EBAY SCAM...? Do you recognise these IM suit pics?

[tmax]

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.

 

[Coop]

I don't recognize the pics, but asking for payment outside of Paypal is a HUGE red flag. I'd steer clear.

 

[Lear60man]

Red Alert! Deal over. Asking a buyer to send money outside of Paypal is a deal killer as far as Ebay is concerned. So Tell them politely 'no thank you' as you only send money vie paypal.

 

[Spoons]

Looks a bit like Masked Rider's suits.

 

[tk3105]

Don't do it dude! Consider yourself lucky and walk away.

 

[Dracosfire83]

Don't do it. He already lied to you delivery in 4 to 7 days on both suits. He also claims they are recasts then later calls them handmade. This guy is setting off red flags the size of Texas.

 

[Daniel Nelms]

Bogus dude. Besides everything else you mentioned, nobody would sell a custom suit for that price. It's just too much work.
I would inform ebay too if you have the time.

 

[CTK creations]

idk about the first link but the second one is photo of a one of Masked Riders mk 4 statues, not even a suit.

 

[tmax]

Bogus dude. Besides everything else you mentioned, nobody would sell a custom suit for that price. It's just too much work.
I would inform ebay too if you have the time.

Yes agreed.

Regarding reporting it to ebay, whats the best way to contact them? I followed their "contact us" prompts and submitted a report on each listing. Will they then get in touch with me? Or do I need to contact them another way? Can't see any other way to contact them. Cheers.

 

[masked rider]

Yes , this seller stole my armor and statue pics that i posted on my Work FB page . Not sure if he even owned my Iron man armor or statue . He also stated that he will re-cast all the parts !!!!!! Damn he is a Hell of re caster and scammer !!!

Anyway , thanks for sharing this and bring up for discussion , i will report to Ebay if the auction is up again .

 

[Jaebird]

I don't use and know much about ebay so thank you for the heads up.

 

[tmax]

Thanks guys for the comments and feedback. Scam reported.