Book Reader Scam on eBay

Tom Swift · 11-28-2006, 08:53 AM

I have been watching eBay for a Book Reader, since I am overseas. I found an auction for one with a message saying that it would cost $250 for the reader but to contact him off site. Also, there was a strange picture in the auction and it was in the wrong location. I emailed him and got this in return.

Hi, the system is new in box, 1 year warranty, comes with all accesories. My paypal adress is unavailable at this time and i require the payment through western union money transfer. I will ship within 24 hours after the payment is done using the UPS Air Services so you may receive the unit in less then 72 hours.
For our protection we will do this deal trough ebay and our transaction will be supervised by ebay safe harbour team.

The total amount is 250 $ including the shipping and insurance fees.

If you wish to start the transaction i will need the following info :

Ebay Username :
First Name :
Last name :
Address :
City :
State :
Country :
Zip Code :
Email address :

I will contact ebay as soon as i receive the info. In shortly time you will receive an invoice from ebay. You must read carefully the invoice. There you will have all instructions about payment.

Regards

Yep, I fell of the turnip truck yesterday. I know a fun thing to do is to string these guy along but I can't be bothered. I would put a link to the eBay auction but they removed it.

The search continues.

HarryT · 11-28-2006, 09:50 AM

I bought mine from eBay, but at a premium - US$450. That seems to be about the going rate. The guy I bought mine from seemed to be selling lots of them, and was very good to deal with. His eBay ID is "epicnovel". Might be worth seeing if he has any active auctions for them.

William Moates · 11-28-2006, 09:11 PM

Don't forget, there are people on this forum who are willing to buy Readers and ship them overseas. You can search the threads here, or you can try the Flea Market thread. I don't know how well you can trust the people on eBay--or here, for that matter.

It usually helps to have incriminating photos.

Tom Swift · 11-28-2006, 09:16 PM

I watch eBay more for interest sake; to follow the marking asking price. I am still holding out in hopes of finding a Chinese model (where I live now) that is reasonably priced. I don't want to get a V8 if the V2 will be out soon and the StarEBook seems too proprietary and expensive. I still may get a Sony but I will wait for the price to drop. Now, if Amazon releases theirs for $50...

Tom Swift · 11-29-2006, 01:45 AM

What I find funny about the eBay auctions is that most of the readers for sale are shipping to US only. Now why would an American, who can walk into a Borders store or one of the online dealers, pay a premium for one of these? The eBay market is only useful to foreign buyers who cannot purchase one from Sony, yet most of the ads restrict them from bidding. Makes no sense whatsoever.

HarryT · 11-29-2006, 03:24 AM

Is the Reader widely available in stock in shops in the US? I see that Sony's on-line store is quoting a ship time of several weeks, and I assumed that this was the reason they were selling on eBay for prices higher than retail.

stxopher · 11-29-2006, 07:47 AM

Perhaps they are more available than people think. I found 3 places in town that had them for sale (when Sony was saying 4-6 weeks for online). Two Borders and a CompUSA.

None of them had a display and only one even knew they had them. I picked mine up at the CompUSA but it was a bit of a search. After spending 10 minutes looking around for a display, unit on a stand, sign, map fragment, anything, I asked a clerk (who had never heard of it) who looked it up, agreed that they should have that "Sony book thing" and called a floor manager.

We finally found them in the PDA area case (makes sense), on the bottom, behind the counter. Behind some other Sony items. Managers response? "Guess they got moved there because no one was buying them."

The moral? Ask! And if you have heard that a particular chain carries them (or will carry them) have them check their inventory. Heck, even Sonys site only listed one of the locations as having them so even that is pretty unreliable.

Leaping Gnome · 11-29-2006, 10:22 AM

Many people when selling on eBay say US only because there is a market for the goods here and they don't want to deal with the hassle and scams of trying to ship to foreign addresses. Here anyway it is harder to ship out of the country, has variable fees making it harder to quote shipping rates and you have to worry about customs. If you can sell the goods internally for the same price with less hassle, why not say US only?

As for the cost, if you buy the reader here for $350 + tax (say 6% = $21) + international shipping and packing (say $15) + paypal fees (about $16) + ebay fees (about $16), that is around $420 to just break even, so the $450 price is pretty reasonable. $500, not so much.

Jake · 11-29-2006, 10:25 AM

Compusa.com had these in stock as of yesterday anyway - in fact my partner ordered one from them a few days ago and it shipped next day!

HarryT · 11-29-2006, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leaping Gnome

As for the cost, if you buy the reader here for $350 + tax (say 6% = $21) + international shipping and packing (say $15) + paypal fees (about $16) + ebay fees (about $16), that is around $420 to just break even, so the $450 price is pretty reasonable. $500, not so much.

I paid $450 + $35 "priority shipping" to the UK, plus another $130 import duties and VAT when it got here; that's a total of $615. I think it was worth every penny

.

NatCh · 11-29-2006, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stxopher

We finally found them in the PDA area case (makes sense), on the bottom, behind the counter. Behind some other Sony items.

What? No "Beware of the Leopard" sign? I'm disappointed.

William Moates · 11-29-2006, 07:01 PM

Jeez, I didn't catch the reference and had to google it! Sounds like I need to reread HHG, one of my most favorite books. It was the first book when, while reading it, I would quote passages to my friends. Ahh, good times.

NatCh · 11-29-2006, 08:11 PM

That's probably my favorite line of all time ... except maybe for: "you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."

William Moates · 11-29-2006, 11:42 PM

The Princess Bride

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

NatCh · 11-30-2006, 11:36 AM

Yup, you got it in one.

11-28-2006, 08:53 AM	#1
Tom Swift Addict Posts: 252 Karma: 1232346 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Macau Device: Kindle Oasis (plus lots of older devices)	Book Reader Scam on eBay I have been watching eBay for a Book Reader, since I am overseas. I found an auction for one with a message saying that it would cost $250 for the reader but to contact him off site. Also, there was a strange picture in the auction and it was in the wrong location. I emailed him and got this in return. Hi, the system is new in box, 1 year warranty, comes with all accesories. My paypal adress is unavailable at this time and i require the payment through western union money transfer. I will ship within 24 hours after the payment is done using the UPS Air Services so you may receive the unit in less then 72 hours. For our protection we will do this deal trough ebay and our transaction will be supervised by ebay safe harbour team. The total amount is 250 $ including the shipping and insurance fees. If you wish to start the transaction i will need the following info : Ebay Username : First Name : Last name : Address : City : State : Country : Zip Code : Email address : I will contact ebay as soon as i receive the info. In shortly time you will receive an invoice from ebay. You must read carefully the invoice. There you will have all instructions about payment. Regards Yep, I fell of the turnip truck yesterday. I know a fun thing to do is to string these guy along but I can't be bothered. I would put a link to the eBay auction but they removed it. The search continues.

11-29-2006, 07:01 PM	#12
William Moates Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 35 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greensboro, NC Device: Sony Librie / Sony Clie / Sony Reader	Jeez, I didn't catch the reference and had to google it! Sounds like I need to reread HHG, one of my most favorite books. It was the first book when, while reading it, I would quote passages to my friends. Ahh, good times. Last edited by William Moates; 11-29-2006 at 07:04 PM. Reason: Must everything have a reason?

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11-28-2006, 09:50 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I bought mine from eBay, but at a premium - US$450. That seems to be about the going rate. The guy I bought mine from seemed to be selling lots of them, and was very good to deal with. His eBay ID is "epicnovel". Might be worth seeing if he has any active auctions for them.

11-28-2006, 09:11 PM	#3
William Moates Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 35 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greensboro, NC Device: Sony Librie / Sony Clie / Sony Reader	Don't forget, there are people on this forum who are willing to buy Readers and ship them overseas. You can search the threads here, or you can try the Flea Market thread. I don't know how well you can trust the people on eBay--or here, for that matter. It usually helps to have incriminating photos.

11-28-2006, 09:16 PM	#4
Tom Swift Addict Posts: 252 Karma: 1232346 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Macau Device: Kindle Oasis (plus lots of older devices)	I watch eBay more for interest sake; to follow the marking asking price. I am still holding out in hopes of finding a Chinese model (where I live now) that is reasonably priced. I don't want to get a V8 if the V2 will be out soon and the StarEBook seems too proprietary and expensive. I still may get a Sony but I will wait for the price to drop. Now, if Amazon releases theirs for $50...

11-29-2006, 01:45 AM	#5
Tom Swift Addict Posts: 252 Karma: 1232346 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Macau Device: Kindle Oasis (plus lots of older devices)	What I find funny about the eBay auctions is that most of the readers for sale are shipping to US only. Now why would an American, who can walk into a Borders store or one of the online dealers, pay a premium for one of these? The eBay market is only useful to foreign buyers who cannot purchase one from Sony, yet most of the ads restrict them from bidding. Makes no sense whatsoever.

11-29-2006, 03:24 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Is the Reader widely available in stock in shops in the US? I see that Sony's on-line store is quoting a ship time of several weeks, and I assumed that this was the reason they were selling on eBay for prices higher than retail.

11-29-2006, 07:47 AM	#7
stxopher Nameless Being	Perhaps they are more available than people think. I found 3 places in town that had them for sale (when Sony was saying 4-6 weeks for online). Two Borders and a CompUSA. None of them had a display and only one even knew they had them. I picked mine up at the CompUSA but it was a bit of a search. After spending 10 minutes looking around for a display, unit on a stand, sign, map fragment, anything, I asked a clerk (who had never heard of it) who looked it up, agreed that they should have that "Sony book thing" and called a floor manager. We finally found them in the PDA area case (makes sense), on the bottom, behind the counter. Behind some other Sony items. Managers response? "Guess they got moved there because no one was buying them." The moral? Ask! And if you have heard that a particular chain carries them (or will carry them) have them check their inventory. Heck, even Sonys site only listed one of the locations as having them so even that is pretty unreliable.

11-29-2006, 10:22 AM	#8
Leaping Gnome Evangelist Posts: 490 Karma: 1641 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Louisville Device: Sony Reader PRS-500	Many people when selling on eBay say US only because there is a market for the goods here and they don't want to deal with the hassle and scams of trying to ship to foreign addresses. Here anyway it is harder to ship out of the country, has variable fees making it harder to quote shipping rates and you have to worry about customs. If you can sell the goods internally for the same price with less hassle, why not say US only? As for the cost, if you buy the reader here for $350 + tax (say 6% = $21) + international shipping and packing (say $15) + paypal fees (about $16) + ebay fees (about $16), that is around $420 to just break even, so the $450 price is pretty reasonable. $500, not so much.

11-29-2006, 10:25 AM	#9
Jake Renaissance Man Posts: 45 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Seattle Device: Sony Reader	Compusa.com had these in stock as of yesterday anyway - in fact my partner ordered one from them a few days ago and it shipped next day!

11-29-2006, 08:11 PM	#13
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	That's probably my favorite line of all time ... except maybe for: "you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."

11-29-2006, 11:42 PM	#14
William Moates Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 35 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greensboro, NC Device: Sony Librie / Sony Clie / Sony Reader	The Princess Bride "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

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11-30-2006, 11:36 AM	#15
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Yup, you got it in one.