Ebay Fraud? Beware

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 9:32 am

Martin, it could be the same bidder just ammending his high bid. That would show up as 2 bids, but would not effect the price.

marty · Post by **marty** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 9:40 am

Thanks guys, I see what you mean.

The maximum bid put down by someone isn't revealed so it still shows up as £700 if it's the same bidder.

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 9:48 am

You got it!

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:14 am

This 4001 CS auction is a fraud!

The pic was lifted from a 4001 CS auction (Item number: 3774942209, Serial # I*5**9) that started on Jan. 9 and ended on Jan. 16, 2005. The seller was "cdeff" and the buyer was "epeque75", both from France. Winning bid was US $3,802.00. The bass was the subject of a thread here in January. (Where are the archives, Peter?) Some of you might still have that auction on your "My eBay Watch List'.

This crook even lifted most of "cdeff's" original description which is as follows:
------------------

Mint,absolutely immaculate, Rickenbacker 4001 CS Chris squire Limited Edition in its original case.
1000 pieces of this now rare bass guitar have were manufactured between 1991 and 2000.
I'm the original owner and got all the papers including original invoice and Ric Official
Certificate of Authenticity.
The instrument has been played only a few HOURS during all these years...and kept as a
collector only : its playing condition is superb, the frets present NO WEAR.
The neck is STRAIGHT and the bass does not need any adjustment, the set up is the factory one.
You can bid with confidence (see my feedbacks) and a full refund (without shipping charges)
is guaranteed if the item is not as described.
I can provide all the pics you may need on request and all your questions are welcome.
If you "missed the train" at the time this awesome bass was still available, maybe it's the
occasion to get one which is like if you've just bought it !
-----------------------------

Somebody please notify eBay and call the police!

marty · Post by **marty** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:35 am

Well spotted Paul.

I did a search for the item number..here's a link to the original sale:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3774942209

brett_bottomley · Post by **brett_bottomley** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:36 am

Hi the seller responded to me with this

hello sir,
this is the serial number 145639 . where are you located?

Tim

I notified Ebay Thanks Paul! can anyone verify this serial number? is this a real one?

Hopefully this will be off soon.

Brett

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:37 am

The seller contacted me and sent pictures. He also addresses the payment needed. Here is his reply.

" hello sir,
I have attached all the pics. Also this is the serial number: 145639 and production number it's 232. Also about the payment we will end the deal through eBay. They will contact you for more informations. OK?

let me know!

Tim"

The serial number appears to match the one Paul is referring too above. I let the seller know about our caution and that I would post his reply. The photos included one of the certificate #232. I'm not sure what to do here guys. I would love the bass, but I am concerned.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 am

Well! Unless I entered the serial number wrong, it doesn't check out with RIC. He must have missed the letters. When I emailed him, I asked for a photo of the jack plate so I could see the serial number, but it didn't come with the photos.

Now what?

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:41 am

But there's a photo of the certificate in the completed legitimate auction.

This is a scam. No doubt about it.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:43 am

Brett and Brian,
The serial # was actually I4-5693, meaning the bass was made in Sep. '91. That crook must have downloaded the certificate's jpg provided by "cdeff' in the auction but didn't know that being a '90s bass, the first letter is actually "I" instead of "1".

Oh, and welcome to the forum, Brett!

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:47 am

Paul. Good work! I just emailed him asking him to provide a photo of the jackplate and serial number. If this is for real he should provide that.

Thanks for the help. Sometimes we get worked up over this stuff and we aren't as cautious as we should be. At least our eyes are wide open.

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:01 am

One point here, no one in the UK (and my fellow UK members will verify this) answers a friendly mail with the greeting "Hello Sir". I suggest that this is not coming from Plymouth UK. Where are the "sellers" emails coming from? A lot of scammers use Yahoo addresses as they are hard to trace.

henny · Post by **henny** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:09 am

Gits, aren't they.

Grrrrrr.

marty · Post by **marty** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:15 am

Peter is right...."Hello Sir"..!!

That isn't typical of us Brits to sound so formal in an email.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:15 am

Auction pulled!
Well done, Brett.