Hey guys.
So I was browsing the movie props listings on ebay the other day and came across 2 listings (from the same seller) for completed IM suits. Both auctions had a start bid of $500 which immediately caught my attention and also my suspicion. One thing I've learned from my brief time using ebay is that if it looks too good to be true, 99.9% of the time it is. The seller only has 2 feedback, 1 positive and 1 negative (something about a buyer wanting to collect on Christmas Day). So I contacted the seller and asked a few questions regarding construction time and what the winner of the auction would be receiving regardless of sale price. They replied with logical answers, custom suits were $2000+, it took 4 to 6 weeks to complete a suit, and the winner would get a fully completed suit (as per the listing pics) with lights installed.
As the auctions were closing soon and ebay has very good buyer protection I thought I'd take the punt and bid. I won both auctions...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191476981723
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191476982707
The first thing I did after winning them was send the seller a message asking for confirmation of what I would be getting...
Dear usste-eomlef,
Hi guys. Thanks for offering these fantastic suits! I actually won both of your auctions, so very excited to see these in real life.
Before I make payment on each auction I just wanted to confirm that I will be receiving 2 Iron Man suits (one from each auction) as per the pictures on the listings, finished with lights, shipped to New Zealand.
I understand these take time to make, can you give me a firm ETA? Also, would it be possible to get weekly progress pics sent through as they are being made? That would be awesome if possible.
Please confirm the above and I will make payment.
Cheers,
Tarry.
Their reply...
Dear tmaxnz,
Hi there! Thank you for the compliments and congratulations on winning the auction!!! We can get to work on your suits ASAP. We have a couple other orders but we can work on your two suits first.
There is one problem though. We have been running into a lot of resistance with Ebay, Paypal and also on our Etsy store. Marvel's legal team has been working diligently to prevent us from selling these. Ebay, Paypal and Etsy are forced to make it difficult for us because we don't have the copyrights to Iron Man.
Our paypal is currently limited and Ebay won't let us send more than one message a day now. We attached a picture of our e-mail and phone number for you. We would be more than happy to take care of you and get started on your armor immediately, but we don't think we're going to be able to receive payment through Paypal. Would you be able to pay via bank transfer or some other alternative form of payment? We're sorry for the inconvenience and we completely understand if you need to take a pass. Thanks very much, here's hoping we we can still work with you!
- usste-eomlef
This morning I google searched "Custom Creation Services"... nothing. I googled "robot wizards emporium"... nothing. Finally I googled "usste-eomlef" and found a recent conversation here on the RPF regarding a previous listing from the same seller...
http://www.therpf.com/f78/my-iron-man-mark-iv-maskedrider-215163
So the guy is using other peoples pics for his listing, hmmm...
1+1+1=3 right?? $500 IM suit + bad feedback + asking for payment outside ebay + using other peoples pics = SCAMMER??!!
I was happy to give him the benefit of the doubt until he asked for payment outside of ebay and PayPal. Not to mention using other peoples pics on previous listings. If you recognise the pics in the listings I won please let me know and if anyone has any info or advice how to proceed I'm all ears. Never reported a listing or seller to ebay before.
Thanks guys, I appreciate your input.
So I was browsing the movie props listings on ebay the other day and came across 2 listings (from the same seller) for completed IM suits. Both auctions had a start bid of $500 which immediately caught my attention and also my suspicion. One thing I've learned from my brief time using ebay is that if it looks too good to be true, 99.9% of the time it is. The seller only has 2 feedback, 1 positive and 1 negative (something about a buyer wanting to collect on Christmas Day). So I contacted the seller and asked a few questions regarding construction time and what the winner of the auction would be receiving regardless of sale price. They replied with logical answers, custom suits were $2000+, it took 4 to 6 weeks to complete a suit, and the winner would get a fully completed suit (as per the listing pics) with lights installed.
As the auctions were closing soon and ebay has very good buyer protection I thought I'd take the punt and bid. I won both auctions...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191476981723
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191476982707
The first thing I did after winning them was send the seller a message asking for confirmation of what I would be getting...
Dear usste-eomlef,
Hi guys. Thanks for offering these fantastic suits! I actually won both of your auctions, so very excited to see these in real life.
Before I make payment on each auction I just wanted to confirm that I will be receiving 2 Iron Man suits (one from each auction) as per the pictures on the listings, finished with lights, shipped to New Zealand.
I understand these take time to make, can you give me a firm ETA? Also, would it be possible to get weekly progress pics sent through as they are being made? That would be awesome if possible.
Please confirm the above and I will make payment.
Cheers,
Tarry.
Their reply...
Dear tmaxnz,
Hi there! Thank you for the compliments and congratulations on winning the auction!!! We can get to work on your suits ASAP. We have a couple other orders but we can work on your two suits first.
There is one problem though. We have been running into a lot of resistance with Ebay, Paypal and also on our Etsy store. Marvel's legal team has been working diligently to prevent us from selling these. Ebay, Paypal and Etsy are forced to make it difficult for us because we don't have the copyrights to Iron Man.
Our paypal is currently limited and Ebay won't let us send more than one message a day now. We attached a picture of our e-mail and phone number for you. We would be more than happy to take care of you and get started on your armor immediately, but we don't think we're going to be able to receive payment through Paypal. Would you be able to pay via bank transfer or some other alternative form of payment? We're sorry for the inconvenience and we completely understand if you need to take a pass. Thanks very much, here's hoping we we can still work with you!
- usste-eomlef
This morning I google searched "Custom Creation Services"... nothing. I googled "robot wizards emporium"... nothing. Finally I googled "usste-eomlef" and found a recent conversation here on the RPF regarding a previous listing from the same seller...
http://www.therpf.com/f78/my-iron-man-mark-iv-maskedrider-215163
So the guy is using other peoples pics for his listing, hmmm...
1+1+1=3 right?? $500 IM suit + bad feedback + asking for payment outside ebay + using other peoples pics = SCAMMER??!!
I was happy to give him the benefit of the doubt until he asked for payment outside of ebay and PayPal. Not to mention using other peoples pics on previous listings. If you recognise the pics in the listings I won please let me know and if anyone has any info or advice how to proceed I'm all ears. Never reported a listing or seller to ebay before.
Thanks guys, I appreciate your input.
Last edited by a moderator: