This is either a scam or it is stolen

AC016

Senior Member
None of his prices make sense. Even if he was a novice ebay user, how can his prices be so way off? If he got his hands on these items in a legitimate way, he is losing alot of money on re-selling them. This leads me to beleive that he got a five finger discount or he bought the items from a fence and now wants to get rid of them at a nominal profit.
 

carguy

Senior Member
So he sold a 35 1.4 G lens for $445 today and then relisted it with a buy it now of only $250

Nikon Nikkor 35 mm F 1 4G AF s Lens 018208021987 | eBay

Hmmm. Same image used.

$445 sale description:

I have a Nikon 35 1.4 autofocus lens for sale.
It is in mint condition. There is no scratch or damage on the lens.
It comes with hood, front cap, back cap, pouch, and UV filter.

$250 sale description:

I have a Nikon 35 1.4 autofocus lens for sale that is in semi-good condition, there are a few minor scratches on the screen but are not visible in photos. the body is ok has some minor scuffs but other then that it works perfectly fine

Either a very slow learner, using the same pic to sell two lenses or up to no good. Time will tell.
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
I've also contacted the seller asking for photo of the lens with MPN and another photo with the lens next to a piece of paper with his Ebay ID and the date on it. No reply yet.
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
I've put through a request for the seller's contact information, which is automatically sent through ebay, since he's not responded. I haven't actually paid for the camera yet for obvious reasons, and want to see if this seller will actually make contact about it. If he's a scammer he won't be inclined to open a dispute, which would draw attention to his activity, yet he'll want to try to sell the camera again as soon as possible to get more money. And when he does I will have grounds for dispute.
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
I've put through a request for the seller's contact information, which is automatically sent through ebay, since he's not responded. I haven't actually paid for the camera yet for obvious reasons, and want to see if this seller will actually make contact about it. If he's a scammer he won't be inclined to open a dispute, which would draw attention to his activity, yet he'll want to try to sell the camera again as soon as possible to get more money. And when he does I will have grounds for dispute.

It will be interesting to see just how this plays out.. Thank you for keeping us informed...

Pat in NH
 

carguy

Senior Member
I've put through a request for the seller's contact information, which is automatically sent through ebay, since he's not responded. I haven't actually paid for the camera yet for obvious reasons, and want to see if this seller will actually make contact about it. If he's a scammer he won't be inclined to open a dispute, which would draw attention to his activity, yet he'll want to try to sell the camera again as soon as possible to get more money. And when he does I will have grounds for dispute.
Sounds like a plan.
 

AC016

Senior Member
What's the point? If the guy never responds to you, just give him negative feedback and report him. Your wasting your time if you ask me.
 

carguy

Senior Member
What's the point? If the guy never responds to you, just give him negative feedback and report him. Your wasting your time if you ask me.
To each their own.

I'd do the same thing. Best case, he gets the camera. Worst case, the ID is reported and removed and hopefully prevents at least one person from being scammed if that's the case.

Unlike most in today's society, lets see how this plays out before casting judgement :D
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
The guy's first name is Muhammat. I did a search and there is nothing that comes up spelled in that way as it is usually spelled Muhammad. So perhaps the name is fake. The phone number provided is a VOIP phone. I was able to confirm the phone location as being consistent with what is listed as the seller's location. Naturally no reply so far.
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
What's the point? If the guy never responds to you, just give him negative feedback and report him. Your wasting your time if you ask me.

I'm not wasting my time if the sale is actually legit when you consider I could make a profit of around $3000 selling the camera.
 

AC016

Senior Member
@Epoc: I never disputed whether he will get the camera or not. I will not be eating my words. My point was that if this guy is not going to respond, it's an indication that there is something shady going on; therefore, i would just not pursue it. :)

@carguy: no ones casting judgement. My statement was, "your wasting your time if you ask me", meaning if i were to be asked by crycocyon if this was worth it, i would say, "no, your wasting your time". It's an opinion formed on the basis of a question asked. No juedgement here. :)

@crycocyon: If the sale is legit and you do get the camera, congrats to you. Though, so far, it does not look promising. Good luck to you :)
 

AC016

Senior Member
The guy's first name is Muhammat. I did a search and there is nothing that comes up spelled in that way as it is usually spelled Muhammad. So perhaps the name is fake. The phone number provided is a VOIP phone. I was able to confirm the phone location as being consistent with what is listed as the seller's location. Naturally no reply so far.

You do realise that a VOIP number can be anywhere in the world? If you are only searching by the phone number, that will not tell you where he is. I used to use a Skype number and the area code was for Oregon, but i am in Quebec. With Skype, you can get a number pretty much anywhere in the world, but not even be in that part of the world.
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
Yes good point. And of course you are right it really is more than likely all a waste of time, but still fun to see if it is really legit or not. Ebay has a funny way of working. I cannot actually report him unless I did not receive the item. I reported the double sale of the other lens with the same photo, but Ebay works on the basis of giving it a few days before they do anything about anything. If the guy never contacts me then I have a basis for not paying and the onus is on him to contact me otherwise Ebay won't listen to him in regard to any dispute about nonpayment unless some effort was made to make contact.
 

carguy

Senior Member
@Epoc: I never disputed whether he will get the camera or not. I will not be eating my words. My point was that if this guy is not going to respond, it's an indication that there is something shady going on; therefore, i would just not pursue it. :)

@carguy: no ones casting judgement. My statement was, "your wasting your time if you ask me", meaning if i were to be asked by crycocyon if this was worth it, i would say, "no, your wasting your time". It's an opinion formed on the basis of a question asked. No juedgement here. :)

@crycocyon: If the sale is legit and you do get the camera, congrats to you. Though, so far, it does not look promising. Good luck to you :)

My judgement comment related to the suggestion to immediately give negative feedback without more information. If the seller is new and fumbling with the process (unlikely but possible) that would be an extreme step and pre-mature :D
 
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