New Ebay Rolex restrictions!

[John Ireland]

I was just blocked from relisting my Rolex DD for sale on ebay. The reason given was that because of high volume of complaints about countfeit items, that if I want to sell my personal Rolex on ebay, I have to open a Verified Paypal account. After hours of running around in circles, and after speaking with three different ebay representatives, none could explain how becoming a Verified PayPal account would reduce counterfeiting. But they also acknowledged that by becoming a Verified Paypal account, they would have access to my bank account...and funds.

I think this is a scam to force people to use Paypal...and then have them charged by Paypal for the pleasure. In the meantime, they told me this will apply to all people who try to sell a Rolex on ebay and do not have the Verified account.

Interested in hearing if anyone else has this problem and how they feel about it. I realize the big volume sellers already have verified accounts...but these are seperate business accounts...not their personal accounts.

John Ireland

[tonelar]

I know that this christmas Ebay hit a record high with replica rolex sales. So havbing a verified account makes it harder for the seller to unload and run.

I sympathize that this is putting you in a tight spot... however I'm also wondering how effective getting sellers to use verified accounts will be in keeping the con-artists off ebay.

[Incurable]

Anyone can request a transfer from your bank account(s) with the proper information. Having a verified account w/PayPal isn't really that big a deal, most already do... If anyone makes a unauthorized withdrawl from your account, it's a felony and you are insured. The fine print, however, might give Paypal the proper authorization in the case of a dispute.

[tonelar]

Actually... they're claiming the verified account idea is hoping to create a trail between the victims and the sellers of these fake watches. Up until now, most scam artists would sell a couple of watches and then close down their accounts. This basically puts another hurdle in their way.

[ginzo]

I think its a good idea and will help with the problem of counterfeit rolexes.

[montecristo]

http://base.google.com/base

You won't get as much interested buyers, but you can set your own price, use google checkout or any other payment method and won't cost you anything.

I'm certainly not sad to see such restrictions put in place.

[astcell]

There is a flip side to it. If the buyer says you sent him a fake watch, what do you do then? he can easily swap it out for a fake one, and paypal is on his side. Google - paypal sucks - and read the horror.

[nko51]

It's true! alot of sellers on Ebay are getting jerked around by bogus bidders. This happened to me just last week, and cost me a 6 day delay in getting the watch reposted. It sounds intrusive, but it is actually a good measure to have.

[John Ireland]

and then charge them for the pleasure. Ebay collects fees for the list, a percentage of the sale, and a fee for using Paypal...which is why many many many small volume hobbiests and businesses refuse to use Paypal. I read about more people getting screwed because of paypal than the other way around. And again, if Ebay needed a data base to protect people from counterfeits, it is their own feedback system. Even the manufactured fake feedback (dozens from the same buyer for inexpensive items) is easily weeded out by simply looking at it. I have been a member and small time hobbiest on ebay since 1998...I had one negative feedback in all that time, (a response to negative feedback I left regarding my very first ebay watch purchase...a Pierce that didn't run). If Ebay can't seperate me from their problems, then they need to look at their own internal systems. Forcing anyone to be a Paypal user will do nothing to solve counterfeiting.

[mikey]

Ebay is the middle man but there is no other website that is going to get your item sold in 24 hours or less. I was able to sell all the items I had to sell within a week (non watch related items). Maybe one day ebay will not allow Rolex on there site.

[Welshwatchman]

It is most certainly the case that Ebay should be doing SO much more to stop the sort of shite scams and Orlex watches being sold as real.

If this is the only measure they have brought in then shame on them for being lazy and motivated partly by potential increased Paypal income.

I suggested to Ebay that there should be moderation on CERTAIN problem categories whereby sellers and items could be further scrutinised to reduce the number of scams.

[astcell]

Well you can always sell your Rolex for $1 with $6,999.00 shipping.

[nko51]

Originally Posted by astcell

Well you can always sell your Rolex for $1 with $6,999.00 shipping.

That's one of the scams a few will use to deceive someone into clicking the buy it now button. Or, better yet leave the shipping cost blank, and blast you with a high shipping and handling fee after the purchase is made.

[colemanitis]

Originally Posted by nko51

That's one of the scams a few will use to deceive someone into clicking the buy it now button. Or, better yet leave the shipping cost blank, and blast you with a high shipping and handling fee after the purchase is made.

And shame on the buyer for not beeing more careful...

[nko51]

I second that motion!

[nko51]

Originally Posted by tonelar

I know that this christmas Ebay hit a record high with replica rolex sales. So havbing a verified account makes it harder for the seller to unload and run.

I sympathize that this is putting you in a tight spot... however I'm also wondering how effective getting sellers to use verified accounts will be in keeping the con-artists off ebay.

Last week a thought I sold my watch to a buyer that used buy it now, and the buyer somehow managed to send me a fake PayPal verification, stating that the money would be released once the watch was shipped, and provided a tracking number. I emailed the info to spoof@paypal.com, and they verified it was a fake. I lost 6 days in reposting and had to fight to get my posting and final value fees reversed.

[Mrdi]

That's why I'm buying my next Rollie from Astell on RF!

[A. Jacobs]

I recently sold my Omega which I had listed on ebay, but I was contacted privately by someone who saw my listing. We used orange-financial.com to complete our transaction. It was the purchasers' request because he said he did not trust paypal.

[astcell]

Originally Posted by Mrdi

That's why I'm buying my next Rollie from Astell on RF!

Well I got my LV today and will sell my SS GMTII most likely. I am back on the list again for the next special watch they get, yay! Here's hoping for the SSWFDC!

Sorry no pics, they sent the watch to my CA address, so I pay $35 shipping instead of $345 sales tax. It is nice to have a California driver's license, I wish I thought of that sooner!

[aeroguy]

Check out www.nopaypal.com. Those who think this ebay idea is good have never been shafted by paypal.

[fslover]

Unbelievable,,,IMO,,,I would open an account strictly for the paypal account, and keep $2.00 in it. Paypal would then,,in no way shape or form, have access to your real money account. Just an opinion !!! When you sell your rolex, state that you would prefer to have amoney order or check as paypal will charge you lots of $$$ to recieve your payment via paypal. If I did recieve money via paypal, I would quickly have it transferred to my regular bank account where paypal has no control over it.

[Kris]

Originally Posted by fslover

Unbelievable,,,IMO,,,I would open an account strictly for the paypal account, and keep $2.00 in it. Paypal would then,,in no way shape or form, have access to your real money account. Just an opinion !!! When you sell your rolex, state that you would prefer to have amoney order or check as paypal will charge you lots of $$$ to recieve your payment via paypal. If I did recieve money via paypal, I would quickly have it transferred to my regular bank account where paypal has no control over it.

This is what most people do.

All PayPal wants is a bank account number. As too how much in funds is available in the account is none of Paypal's business, so it's quite easy to just open an account with the lowest minimum balance in the account (That your bank requires) and that's all that's needed.

[astcell]

Paypal can always put a lien on that account. And I hope you do not have other accounts at the same bank because if they get a court order you are toast.

I had a militarty overpayment about ten years ago. They found their error and took all th emoney back, AT ONCE. That is when I found out that anyone who can do a direct deposit to youre account can always withdraw ALL of what they put in there simply by retractively cancelling the deposit. All my pay for over 15 years has been direct deposit, imagine them wanting it all back now?

The only way to avoid this is to with draw the money in CASH, not a chasier's check or anything traceable, walk it to another bank, and deposit it there. Otherwise the paper trails are too easy to find.

Their intention is obvious. If you are a good guy nothing will hurt you. And if you are a bad guy nothing will help you. But folks slip through the cracks on both sides. For every bad guy who gets away, there is a good guy out there wondering why he didn't even get a kiss on the cheek when he got scr3wed.

[Blown Wide Open]

Originally Posted by nko51

Last week a thought I sold my watch to a buyer that used buy it now, and the buyer somehow managed to send me a fake PayPal verification, stating that the money would be released once the watch was shipped, and provided a tracking number. I emailed the info to spoof@paypal.com, and they verified it was a fake. I lost 6 days in reposting and had to fight to get my posting and final value fees reversed.

I had the same thing happen when I just sold my Eberhard Champion...

but on a positive note. I just got a GMTII from a seller I have beem buying from for a long time.

PAtrick

[A. Jacobs]

Originally Posted by A. Jacobs

I recently sold my Omega which I had listed on ebay, but I was contacted privately by someone who saw my listing. We used orange-financial.com to complete our transaction. It was the purchasers' request because he said he did not trust paypal.

There is a perfectly good reason I am quoting my own reply to this thread.
As I type this, I am extremely pissed.
As I originally posted, I sold my Omega Seamaster to a buyer who contacted me privately after seeing my watch listed on ebay. He presented to me an offer via email. He said that he wanted to use the escrow site www.orange-financial.com because he did not trust paypal. Before I accepted his proposal, I did a google search for orange-financial and nothing suspicious showed up, so I ended the auction and accepted his offer. Everything on the site looked legit. It was a professional looking site, and I saw no reason to be worried.
The escrow site worked as follows:
1. Register
2. Wait for the money to appear in your "account"
3. Ship the item to the buyer, and enter the tracking number so that the escrow site knows when the item is delivered.
4. After the item is delivered the site allows you to remove the money from your "account". They tell you that check processing takes 1-10 business days.

Now, I requested my check from the site 1 week ago. I still have not recieved my check, so I decided to check the progress of my money about an hour ago. When I went to the site, it was no longer there, so I again searched the site on google. Google gave me a disturbing link which I have included. PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITES LISTED THROUGH THIS LINK TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM OF FRAUD.

I am still somehow hoping that I will recieve my money, but it sure isn't looking good. I emailed the buyer of my Omega and told him that if he scammed me I am reporting him to the FBI, and t the French authorities(he lives in France and I still have his address ).
So go ahead and complain about paypal all you want, but at least paypal provides some protection to buyers and sellers and they have a proven track record and are truly legit.http://db.aa419.org/fakebankslist.php

[DesertDogs]

Originally Posted by A. Jacobs

There is a perfectly good reason I am quoting my own reply to this thread.
As I type this, I am extremely pissed.
As I originally posted, I sold my Omega Seamaster to a buyer who contacted me privately after seeing my watch listed on ebay. He presented to me an offer via email. He said that he wanted to use the escrow site www.orange-financial.com because he did not trust paypal. Before I accepted his proposal, I did a google search for orange-financial and nothing suspicious showed up, so I ended the auction and accepted his offer. Everything on the site looked legit. It was a professional looking site, and I saw no reason to be worried.
The escrow site worked as follows:
1. Register
2. Wait for the money to appear in your "account"
3. Ship the item to the buyer, and enter the tracking number so that the escrow site knows when the item is delivered.
4. After the item is delivered the site allows you to remove the money from your "account". They tell you that check processing takes 1-10 business days.

Now, I requested my check from the site 1 week ago. I still have not recieved my check, so I decided to check the progress of my money about an hour ago. When I went to the site, it was no longer there, so I again searched the site on google. Google gave me a disturbing link which I have included. PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITES LISTED THROUGH THIS LINK TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM OF FRAUD.

I am still somehow hoping that I will recieve my money, but it sure isn't looking good. I emailed the buyer of my Omega and told him that if he scammed me I am reporting him to the FBI, and t the French authorities(he lives in France and I still have his address ).
So go ahead and complain about paypal all you want, but at least paypal provides some protection to buyers and sellers and they have a proven track record and are truly legit.http://db.aa419.org/fakebankslist.php

Very sorry to hear about this happening to you - but thank you for sharing. Hopefully you have saved someone else from making a mistake and I really hope you somehow get your money. Now I know why many of the Ebay dealers will not accept escrow transfers. I was not even aware of how they work.

[montecristo]

Sorry to hear about what happened to you andrew, best of luck to you.

Speaking of escrow scam, I read about this story a while back. Its also about escrow scam but in that case it was scamming the scammer.

http://joi.ito.com/images2/thepowerbook.pdf

[astcell]

orange-financial.com was created on 25 JAN 2007, sounds very illegit to me.

Link here.

Doesn't look good, then again maybe we have members in the area who can knock on the door.