Is this a scam?...opinions please

[GOAT72]

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I personally think Ebay is great. You should be more weary buying a car sight unseen(except pictures), let alone a car that's in another country! The scams are very annoying but they are a constant reminder to be careful when dealing with strangers. As far as Ebay goes, I'm glad they exist at all. If they had to check every auction for authenticity then there would be no cars listed due to all the red tape. It is unrealistic to expect Ebay to control these scammers.

Just my opinion. Am I alone?
Jason

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Jason,
I think eBay is great too. I have sold and purchased several transactions with no problems at all. It's a great concept, set-up, and resource for millions of people.

But while you (and I, and everyone else here at sYc) recommend being wary of scam sellers, not everybody is as aware as we are.

Take a 1st-time classic car buyer, or a kid trying to break into our hobby with his hard-earned savings; these are the people that will refuse to believe that the car is bogus-- because the auction looks so authentic and they don't want to accept the reality that the real "owner" is some filthy, unshaven sloth in Romania, who's poppin' folks for $3-7K at a time while he sits in an internet cafe chain smoking cheap raunchy Russian cigarettes and chuckling about how badly he beat his wife the night before.

So my philosphy is to beat them at their own game. I waste their time, I frustrate them, I insult them and I make them run around town, looking for their Western Union $$.


Please be advised that these same scammers are now moving into "selling" plasma TVs, digital cams and cellular phones on eBay.


I'm going to have to back away from baiting scammers for awhile. I really need to focus on my Milt Schornack/Royal Bobcat GTO biography. My agent got me a great publishing deal with McFarland & Co. Publishers of Jefferson, NC. The book is going to be a beautiful hardcover with color photos and glossy pages.

My deadline is New Years Eve!


Mac