Pre-Scam or is this for real? 2004 Prius under $5K

It would help to see an actual link of the auction. Is $5k the starting price or BUY IT NOW? At that price has the reserve already been met? If it's $5k BUY IT NOW (which I doubt), then it's probably too good to be true. If it's just started at $5k with reserve not met, then the final price will be higher than $5k.

 

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I smell a scam.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 07:22 PM) [snapback]487673[/snapback]</div>

Just looked and saw nothing like that on ebay!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 07:47 PM) [snapback]487685[/snapback]</div>

This sounds too good to be true (although I don't know what the seller is representing as to the condition and history of the car). I'm betting that this is a SCAM --- under $5,000 for a car that should be worth around $10,000 more? FYI, the Kelley Blue Book value - private sale, for a 2004 Prius in NYC is $13,035 if it's in "fair" condition, $14,425 if it's in "Good" condition, and $15,460 if it's in "Excellent" condition.

 

I take it the safe-pay is through Paypal, Ebay's payment service? Where is the seller and the car in relation to you, and is it close enough for you to go view it yourself?

If it was Ebay and using their systems I'd say probably its ok, as long as the sellers feedback is good. But on another site, with no references/feedback, I'm more leery.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 04:47 PM) [snapback]487685[/snapback]</div>

Somehow, I highly doubt that eBay Safe Pay Insurer will guarantee a non eBay transaction.

How far is the car from where you are? For such substantial savings it may be worth a trip to inspect it before you turn over any amount of money to a third party.

 

If it's not some kinda scam it's a salvage. Run far, far away.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 08:38 PM) [snapback]487717[/snapback]</div>

Looks nice. But it still doesn't pass the smell test --- why else would someone sell a car for $5,000 if its ostensible value is $15,000? And wouldn't you think that if this was on the up and up that there would be literally hundreds of people locally (wherever the car is located) willing to have grabbed it by now? Personally, I wouldn't even put $10 at risk on this one, let alone $5,000.

 

This is most certainly a SCAM. There is no eBay SafePay Insurer that I have been able to find on the web. I have, however, found lots of horror stories related to someone buying something on eBay and using "SafePay" to pay for it and finding out they were scammed.

Run, don't walk, away from this deal. Where is the car supposedly located?

 

One question I have is why does your profile have you owning a 2007 Pkg #9? I wasn't aware that New York had those!

And if it's too good to be true IT ISN'T.

 

Shouldn't the upholstery color be the same for the seats and the carpet? Katrina Kar?

Ebay Safepay Insurer aka Scam

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Jul 30 2007, 08:55 PM) [snapback]487730[/snapback]</div>

That's right. If it's salvage (a car that was flooded, underwatered, etc.), it's still a scam if the seller represents that it's not salvage. And even if the seller admitted that it's salvage, $5,000 is still too much. Run far, far away, and don't look back!

 

Its not a salvage car, even a salvage car that looks like that and turns on and hits 65mph would be worth more then $5k even though I would not want it.

The car does not exist or is someone elses. Its a scam, you send the $ and get nothing. The key is the paysafe is not even a real company. Ebay's company is paypal and they are not entirely safe but at least they are real.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 09:25 PM) [snapback]487747[/snapback]</div>

If you didn't previously click on Presto's "Ebay Safepay Insurer aka Scam" link that he posted above, you should.

 

BTW, SafePay Solutions is a real company in TX, but has a horrible reputation. They are not an escrow service company, however. Their FAQ states that they don't do third party transactions. They are more akin to Western Union. Once you send the money to them, you can pretty much count on kissing it good bye and not getting anything in return.

How did you find out about this car for sale? Saw it on e-bay? Got a direct e-mail about it? Craigslist? Ad in the paper? If you have a web link for it, can you post it?

 

No way for under $5,000.

Too good to be true.

Either scam or salvage or both.

I'd say avoid it.

Ah, Romania. I just read this in yahoo news:

"Romanian programmers, such as Pohontu's team, are among the most sought-after in the world as large international IT companies turn to the east European country to take advantage of strong computing and language skills coupled with cheap labor.

Its computer literacy is not without its dark side -- the country has an unenviable reputation as a hotbed for computer fraud and a large community of hackers.

But legitimate IT is one of Romania's fastest growing export sectors with turnover of about 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion).

Roughly 90 percent of some 1,000 IT companies in Romania are foreign-owned and the government hopes exports will reach 1 billion euros in the next couple of years."

"FBI data show Romania may be the biggest single source of online auction fraud in the world, a multi-million dollar industry that scams people using Web sites like eBay.

"It's highly organized. They create fake accounts to trick people into thinking they are insured," said Gary Dickson, FBI representative in Romania."

Romanians lighten up Harry Potter