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[gikendra]

Jurisdiction/Place:

As of yesterday I won an auction on Ebay. A mystery auction. Was bidding on a car cover and what ever was under it. I won and paid $102.50. The seller called ans stated that the car under the cover was worth over $7000.00 and would not be shipping it to me. They did this after stating that a money order for the ammount of $102.50 was preferred to a certified check. I mailed the money order today. However I did not photocopy it. In the process I had made arrangements to have the car picked up. The transport company was nice enlough to give me back all my money. However when I spoke to the seller, him and his wife were baligerant on the phone to me. first they stated that the car was being sold to pay for a kidney transplant for thier grandfather. they they stated that the car was not thiers to sell. So far I am only out $124.50. However they are selling another mystery box supposibly with cash in it worth over $25,000.00. And it states in that auction that he had come into an inheritence. So now I am confused. If they need money for an operation for thier grandfather how can they afford to give away $25,000.00. Are they going to do the same to the winner of that auction as they did to me. and decide that the closing bid is not enough? How can these people do this. It is not right. They did not even offer to repay what it cost to mail the payment overnight. And when i told them that i had already made the arrangements to have the car picked up. they did not even offer to repay the 10% i would not get back. However like I said the transporter was nice enought to give me back al that I had given them. But now I am still out the other money and the car. I ask is it my fault that no one bid on the auction ad I won it at such a low cost? I can tell you this. It is the last time I will ever use E-bay. Oh and they asked why i did nt send the payment via PayPal. Well that option was not available to make a payment. they only wanted check or money order. Is there anything I can do about this. It is to soon to file a complaint with Ebay. There is a 10 day waiting period. Have to wait for delivery of somethign i will not recieve delivery of. Help anyone. I have contacted a few lawyers here in Elpaso< Tx. BUt to no avail. No one can help me and no one knows where to send me for the assistance.
Am so used to be ing the nice guy. However when this couple got nasty with me on the phone after i saked a few questions. I decided that I will not take this sitting down. But I could use a little assistance. Am not sure if i can really do anything about this.

Help anyone.

Thank You
Nicole

[thelawprofessor]

Originally Posted by gikendra

As of yesterday I won an auction on Ebay. A mystery auction. Was bidding on a car cover and what ever was under it. I won and paid $102.50. The seller called ans stated that the car under the cover was worth over $7000.00 and would not be shipping it to me. They did this after stating that a money order for the ammount of $102.50 was preferred to a certified check. I mailed the money order today. However I did not photocopy it. In the process I had made arrangements to have the car picked up. The transport company was nice enlough to give me back all my money. However when I spoke to the seller, him and his wife were baligerant on the phone to me. first they stated that the car was being sold to pay for a kidney transplant for thier grandfather. they they stated that the car was not thiers to sell. So far I am only out $124.50. However they are selling another mystery box supposibly with cash in it worth over $25,000.00. And it states in that auction that he had come into an inheritence. So now I am confused. If they need money for an operation for thier grandfather how can they afford to give away $25,000.00. Are they going to do the same to the winner of that auction as they did to me. and decide that the closing bid is not enough? How can these people do this. It is not right. They did not even offer to repay what it cost to mail the payment overnight. And when i told them that i had already made the arrangements to have the car picked up. they did not even offer to repay the 10% i would not get back. However like I said the transporter was nice enought to give me back al that I had given them. But now I am still out the other money and the car. I ask is it my fault that no one bid on the auction ad I won it at such a low cost? I can tell you this. It is the last time I will ever use E-bay. Oh and they asked why i did nt send the payment via PayPal. Well that option was not available to make a payment. they only wanted check or money order. Is there anything I can do about this. It is to soon to file a complaint with Ebay. There is a 10 day waiting period. Have to wait for delivery of somethign i will not recieve delivery of. Help anyone. I have contacted a few lawyers here in Elpaso< Tx. BUt to no avail. No one can help me and no one knows where to send me for the assistance.
Am so used to be ing the nice guy. However when this couple got nasty with me on the phone after i saked a few questions. I decided that I will not take this sitting down. But I could use a little assistance. Am not sure if i can really do anything about this.

Help anyone.

Thank You
Nicole

Nicole -- I am so sorry to hear about your problem but you may benefit from reading this article on avoiding ebay fraud. It will explain why these people didn't offer you the paypal option.

http://www.thelaw.com/content/view/38/2/

Without trying to be offensive, ask yourself this question -- why didn't anyone else bid on this auction? Why are these people putting up another "mystery" auction of a box of cash? It's simple. These people are dishonest. They are scamming you. Is this not obvious? If it isn't, you may not want to use ebay again unless you can be confident that you are able to spot even simple frauds.

The bottom line -- if it seems too good to be true, chances are great that it is not true. I wish you the best of luck but your chances of getting back your money are close to none, especially at a distance. Your best bet is to travel there to sue in small claims court but the cost of going to court and the likely problems you will have with collections might not be worth the effort.

You should file with the local authorities and follow the methods others have used here. You should follow up with ebay and let them know these people are scammers.

Most of all, "mystery" auctions at a distance are likely to be a total scam. The only way I'd agree to something like this was if I was in the same room as the auction. I wouldn't part with the cash until the seller was able to provide me with all reasonable documentation for the transfer. Look at it this way -- at least the lesson you learned was for only $100. So many here lose a LOT more and learn the harder way.