EBay - what's the scam with this one?

Last week a Nikon 200-400 f4 ED VRII lens appeared, it had a very low opening bid so I tossed $1876 on it so I could keep watching it. I kept watching it and it closed at $5700, that's a little more than I'd pay for one now that the market appears to be flooded with them. Tonight I get a "Second Chance Offer" on that lens, giving the price as $1876.

I've been on Ebay since 1998, and think I've seen them all but I've never seen this one. What's up with this? There is no way I was the 2nd highest bidder.

all I can say is, if someone really wanted to scam you, paypal will not pay for your mistakes. I don't know why people think they can be protected by paypal. Be careful!

Can you link to the listing? It'll help.

They will try to do this transaction outside of eBay and Paypal. You'll lose your money and you'll never see that lens. It's an old scam.

5Dmaniac wrote in post #15857110
They will try to do this transaction outside of eBay and Paypal. You'll lose your money and you'll never see that lens. It's an old scam.

I thought that might be it - funny thing, if I click on the link in the 2nd chance offer - all it does it open another instance of email. It does not go to EBay.
Anyone know an email address at EBay to report this kind of thing to? I doubt they care, but I'll send if anyone has the address handy.

Here's a link to the original auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com …NA:US:3160#ht_2​137wt_1182

rick_reno wrote in post #15857207
I thought that might be it - funny thing, if I click on the link in the 2nd chance offer - all it does it open another instance of email. It does not go to EBay.
Anyone know an email address at EBay to report this kind of thing to? I doubt they care, but I'll send if anyone has the address handy.

Here's a link to the original auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com …NA:US:3160#ht_2​137wt_1182

Click on the Report Item link on right side of page when viewing the listing.

The original listing looks legit. It does not contain any of the signs associated with a scam. The second chance offer seems like a scam. You are way down the list of bidders at an extremely low price. I wouldn't touch the second chance offer!

rick_reno wrote in post #15857207
I thought that might be it - funny thing, if I click on the link in the 2nd chance offer - all it does it open another instance of email. It does not go to EBay.
Anyone know an email address at EBay to report this kind of thing to? I doubt they care, but I'll send if anyone has the address handy.

Here's a link to the original auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com …NA:US:3160#ht_2​137wt_1182

it's a fake second chance offer. does it exist in your ebay account messages?

The images seem to be legit, or at least not stolen directly from google.

If I'm looking in the right place on EBay (my messages) - there is nothing there about this lens.

Got this note this morning from the "seller" engine@engineer.inb99.​info

Hi, Finally managed to get to a laptop where I can check my inbox, hope it hasn't been long since you emailed. My wife and I celebrate 15 years of marriage and we're on holiday. Long story short, the winner after speaking on the phone, waited for him all day long came up and wanted a straight swap. If that wasn't enough the bugger almost made us miss our flight. Hopefully we can come to an agreement so I won't have to relist it, therefore I am willing to accept your last bid price $1,876.00. I've got nothing to hide, agree with and recommend for your peace of mind a proper inspection before cash changes hands. I will only proceed using the eBay Protection Program. You will get 5 days for item inspection, I do accept returns. I can't accept a direct payment through this program, all payments will be handled by eBay. Seems eBay won't release the funds to me until you confirm the item's as described. If I just knew about this ebay program from the start. There's always something new to learn. Next week I'll return home and would like to have a buyer waiting for me. I'd appreciate if you could get back with an answer by tomorrow if you're keen to buy it. Once I receive your reply I'll just register everything with eBay. Regards P.S. My cell phone says no network coverage but I do check emails regularly.

That is almost an impossible price for the lens to be real. But it could be one of many crazy thing everyday. Keep us updated. Good luck in getting the lens.

But on the second thought, I would say "if it is too good to be true, it probably is"

On the third thought after checking his feedback - seems to be a legit guy. Sold some big telephotos in the last couple of weeks. But then he should be well informed the value of the lens, unless he wants to give 2000$ away.

rick_reno wrote in post #15857962
If I'm looking in the right place on EBay (my messages) - there is nothing there about this lens.

Got this note this morning from the "seller" engine@engineer.inb99.​info

Hi, Finally managed to get to a laptop where I can check my inbox, hope it hasn't been long since you emailed. My wife and I celebrate 15 years of marriage and we're on holiday. Long story short, the winner after speaking on the phone, waited for him all day long came up and wanted a straight swap. If that wasn't enough the bugger almost made us miss our flight. Hopefully we can come to an agreement so I won't have to relist it, therefore I am willing to accept your last bid price $1,876.00. I've got nothing to hide, agree with and recommend for your peace of mind a proper inspection before cash changes hands. I will only proceed using the eBay Protection Program. You will get 5 days for item inspection, I do accept returns. I can't accept a direct payment through this program, all payments will be handled by eBay. Seems eBay won't release the funds to me until you confirm the item's as described. If I just knew about this ebay program from the start. There's always something new to learn. Next week I'll return home and would like to have a buyer waiting for me. I'd appreciate if you could get back with an answer by tomorrow if you're keen to buy it. Once I receive your reply I'll just register everything with eBay. Regards P.S. My cell phone says no network coverage but I do check emails regularly.

yep. it's a hacked account

Always look for the Second Chance Offers right on eBay. Emailing fake ones is a pretty common scam from what I've seen.

People from Connecticut don't usually go on holiday or call people buggers.

Be very careful.

Maybe I'll reply and tell him/her that the price is too low and I would feel better paying a fair price, say $5100. See where this thing goes.