The other good one is the shipping scam. I bid on some
magazines on eBay and the seller tried to convince me that
the weighed about 1 pound each! Have you ever read a 1 pound
issue of VW trends? He didnt get as much as he wanted for the
auction so he spiked the shipping to make up for it.

Thanks,
Chris

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 00:33:55 -0700
>From: Jere Hawn <jbrschawn@EARTHLINK.NET>
>Subject: E-bay Scam Trend (Caveat emptor)
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>
>Hi all,
>
>Just a word to the wise on e-bay and for those thinking
about it.
>
>The event:      I saw a pair of rear hatch struts and bid on
them for $25 (volks
>cafe has them on special for $12.50 ea) and I was out bid,
and the sellers
>minimum was not reached.  Auction finally ends and time
passes (I'm not
>watching the item) and I get this pmail saying that the item
didn't sell and
>was wondering if I would like to buy them.  I said NO! not
at $32
>
>Learning Point:  Seller have been known to set their minimum
selling price
>so high that the item will not sell and then they re-
approach buyers to see
>if they want to buy off-line at the higher price.  Another
tactic that I
>seen used is that they bid against their own item under a
different name to
>drive the price up and when they win the then go the next
highest bidder to
>sell at an inflated price (off-line to boot)
>
>Jere
>90 GL
>88 GL