What's new
What's new

ot: another ebay scam?

Billtodd

Titanium
I have a number of standard searches on ebay for things of interest. Occasionally some comes up that is 'too good to be true' and starts my alarm bells ringing. Today a very nice lathe turned up.

At the moment I cannot prove it's a scam and I am reluctant to call this particular item out , in case it is legit. So, let's just look at the suspicious bits. (in no particular order)

The pictures:
In the past I have recognised the photos as being of a fiend's lathe and so reported the scam to ebay . In this case , even a reverse search has found no originals. The suspicion is the condition of the lathe; These are 'pride and joy' shots , the thing is polished and posed , devoid of swarf , unused.

The description: "Not only but also..."

The description tells us about the make of lathe, how good the condition: 'made to last a lifetime' . But wait there's more! not pictured are parts that are very desirable that are hard to find and/or command outrageous prices (one item 'included' is typically listed at a greater price that most lathes) and he'll even throw in the 3ph converter so you can run this at home.

And of course the kicker: He can arrange transport.

There is nothing about why this immaculate machine is being sold .

The seller: 100% feed back... from 53 purchases

I'm guessing this is not the lathe 'owners' actual account (wife/girl friend, ex-?) , since the items bought (none sold) include fashion, shoes , garden and general domestic purchases. No machining parts tooling etc.

The location: Arseendofnowhere (or near to the 'rigs' - see later)

I'm not casting aspersions on the good people of said county (counties) merely pointing out that the scam machine is rarely easy to get-to and not readily available for collection ( hence the' kicker 'above)

The scam:
The object of the scam is to relieve you of your money and leave you waiting in vain for the delivery of a machine . The story goes something like :
it's for sale because ... bereavement, new job , emigration, exodus etc.
the machine is not viewable ATM because , i'm on the off-shore rigs for the next X weeks, or it's in storage, or it's packed etc. etc.
Yes , you can send your own courier. but...
If you send the money ... I'll pay for the shipping ... pay for express shipping ... throw in the girl fiend/wife /ex etc. etc. etc.

Anything - as long as you send the money.

The scammer:

Usually male , probably knows something about machines , probably hangs about in forums like this one (Hi, scammer). The may only be a few such people currently operating.


The morel:
Be careful , it is so easy to 'want' something so bad, that ones brain fails to operate normally (under no circumstances go shopping after drinking alcohol - beer goggles work on everything) .
The old old adage 'if it looks to good to be true - it probably isn't" should be first thing in your mind

In this case I cannot prove it is a scam so I cannot act, other than to warn others .
 
I have a number of standard searches on ebay for things of interest. Occasionally some comes up that is 'too good to be true' and starts my alarm bells ringing. Today a very nice lathe turned up.

At the moment I cannot prove it's a scam and I am reluctant to call this particular item out , in case it is legit. So, let's just look at the suspicious bits. (in no particular order)

The pictures:
In the past I have recognised the photos as being of a fiend's lathe and so reported the scam to ebay . In this case , even a reverse search has found no originals. The suspicion is the condition of the lathe; These are 'pride and joy' shots , the thing is polished and posed , devoid of swarf , unused.

The description: "Not only but also..."

The description tells us about the make of lathe, how good the condition: 'made to last a lifetime' . But wait there's more! not pictured are parts that are very desirable that are hard to find and/or command outrageous prices (one item 'included' is typically listed at a greater price that most lathes) and he'll even throw in the 3ph converter so you can run this at home.

And of course the kicker: He can arrange transport.

There is nothing about why this immaculate machine is being sold .

The seller: 100% feed back... from 53 purchases

I'm guessing this is not the lathe 'owners' actual account (wife/girl friend, ex-?) , since the items bought (none sold) include fashion, shoes , garden and general domestic purchases. No machining parts tooling etc.

The location: Arseendofnowhere (or near to the 'rigs' - see later)

I'm not casting aspersions on the good people of said county (counties) merely pointing out that the scam machine is rarely easy to get-to and not readily available for collection ( hence the' kicker 'above)

The scam:
The object of the scam is to relieve you of your money and leave you waiting in vain for the delivery of a machine . The story goes something like :
it's for sale because ... bereavement, new job , emigration, exodus etc.
the machine is not viewable ATM because , i'm on the off-shore rigs for the next X weeks, or it's in storage, or it's packed etc. etc.
Yes , you can send your own courier. but...
If you send the money ... I'll pay for the shipping ... pay for express shipping ... throw in the girl fiend/wife /ex etc. etc. etc.

Anything - as long as you send the money.

The scammer:

Usually male , probably knows something about machines , probably hangs about in forums like this one (Hi, scammer). The may only be a few such people currently operating.


The morel:
Be careful , it is so easy to 'want' something so bad, that ones brain fails to operate normally (under no circumstances go shopping after drinking alcohol - beer goggles work on everything) .
The old old adage 'if it looks to good to be true - it probably isn't" should be first thing in your mind

In this case I cannot prove it is a scam so I cannot act, other than to warn others .
I have a number of standard searches on ebay for things of interest. Occasionally some comes up that is 'too good to be true' and starts my alarm bells ringing. Today a very nice lathe turned up.

At the moment I cannot prove it's a scam and I am reluctant to call this particular item out , in case it is legit. So, let's just look at the suspicious bits. (in no particular order)

The pictures:
In the past I have recognised the photos as being of a fiend's lathe and so reported the scam to ebay . In this case , even a reverse search has found no originals. The suspicion is the condition of the lathe; These are 'pride and joy' shots , the thing is polished and posed , devoid of swarf , unused.

The description: "Not only but also..."

The description tells us about the make of lathe, how good the condition: 'made to last a lifetime' . But wait there's more! not pictured are parts that are very desirable that are hard to find and/or command outrageous prices (one item 'included' is typically listed at a greater price that most lathes) and he'll even throw in the 3ph converter so you can run this at home.

And of course the kicker: He can arrange transport.

There is nothing about why this immaculate machine is being sold .

The seller: 100% feed back... from 53 purchases

I'm guessing this is not the lathe 'owners' actual account (wife/girl friend, ex-?) , since the items bought (none sold) include fashion, shoes , garden and general domestic purchases. No machining parts tooling etc.

The location: Arseendofnowhere (or near to the 'rigs' - see later)

I'm not casting aspersions on the good people of said county (counties) merely pointing out that the scam machine is rarely easy to get-to and not readily available for collection ( hence the' kicker 'above)

The scam:
The object of the scam is to relieve you of your money and leave you waiting in vain for the delivery of a machine . The story goes something like :
it's for sale because ... bereavement, new job , emigration, exodus etc.
the machine is not viewable ATM because , i'm on the off-shore rigs for the next X weeks, or it's in storage, or it's packed etc. etc.
Yes , you can send your own courier. but...
If you send the money ... I'll pay for the shipping ... pay for express shipping ... throw in the girl fiend/wife /ex etc. etc. etc.

Anything - as long as you send the money.

The scammer:

Usually male , probably knows something about machines , probably hangs about in forums like this one (Hi, scammer). The may only be a few such people currently operating.


The morel:
Be careful , it is so easy to 'want' something so bad, that ones brain fails to operate normally (under no circumstances go shopping after drinking alcohol - beer goggles work on everything) .
The old old adage 'if it looks to good to be true - it probably isn't" should be first thing in your mind

In this case I cannot prove it is a scam so I cannot act, other than to warn others .
 
Local CL had a machine I could use, or at least give space to while waiting for a need. The pictures indicate clean and new-looking and the price is attractive. I tried to figure out the model number, but that was not in the ad and the description was inaccurate. What I did find by matching pictures and brand name was that it has a new price of thousands more than the ridiculously low asking price. That makes it fall in the "too good..." category. So, is it a lady pissed at her ex or someone with a gun waiting for a buyer with some cash? I will never know.

Larry
 
is this it
it looks pretty legit. It's an auction after all.
Sorry I was too curious about it. You shouldn't given so many specific details :D
 
Hi Bill,
That's my machine and it is not for sale. The photos come from the original eBay advert. I bought the machine in September 2020 from a chap who lived very close to Spaghetti Junction on the M6. His reconditioning was not as good as he claimed and I did a lot of work on the electrics and rebuilt the apron, speed change, brake solenoid and carriage drive. Via this forum and directly you provided a lot of information and guidance. I have recently repaired the carriage circuit board using the wiring diagram you have posted as part of a 4 page document.

I insisted on seeing the machine before I bid. It was housed in the shed shown in the pictures. The seller had to remove the end panel of the shed to get the machine out.

Recognisable features from the photos are: missing cover to light on control cabinet. Mitutoyo DRO, mixture of colours of coolant feedpipe, 3 phase converter is housed in metal cabinet to right, tooling on rack includes rare boring bar holder with insert for morse taper shank tools. Machine came with radius attachment and other items mentioned. I have photos of the machine being loaded.

If the buyer is "selling similar" I suppose it may not be a scam. I don't know how to report a possible scam to eBay. I shall have a look.

Regards

Elliot
 
is this it
it looks pretty legit. It's an auction after all.
Sorry I was too curious about it. You shouldn't given so many specific details :D
That is my machine and it is not for sale. I cannot believe that an identical machine in an identical shed with identical accessories has reappeared in Scotland having been purchased by me in Birmingham more than 2 years ago.
 
Hi Bill,
That's my machine and it is not for sale. The photos come from the original eBay advert. I bought the machine in September 2020 from a chap who lived very close to Spaghetti Junction on the M6. His reconditioning was not as good as he claimed and I did a lot of work on the electrics and rebuilt the apron, speed change, brake solenoid and carriage drive. Via this forum and directly you provided a lot of information and guidance. I have recently repaired the carriage circuit board using the wiring diagram you have posted as part of a 4 page document.

I insisted on seeing the machine before I bid. It was housed in the shed shown in the pictures. The seller had to remove the end panel of the shed to get the machine out.

Recognisable features from the photos are: missing cover to light on control cabinet. Mitutoyo DRO, mixture of colours of coolant feedpipe, 3 phase converter is housed in metal cabinet to right, tooling on rack includes rare boring bar holder with insert for morse taper shank tools. Machine came with radius attachment and other items mentioned. I have photos of the machine being loaded.

If the buyer is "selling similar" I suppose it may not be a scam. I don't know how to report a possible scam to eBay. I shall have a look.

Regards

Elliot
Notify ebay please , if he nicked the pictures, it is a scam.
 
Not related at all to this item but have seen a lot of Miller welders on there recently . Been looking for one in particular and see these and would like to see what they bring . I put them on my watch list and check back later and they are gone . Guess they are catching some here and there to remove . Looked at seller info other day and didn’t make sense . Was completely different than what they sell so figured it was . Not for certain but think I’m seeing the same welder try and get sold over and over . Need to take a picture of next time and compare .
 
That's good news. I wonder what they tell the bidders? They should be grateful that Bill spotted the potential problem.
 
Personally, I've never had a problem on the 'bay or other online transaction. but alarming posts certainly pop-up. At probably close to 1000 transactions, small to lower tier ~$5k, been very careful.
No matter what type of remote auction (outside recognized companies) they are all spelled the same; "Caveat Emptor". Potential of scams existing at local events is less, but not eliminated.
It's best to have equal amounts of suspicion and money, spending one will save the other.

Per mmarquette above, the "local" auction sites, there are prevalent scam offers, Miller welders very common, also Scamp camping trailers, concession trailers, box trailers Jeeps, and Grandma's nice Toyota. I block and report every one seen. The threshold of petty vs grand theft must be around $1200.00.
 
Last edited:








 
Back
Top