Fraud

[arm_chair_seller]

At least once a week I am seeing coffee machines being listed by sellers which are only registered on that day and therefore have zero feedback. The items are about 50% of normal price. Each time I see these listings I report them and about a hour later they disappear.

I am not sure how the scam works, prehaps they request payment outside of EBAY system. 

What is worrying me is; are EBAY/PAYPAL doing enough to stop these practices?

[a_beautiful_room]

You're thinking ebay actually cares. Ebay are purely and simply a medium in which to advertise goods for sale. They can be good, bad, cheap, expensive, fraudulent or the bargain of the century. They do not and can not monitor every single advertisement and weigh up if it is genuine or fraudulent.

One would hope that the buyer is the one with enough nous and/or due diligence to sort out the shonky advertisements from the good ones, some are, and those that are not soon learn by losing their money.

Think of it this way: Anyone can place an ad in the newspaper and LOTS of them are completely shonky. But you don't blame the newspaper, you blame your own stupidity if you turn up for a job or an apartment that is "too good to be true" or a modelling agency offering work that then charges you a fortune for a "portfolio", or a dating agnecy that preys on the lonely and vulnerable.  Exactly the same thing. The medium may respond if pointed out to them .. but that is purely and simply all they are - a neutral medium withourt concience, feelings, or the ability to make a judgement. Surely you don't think the CEO of ebay is sitting there scanning every ad? I think not.

[*crikey*mate*]

The scam would probably work on the hope that before their listing is reported, they get some unsavvy buyer to commit to purchase at which time they now have their details for later contact or to sell, and the deal is even better if they pay too, as the seller will gennerally be a cloud of dust before Paypal attempts to retreive their money to refund the buyer - IF the buyer knows to even raise a claim for INR in the first place.

There are two scenarios as to how any scam works or its purpose, no doubt there are more