Weird Sale on Ebay Master Elite

[Osvaldo Silvera SOC]

Hi folks, Has anyone seen this sale?

 

First I want to apologize to the owner if it's a legitament sale. But....

 

It's a Steadicam Master Elite package.

Several pictures, all seems ok, except, I saw there was no reserve and it was at 5K (today it's at 6100.) Then I see the seller has 100% feedback, all good so far, but the account has been dormant since 2003 until like 2 months ago when a couple of super cheap items were purchased to drum up more positive feedback. So... I sent the seller a question asking that if I won the auction, if I could pick up the system in person in Ohio, since I have lots of friends all over the state.

I got the response that They do not provide pick up for the unit and they will only ship directly from their shipping department. In the ad it states only Wire into their Bank of America business account will be accepted., No Paypal, No Checks or Money Orders. But the listing does indicate they will accept Visa/Mastercard payments. Private bidding where bidders aren't shown at all, not even feedback rating.

Which to me says, no retrievable means of payment should something be a miss.

Once again, nothing meant by this only to protect would be investors, this may be a totally legitament deal.

You never know... If it's real, someone may get one hell of a deal. 1 day, 3 hours left.......

[Sydney Seeber]

if you win, use a legit escrow service. If it were me, no escrow, no buy. Maybe he can also provide you with a serial # as well so you can check its history...

[Henry Gelhart]

"Parcel may be declared in customs documents with any price you want" isn't that illegal?

 

jw :unsure:

[James Puli]

I'd noticed this as well. It follows a wierd EFP sale earlier this week where the seller wanted $1700 for a full EFP kit.

 

We emailed him from 2 different email addresses, only to get the same responses on both. Again, no pickup, no inspection. It was already at Fedex, waiting for shipping conformation of our address, and the seller said he was in US and the gear in London! I doubt this even existed.

 

Shame theres not more control. I just hope no ones falls for it and does their dough!

[Tomas Riuka]

Pretty much sure this is a scam. Not willing tomaccept payment by paypal is a sign. Direct bank wire means you can't get it back unless you have a written agreement and sue him for what he did, what most likely not gonna happen. And all these "I'm in London and gear is in US" proves it's a scam. Very common with cars, etc. Stay away from these.

[Osvaldo Silvera SOC]

Just trying to keep folks aware of possible potholes (deep) on the path to rig ownership. Maybe someone should ask for a serial number.

[Mark Schlicher]

I've reported these scams to ebay in the past and my experience is that they have been prompt in pulling them down.

[Bryan Bullard]

15 bids and it went for $7,503!!! If this was real then someone just scored a deal of a lifetime!!!

I saw the one that was $1,700. I emailed the guy a few times and asked him some questions like,"Can

you send close up pics of the gimbal and if the bearing spun freely" He sent me pics but they were

from a different rig. lol I knew it was a scam i just wanted to see how far this guy was willing to go.

All his items were the same price. He had a EX-3 for the same price. Haha!! But if this Master listing

was real i sure wish i had had the cash for it!!!! Peace!!

[Sydney Seeber]

Before it ended I asked the dude some questions in two messages and never received any responses. Dunno what the motive was legal or no, but it doesn't seem like it was a standard auction.

[Rich Schutte]

I saw the eBay listing and figured the arm alone was worth more, must be a scam.

I reread the listing a couple times and blew up the pictures for a closer look only to realize that It was my Steadicam.

It had been listed a couple years ago and I bought it after the auction from the owner in Indianapolis.

Same listing, green dots and tape on all the equipment pictured. So if there happens to be an exact clone to mine out there, someone got a great deal.

[Erik Brul]

I have been collecting rig pictures from auctions or galleries for the last couple of years. Must be a couple of hunderds at the moment. Not this rig btw..

A good idea for sellers is to watermark your pictures..

[jay kilroy]

I actually spoke with the winner of this auction, I told him it was too good to be true. I just forwarded him the link to this thread. I hope he took my advice.

 

Jay

[Richard Wilmot]

I actually spoke with the winner of this auction, I told him it was too good to be true. I just forwarded him the link to this thread. I hope he took my advice.

 

Jay

 

Hi Jay,

I am about to list a Master Series Elite Sled for sale and I agree the price of that rig seems to be "too good to be true".

I am about to list my sled with no monitor, vest or arm because I have just bought an XCS Utimate 2 sled. I am the original owner/operator of the Master Series Elite Sled and have kept it in perfect condition. As a ball park figure...What do you think the sale price should be ?

Cheers,

Richard Wilmot

[Tom Wills]

Looks like the scammer is at it again, the same rig is back up for sale! I'm reporting this to eBay.

[Osvaldo Silvera SOC]

Hi Tom, I also reported it to ebay, letting them know it seems the account has been hijacked. The Scammer made the bidding private, so no one can contact the bidder and warn them. Thieves and Fraud criminals need to be dealt with. Seeing this person try to scam others repeatedly gets my blood boiling.

And the actual owner of the account is probably not aware.