AVOID EBAY MOTOR SCAMS 14 STEPS

Overview:I am writing this guide in regards to myexperiences on eBay motors. Firstly, eBay does provide a great medium for users to find a specific car and price with very little hassle. However, there are the occassional scammers out there who try to take advantage of honest eBayers. Before I explain the steps one should take before purchasing a vehicle on eBay, I would like to give you a personal account of where I almost fell victim to the samepopular scam many eBay users fall into. I believe by explaining my situation, it will at the very least allow you to become more aware ofhow to avoidpossible scams on eBay Motors.Brief Example Story:After searching for a car on eBay motors, I came across a great deal for a 2001 holden commodorewith 49ks , in great condition, and still undercommodore warranty (100ks bumper to bumper).The listing was extremely detailed, describing every modification, and/or repair done to the vehicle. In the listing, the seller claimed to have Cancer and said the bills were piling up. He also stated he was selling the car priced tosell fastwith a Relatively low Buy-It Now. The eBay user ID had a 100% feedback rating of23. I found thislistingway too good to be true,anddecided to question the seller about the vehicle viaeBaymessages(Ask a Seller a Question feature). Soon, the Auction ended and I never received a response. However, about 4 days later I received an E-Mail from the sellerin the early morning, stating he is extremely sorry he could not get back to me sooner. He heavily apologized, and stated hewas in the hospital during the week,undergoing treatment for his Cancer. He then went on to answer my questions regarding the vehicle for sale (*his writing was very fragmented--broken english). He then stated thatif I was still interested in purchasing the vehicle, it would be sold onlyTHROUGH eBay, so that the buyer is protected under the eBaybuyer protection policy (describing it in detail). He then stated that he would set up aPrivate Buy-It-NowAuction for me, and asked for my user name and registered email address. At first, I had no problem giving my eBay ID, but I was hesitant to give my email address. However, after figuring that this is something he would get anyways if I was to buy anything online,I said OK. After feeling secured by the eBay Protection Policy, I emailed him back with my ID and email address, and statedif he was to once again list the car on eBay, exactly as described before, with the same specifications, along with giving me a contact number to reach him by, I wouldstill beinterested in purchasing the vehicle. The next day, I received a response from him stating he has made the proper arrangements with eBay, and that I would be receiving a Link to the Private Auction--either through him or eBay. I quickly received an email from members@ebay.com that appeared exactly like a message from eBay. In addition, he also emailed me with a direct link, statingthat it would direct me to the private auction.Scammer Detected:The link appeared to be an eBay link, it was something like http://cgi.ebay.privateauction.somethingelsewithnumbers . Alarms went off in my head, because I'vereceived PayPal spoof emails in the past. Ilogged directly into eBay, through ebay.com,checked my messages, and received noidentical message from eBay. I then looked at the message, which was supposedly from eBay, and noticed that they did not address me by my Paypal name (which one could get by using your registered email address, and searchingpaypal.com with it), and did not address me by my eBay User ID. The person had both of what I had given, and stilldid notinclude it in the email. So either I was dealing withone of the dumbest scammers in the world, or he figured I could've faked my user ID and email, and simply chose to not include it in the email. With all this being said, it was safe to conclude, this guy was trying to scam me. I fowarded the fake emails to eBay, and reported thepossibly hacked/hijackedUser ID.After this experience, I have since been able to have sucessful transactions through eBay motors and would definately recommend this medium to anyone who is interested in purchasing a vehicle. However, if you are consideringpurchasing a vehicle on eBay motors, I would highly recommend the following steps before proceeding with your purchase.Steps to take before purchasing a vehicle on eBay Motors:Make sure both you AND the seller are located in the Australia. Remember, your eBay Protection Policy will be voided if you are buying a car from a seller outside the AUS. Even if it seems like a great deal, it may not be worth the risk.Make sure the car/truck is listed in the CORRECT eBay Motors category of CARS(not parts, etc). This is one of the more popular eBay scams. Sellers post outside the correct category knowing that it is something the buyer may have overlooked, and therefore, may not be protected under eBay's policies.Do NOT purchase the car OUTSIDE of Ebay. Ifthey say it's a Private Auction, or send you ANY Links, stating it was from eBay, Log in to your account DIRECTLY through eBay.com, and check your Messages. If you have not received anything from eBay, they are definately scamming you. Also, any messages they send you, should go directly through eBay.com. If they are contacting you via E-Mail, you should definately be cautious.Ask the Seller for additional specific pictures of the car. If they cannot give you them, or say theyare unable to at the time, they areprobably looking to scam you (e.g. Ask for specific pictures of the Odometer, specific pictures of the interior, or any other pictures that aren't shown in the listing, that would be helpful in your decision). These pictures will help you determine if the vehicle is in their possession and/or give you greater insight on the vehicle.Always get a CarFax Report before purchasing ANY vehicle. These reports let you know how many owners the vehicle has had, if the vehicle has ever failed inspection, been in major accidents (front end collisions), or if the engine has ever been rebuilt, given a salvaged title, etc.Always get a Contact Number and talk to the person through phone before purchasing the vehicle. This will help you further in determining if the seller is honest or not. You can also ask them detailed questions on the vehicle. If they cannot provide you with a number, give you an excuse, orcompletely avoid this request, they are most likely looking torip you off.Always look at their feedback. Check to see if they have sold Cars through eBay before. If not, then I highly recommend you be very intimiate with your questioning. Contact the users repeatedly. Establish a communication with them through eBay messages (therefore you have eBay logs), and remember to get a contact number.If the Car is being sold within your State, Ask if you can come see the car in person. If your email is being avoided, or you are given excuses about not being able to see the car in person, it's probably ascam. All legitimate sellerswill allow you to check out the vehicle in person.If the person responds to your messages in broken english BE VERY CAUTIOUS. Many times Scammers hijack accounts and use them to post fraudlent sales, especially on eBay Motors. These hijacked accounts are 'mostly'done byout of country users.If a Seller states anythingin the Auction that says, "Don't use the Ask a Seller a Question feature to contact me because [insert their excuse here]" it'sa scam. The reason they are doing this is because when you Ask a Seller a Question through eBay, an E-Mail is automatically sent to the authorized registered E-Mail address (therefore, if they hijacked the ID, the actual user of the account will be notified that their account is currently in use, with anactive Auction--an unauthorized Auction at that, and as such will be able to contact eBay to have their account PW reset, or entire account deactivated). All legitimate sellers on eBay (especially on eBay motors) will allow you to contact them through Ask a Seller a Question. Don't believe any excuse about "I can't reach this E-Mail" or "It no longer exists." The correct authorized user of the account can, at any time, easily change the registered email or contact address by verifying their own personal account information. If an Auction is only open to PRE-APPROVED Bidders, BE ALERT. Most scammers do this so that you are forced to contact them outside of eBay. By doing so,they can obtain your E-Mail address, and lure you outside of eBay's domainwith spoof E-Mails. Only answer messages DIRECTLY through your eBay Messages. When asking a Seller a question, I recommend hiding your E-Mail address(there is an option for this when using the Ask a Seller a Question Feature). The seller shouldbe able to answer you directly through eBay messages. If they ignore your message, or they begin to offer you deals outside of eBay, send youPrivate Auctions, etc...it'sa scam. ASK MORE AND MORE Questions about the car before purchasing ANY vehicle. Many times, individual sellers and/or dealers will negate to mention certain aspects about the car. How's the engine run? Are there any Leaks? How's the transmission? Any dings, dents, or any other cosmetic problems I should know about? Will the car pass inspection? Has the car been in any major accidents? (check the CarFax),How's the interior? Any major cosmetic problems to the interior? Smoke-Free car? If you can't physically test the vehicle, sellers will understand the need to question various aspects about the vehicle, which were not listed. Afterall, you don't want to end up putting more money into repairing the vehicle, than what you spent purchasing it.USE YOUR INSTINCTS. I cannot stress this enough. If a deal seems to good to be true, 99% of the time, it is.Make sure you read all the details of eBay's Buyer Protection Policy, and learn how toSTAY covered under this policy. Sometimes, the slightest adjustment may cause theProtection Policy to be voided.These are the stepsI recommend you do, before purchasing ANY vehicle on eBay motors. Remember, it's YOUR Money that you are investing. ANY Honest seller should be able to answerall of your questions/concerns via Phone.Don't be afraid to get personal with the car, because, afterall, if everything goes right, it will be your car. I wrote this Guide as a Buyer Beware, especially for the risks, we eBay Motorist take when purchasing vehicles online. I hope at the very least, it has made you more aware of the possible scams on eBay and how togo aboutpurchasing avehicle safely.It is inNO WAY a definitive guide, butthese steps have helped me greatly in determiningwhat deals are real, and which are scams on eBay (in One week, Icame across 4scams). And remember! eBay is a great place to find great deals on cars, just make sure you're actually getting a deal, and not getting Dealt. Best of luck to you, and HappyBidding,Your Friendly Neighborhood eBayer =)