Has anyone ever dealt with a proposed purchase via ebay where the goods have been put on hold/reserv

[margarewhitfiel_0]

I have responded to an newspaper ad for the sale of a motor home. The seller told me that the vehicle has been put on hold/reserve for me through ebay and that the purchase will be made through ebay with them holding the funds, via Commonwealth Bank Trust until confirmation from me that I accept the vehicle.

However, the emails I have received regarding the purchase have supposedly been from ebay but there is no insignia on the emails and no item number given. And apparently because the vehicle sale has been placed on hold it is not viewable on ebay.

Also, a livechat was arranged but it was not conducted through the ebay site but from support@livechatinc.com

I don't know if this is a genuine deal or not. The email address for the correspondence from ebay was ebay@ebay.dealsdepartment.com.au.

So, has anyone ever purchased items via ebay in this manner? I did contact the help department here and was told to ignore the emails but the response to that from the seller was that I had 'reached a different department'

I have only just registered with ebay so don't really know how everything works, but this just sounds suspicious to me. I would really appreciate it if anyone who has had the same experience or knows more about the workings of ebay could give their advice.

Thank you.

Margaret

[sacramentalstoles · Accepted solution]

It's dodgy...don't pay anything to them - you'll lose your money.

You'll find the ad has been stolen from another listing attempting to sound 'safe' to you...it's not!!

It's a scam

[lyndal1838 · Accepted solution]

Treat it as a SCAM.

While motor vehicles are treated differently to other ebay listings (paypal not required etc) ebay does not get involved in any reserves or holds.

And ebay items are not advertised in the newspapers.

For your own safety please buy a few small/cheap items to get a feel for trading on ebay.  And read the Site Map and the boards to learn as much as you can about the site before you have any buying disasters.

I suggest you read the ebay Motors board to see what sort of scams are going around.

I hope you have not given out any personal details to the "seller"....as a rule of  thumb never click on a link  in an email from ebay or paypal.  Always go to your accounts directly and log in.

If you have given out any details then change your passwords and run a virus scan on your computer.

[enigmabear · Accepted solution]

Do not touch it was a 200 foot pole

100% scam

[kopenhagen5 · Accepted solution]

Run for the hills Margaret.  SCAM.

Don't make any large purchases without inspecting the item first.

Unlike a large business with premises, you never know who is on the other end when online.

[go-tazz · Accepted solution]

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@margarewhitfiel_0 wrote:

I have responded to an newspaper ad for the sale of a motor home. The seller told me that the vehicle has been put on hold/reserve for me through ebay and that the purchase will be made through ebay with them holding the funds, via Commonwealth Bank Trust until confirmation from me that I accept the vehicle.

Please report the add to the police so that they may be able to act to catch the scammer.

However, the emails I have received regarding the purchase have supposedly been from ebay but there is no insignia on the emails and no item number given. And apparently because the vehicle sale has been placed on hold it is not viewable on ebay.

That's because they aren't done via eBay.

Also, a livechat was arranged but it was not conducted through the ebay site but from support@livechatinc.com

Did you give them any personnel information?

I don't know if this is a genuine deal or not. The email address for the correspondence from ebay was ebay@ebay.dealsdepartment.com.au.

That means they have your Email address so you need to be careful of any correspondence

that you receive in the future,(as they may be phishing Emails or they will contain a link and your

computer may get infected via a Trojan or Keylogger).

So, has anyone ever purchased items via ebay in this manner? I did contact the help department here and was told to ignore the emails but the response to that from the seller was that I had 'reached a different department'

That's because they have nothing to do with eBay.

I have only just registered with ebay so don't really know how everything works, but this just sounds suspicious to me. I would really appreciate it if anyone who has had the same experience or knows more about the workings of ebay could give their advice.

Don't buy anything on this site that has a value that you can not afford to lose until you know

how this site works,(buy smaller things so that you get some idea on how the site works).

Come to the discussion boards if you have any further suspect buys or to just get help on

anything related to eBay.

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Please warn all your friends about this scammer so that they don't fall into a similar trap.

[janeababe]

it posted twice... *sigh*

[janeababe · Accepted solution]

Gee.....

I wonder if this ebayer will come back to acknowledge that they have read all this advice  ?

I'm getting naffed at the zero feedbackers / 1 post messages, popping up here, asking for help, then never returning!

Goes into my GGrrrr basket along with 2yr+ posts being rehashed to life!

off topic...sorry.

On topic: ITS A SCAM.... blind freddy in a dark room could see that!

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

What the others have said. Scam.

I'll go further. Don't ever pay one cent for a car, motor home, anything like that, that you have not personally been to look at & examine for yourself.

There is a lot of scamming going on with various types of motor vehicles at the moment, not just on ebay but in newspapers, the car sales sites etc

What happens is people get interested in a car that may be interstate or a fair distance away, whatever.

The buyer may even list that they live locally but there will always be some reason why you can't view the car right at that moment.

But they'll take your money and get it to you, so they say.

Usually there is no car at all (or in your case motor home). They steal the photos from other legitimate ads, then advertise it as their own & at a very reasonable price so they attract interest and with luck, someone who won't know any better & who will pay over the money.

Apparently it is rife, I read in newspapers about police concerns.

So don't buy from anywhere at all without seeing the motor home & papers first.

[margarewhitfiel_0]

Yeah, worked out it was very dodgy and ceased all communication. Thanks very much for your response.