1095 for $900.00

[Tapesh]

A bid came up last night on ebay. Guy was selling 1095 for $900.00 Free shipping. 9 were available.

By midnight all were gone.

Did anyone from here bought it ?

I didnt because to me it didnt look good because this seller was a buyer historically and cant imagine where did he get these 1095 for $900.00 NIB + free shipping.

It was too hard to believe.

Just trying to see if I missed it or did the right thing ?

Thanks

Tapesh

[Azeke]

Tapesh,

Sounds like these fell off of a truck, unless they were refurbished units.

Azeke

[Andrew Pratt]

Sounds fishy too me but a good deal non the less if legit

[Kevin D]

Wonder how much it would cost to fix it in the 5 years you wouldn't have the warranty if it broke? Yes I've heard stories of Rotel fixing things without proof, but I'm sure those are rare..

Dealer cost is more than that. B-Stock dealer cost is more than that. Employee discounted direct through Rotel is more than that. And shipping runs from $30 to $60. I doubt it was legit.

Kevin D.

[lazermike]

I emailed the seller, looking to buy one. I was told they were all gone, save for one that was being saved for herself. I asked for her paypal address. I was told to send the money thru Western Union. If I cant use my credit card thru pay pal or buy direct, Im not going to chance any large purchase. Without a safety net, your screwed. If it looks too good to be true...you know that rest. Something about a duck...quack quack.
Ill just have to suffer thru it all with my little old 1075, and its 991 helper.

[Lex]

Good advice? Never buy using western union. It's the famous way the scammers from Nigeria like to take people. Please see my post at the top of the Pawn Shop for more info on this subject.

The internet more and more is becoming a dangerous place to buy from individuals you know nothing about and the old saying if it sounds to good to be true it usually is, has never been truer.

Here's a few basic buying rules.

1. If the ask you to pay western union, RUN.
2. If they say they have a cashier's check to pay you for merchandise, but the check turns out to be greater than the sale amount, don't ship.
3. If a buyer or seller has broken english, be careful.
4. Never give credit card to ebay or any classified advertiser unless you can validate by web site, legit phone number for business and validate with a call.
5. View feedback always with a cautious eye, and remember, identities are stolen all the time on ebay, so the seller may not match the item he's/she's selling. That's a red flag. Just because it's good feedback, doesn't mean it's not a fraud about to occur. Example here was found in Plasma TVs recently on ebay. Seller had all this feedback for women's soft type goods, and yet was selling several plasmas. That doesn't add up. Willing to bet it was a stolen ID.

Lex

[awtryau89]

Lex,
You are exactly right. I have had this situation happen to me twice in the past 2 weeks. I have been looking for an Integra Research RDA-7 and one popped up for $1800 delivered ($5000 retail). This auction was for approved bidders only. You had to email the seller to be approved. Once I did this he emailed back and started the Western Union crap. His feedback was flawless with over 700 positives. I began to smell a rat and noticed the auction was from Portugal. As I checked feedback a little closer I noticed all the feedback was on clothing and linens. Then I noticed that all the seller's previous auctions were from Rhode Island. I emailed Ebay and they are following up on it. The user id had been hacked and the auctions were bogus. Just for fun I emailed the seller back with fake Western Union transfer information I just made up. He emailed back all pissed off because he had made a pretty long trip to claim his money and it wasn't there. I told him I decided I wanted to buy the amp but I needed him to COD it and i would pay an extra $50 to cover his costs. Haven't heard back from him since. Amazing isn't it. One other note, I posted a wanted ad on Audiogon as well for a Parasound amp and had this same thing happen to me. A seller contacted me from the UK and tried the same scam. Beware as way too much of this is going on to us in this hobby. We are all looking for the "ultimate deal" and it can bite you if your not careful. It has opened my eyes.




Eric Awtry
War Eagle

[cadman]

funny all this , but it also happenned tome from UK , Portugal
but I did not bite to true to be true pcrice to low
and they did not want to do COD...
nice to see other on the beware.... thanks

[Lex]

Guys, even though they say they are from all these interesting places, most of them are still from Nigeria. Again, read the example in the Pawn Shop. Guy used a yahoo.uk email address to me. Making it seem like he was in london. I've got the bogus cashier's check, and when it came, it came in an envelope from Nigeria! Seriously, just because they say they are from one area, doesn't mean they are.

Lex

[SpOoNmAn]

Why would someone go to all that trouble to send a bogus check? I could understand them being the seller and not sending you the proper gear, but to actually send a check that isnt real? What do they gain in doing this?




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[ht_addict]

Why would someone go to all that trouble to send a bogus check? I could understand them being the seller and not sending you the proper gear, but to actually send a check that isnt real? What do they gain in doing this?

They gain $$$ at your expense. What happens is a person is selling a piece of equipment. The buyer is usually outside the country but says they are paying you with a cashiers check from a US bank. The check is usually more than what the purchase price is for. You email the person and they tell you to send them the difference. Since the check looks legit to the bank you get your money right away. You end up sending the buyer the difference. THE SCAM: The check isn't legit and since it takes a few days to a week to go through the banking system, you get stuck with the bill for the check when the bank comes back to your for NSF. Ever see the movie "Catch me if you Can"

ht_addict

[SpOoNmAn]

I don't mean to sound like an ass..but isn't there a simple solution to such scams? Not sending the buyer the difference until the check goes thru? Sure you get hit with the NSF fee for what? 25 to $30.00? But the scammer gets nothing. Am I totally offbase with this?

I have a possible sale happening, and he says hes from the UK, and wants to send me a chasiers check. It's not for audio gear but still, I find this all very interesting. Maybe I'll rethink this now.




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[ht_addict]

I don't mean to sound like an ass..but isn't there a simple solution to such scams? Not sending the buyer the difference until the check goes thru? Sure you get hit with the NSF fee for what? 25 to $30.00? But the scammer gets nothing. Am I totally offbase with this?

I have a possible sale happening, and he says hes from the UK, and wants to send me a chasiers check. It's not for audio gear but still, I find this all very interesting. Maybe I'll rethink this now.

Your not being an ;s@ by stating what seems like an obvious point. Problem is that most people think of cashiers cheques as $$$. Unlike a personal check that you'd want to clear first, most people don't casheirs cheques a second thought. If he says he's drawing it on a US bank then give it a second thought. You could also have him send you a UK postal money order and tell him it has to clear before you send. If he's not legit he'll disappear.

ht_addict

[SpOoNmAn]

I emailed you asking for some advise on the subject, hope ya don't mind. I need a second opinion because now I am getting a gut feeling that says my transaction might not be worth the hassle.




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[SpOoNmAn]

I'd like to Thank ht_addict publicly for his advice, and to others that contributed to this thread, you all saved me a huge headache and even some $$!

It got me thinking about the deal I had going...and all of the above mentioned warnings fit the description of what was happening to me. He said he was from the UK but could barely type, MoneyGram and WesternUnion were mentioned, and I was offered more then I was asking for.

I emailed this "buyer" this past Monday and told him my stance, and the deal was changing. If he didnt reply, then I knew he was up to no good. Well, it's THursday and no reply! People are so rotten it make's me sick. Good to be around great people such as yourselves..Thanks for having me in the family!




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[Andrew Pratt]

I thought I should bring you guys up to speed on a little project that Rotel and I have been working on lately. It seems someone at Rotel spotted this thread and brought it to the attention of Rotel's management (whom I'm in contact with on a semi regular basis). They're concerned for people being taken advantage of when buying used product like this and would like to try and help if possible. What we're thinking of doing is to enable people to email Rotel with the serial number of the item via a special email address and they'd check out the items history to make sure everything seems normal. We're still working out the details on just how this would all take place but Spoonmam please try and get the serial number and pass it on to me for the time being and let me see what I can find out before you send any money out.

[SpOoNmAn]

Andrew, I apologize if I didn't go into more detail. The sale I had going wasn't audio related, but nonetheless, the warning signs were there, and thanks to you all in here, I wasn't taken for a fool. Your idea is a grand one though, if/when I do sell something, or buy something, I'd be more then happy to get you the Serial #'s. Again, thanks to all who inspired me too look into this deeper




Life is short, Play it LOUD!

[will1066]

This is diverting away from Rotel, but I'd like to gather your opinions about the best payment method to use when selling/buying on Ebay, audiogon, etc. TIA.

[Andrew Pratt]

We should likely start a new thread for the payment choices in a more approp area of the forum as well.

[meridian506]

Andrew, please move this to the new thread when you start it. But I thought I'd share now while it's still fresh in my mind.

Last month I sold my Meridian 861 on Audiogon. It was my first sale on there and so I had Zero feedback. To give buyers some comfort, I paid the $9.99 fee for Audiogon to verify my address (verify it against my credit card). The guy who bought it from me lives out of country, so I had him electronically transfer the money directly into my bank account. This involves giving him my name, address, bank account number and my branches address. This allows the buyer to be fairly sure that you are where you say you are. It's still not perfect, but it's probably the closest you'll get. It also means you have the money as soon as it is in your account (it takes 2-3 days from the buyer starting the process), none of this check clearing business.

An electronic bank transfer only costs about $20-$30 - much less than Western Union fees, and usually cheaper than cashing a foreign check - and so there is no excuse for a buyer to not use this option (and also for a seller to take it!).

Just my 2 peneth.

David.

[Andrew Pratt]

Andrew, please move this to the new thread when you start it.

I'll move it but i wasn't going to start a new thread since it wasn' me that brought it up.