

It is DISHONEST because it circumvents ebay rules; you are using their site, basically, as free advertising (less the negligible listing fees) for your item, to enhance your opportunities to sell at a higher price, then avoiding the payment of fees to ebay for use of their site as a tool to sell it. Hey, I realize ebay fees are considerable in cases with high-price items, but if you use them to help sell an item, you should play by their rules. This is CLEARLY A VIOLATION OF THEIR POSTED RULES. If you don't see that, it is YOU, sir, who are "lacking in intelligence".

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I would beg to disagree. One of the options for ending a listing is 'The item is no longer available for sale'. If it does sell elsewhere, I will end the listing. If it doesn't sell, it will remain on ebay. As I said, ebay is not the only means of selling an item and anyone who wishes to sell their items should be advertising in multiple arenas.

You can state your opinion and I can state mine. None of us will change the other's mind. All I would say is that I have had dealings with plenty of decent collectors and one or two ebayers who disagree with my marketing strategies won't cause me any sleepless nights.

CaptainCaveTroll said:

I would beg to disagree. One of the options for ending a listing is 'The item is no longer available for sale'. If it does sell elsewhere, I will end the listing. If it doesn't sell, it will remain on ebay. As I said, ebay is not the only means of selling an item and anyone who wishes to sell their items should be advertising in multiple arenas.

You can state your opinion and I can state mine. None of us will change the other's mind. All I would say is that I have had dealings with plenty of decent collectors and one or two ebayers who disagree with my marketing strategies won't cause me any sleepless nights.

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I wouldn't consider my statement an OPINION; ebay's policy is that you can't use their site to advertise an item that you end up selling off their site, to a buyer who was made aware of it through an auction listing. If you can honestly say that you have NEVER sold an item off ebay to a buyer who was made aware of it from your auction listing, then that isn't a violation, technically (in other words, you can claim the buyer was aware of the item because you mentioned it in the "for sale" section on this very board, and not from ebay). But if you have ever ended an auction as "item no longer available", and sold it to someone who learned about it from the ebay listing, that IS a violation. You may use this as part of your "marketing strategy", but it's not allowable by ebay rules. Clearly, anyone using these tactics to sell an item is trying to maximize their return on the item, and avoid the Final Value Fees ebay assesses. Listing an item on ebay that you have no intention to sell through that venue, just to maximize exposure and troll for offers, is wrong.

Also, I puposely avoided pointing a finger at ANYONE in particular in my initial post; I was merely identifying another ebay seller tactic that I find suspicious. Why did you feel the need to defend this particular selling tactic? You started this thread as a means to cast doubts on the character of a SPECIFIC seller, based on "suspicions" you have. I believe your exact words were "...I am always suspicious of certain sellers. My suspicions may be wrong but I still express them anyway..." There's a well-known saying about "people who live in glass houses..."

warlock664 said:

There's a well-known saying about "people who live in glass houses..."

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As I don't 'live in a glass house', that particular saying is not relevant to me. I know that I do abide by ebay policies so I have no qualms about what I do. As for not directing it anyone, it was made directly after my post and I happened to be selling a Cave Troll so it is a bit of a coincidence. Anyway, I need to go now as I have a life to lead...

I just got an email from the seller stating the one he is selling is #697/1000 the broken one he bought was 909.

I get the feeling he already had one and will be shipping out the new (busted)one with his old base. I feel sorry for the buyer if that happens.

That was exactly my suspicion. Otherwise, why make the bidding private?

I bet ya sideshow-weta was a prominent bidder throughout!

I bet he was the penultimate bidder too!!!

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lord-of-the-...049411846QQcategoryZ52337QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sorry for opening old wounds, but this is advertising on ebay

ifu03612 said:

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lord-of-the-...049411846QQcategoryZ52337QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sorry for opening old wounds, but this is advertising on ebay

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I think that is for ToyBiz ....