Ebay Booby-Trap Alert.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 Dec 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Le_Corsair	06 Dec 2003
There is a seller on Ebay right now offering rare and OOP decks for very low prices on Buy It Now status. These decks have a booby-trap attached; when you scroll down to shipping charges, you will see that they are, to the the least, extremely high! The seller excuses this deception by describing it as charitable in nature. Here is one of the auctions that I am talking about. Please make note of the seller's ID, and make your decision to buy based on the facts, and not the baited price. Bob :THERM Edited to add: you will notice that the listing has been cancelled. Thanks to all of you who took action in this matter! Bob :THERM

Moonbow*	06 Dec 2003
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!! Ebay shouldn't allow that. What a rip off!!!!! Moonbow* :mad:

Jewel-ry	06 Dec 2003
Wow, what a rip-off. Imagine pushing that buttonw without looking. Doesn't bear thinking about does it? Good spot Bob. Hope everyone reads this post. J :)

jmd	06 Dec 2003
Thanks, Le_Corsair I decided to send him/her an e.mail: Either the postage is misleading, or the whole offer is basically a con... Would you please check _ACTUAL_ postal charges, rather than making up your own... Thanks for keeping e-bay the honest and up-front place it has earned. It's a pity this kind of rubbish occurs, leading the unsuspecting or inexperienced to falsely get negative feedback... and giving Tarot bad repute in the process!

Tallarico	06 Dec 2003
JMD, I emailed them too! But before I read your post! I will post the info I recieve (if I get any)...

Kiama	06 Dec 2003
Does Ebay have message boards? If so, maybe somebody could post something in there warning people: it would get a wider audience than here, possibly. This really does make me angry. I know you should always check everything before buying, but sometimes accidents happen... And really sellers should be decent enough to keep shipping prices realistic! :( Kiama

MeeWah	06 Dec 2003
The relatively "low" price is misleading--the intent is partially to capture the attention & thus, the interest (as are the over-used descriptives of "rare" & "OOP"). Note that such sellers make up for the low price by socking it to ye with the supposed shipping & handling charges. The best defense/offense to such shenanigans is to be *an informed consumer*. Shop around; compare prices; consult with others who are knowledgeable. The rule-of-thumb is: "LET THE BUYER BEWARE"!! If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is not. & many thanks to Le_Corsair for the most timely heads up, especially for the gift-giving season!

firestorm	06 Dec 2003
This is exactly why I try to get OOP or HTF decks another way first. I collect dolls and was taken the first auction I made bid on by an overinflated shipping charge. Live and Learn. I won't be making that mistake again and I also won't be using eBay anymore than I have to. Everyone will eventually be up on what is going on over there, and I think this will come back to haunt them at some point.

Majecot	06 Dec 2003
Holy Cow!!! That CAN be reported to Ebay! Shipping of $125.00!!! Well we all know what happens to people with bad Karma!

Mystic Zyl	06 Dec 2003
These type of people really make me irate. Ebay should not allow such misleading ads. I am taking another look at Ebay; My boyfriend and two other people were ripped off ($50.00) by the same merchant and Ebay will do nothing about it. I will not buy if the merchant has even 1 negitive feedback.

HudsonGray	06 Dec 2003
Report it here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_inline/index.html Use the 'fraud' selection, then on the next screen I think the 'deceptive practices' fits the bill, or whichever way you want to code it. Two more clicks gets you to a section where you voice your concerns. Make sure to copy the URL you're wanting them to check out. There's also a 'help' button somewhere on the tool bar, which you can use if you're not registered with ebay, but if you are registered, use the URL above. I went & filed a complaint on them & listed my reasons very clearly, the message you get after you hit the submit button says they'll get back to you in 24 hours, so someone does look at those things. I'd say if they get 10 people suddenly voicing concerns on this seller, they'll pull the auctions. Charging $125 for 'shipping' because of a charity is not legal. Especially since it's 'forced' charity.

Mystic Zyl	06 Dec 2003
Hudson Gray you must be the most resourceful person I have ever written to.

MeeWah	06 Dec 2003
Norse Tarot reprint will be available from its creator: http://www.mythographica.com/norsetarot/ Also check out: http://www.aaronaromatherapytarot.com/divination/tarot/norse.html http://www.mabels.com/usgtarot3.html

cjtarot	06 Dec 2003
Hi.. the other one to watch for is .."Actual shipping + $1.. handling" or "Actual Shipping only". then you get an email and they tell you shipping is gonna be double what usps said it would be. What do you do..your stuck..or you don't buy and get a neg. response.. Oh well, buyer beware.. BTW..THANK YOU FOR THE LINK TO THE NORSE TAROT REPRINT..I will be watching..it would be a great birthday gift..ROAR.lol CJ

Diana	06 Dec 2003
I would love to report this b*stard, but I'm not a member of E-Bay and to complain, one has to register. Pity - I love exposing cheats.

Majecot	06 Dec 2003
Well, I too could not sit by and not say anything. I also reported this seller! I believe that this falls under the catagory of deceptive practices as well. Even though EBay states that they will NOT investigate high shipping costs, I am going on the premise that they have not anticipated one for $125.00. This is outrageous! I hate to think of some poor soul that may get hooked. Perhaps if enough people state their case they will ban this seller. Diana you could join :)

Tallarico	06 Dec 2003
THis is the response I got from the seller of those cards...Not good enough for me still seems sneaky. He originally said it was for charity, still no charity listed. I asked him specifically in my email to name the charity.why should somone else pay the shipping. And if you are going to ship something during Christmas, plan ahead! This is the response: have collected toys for a year and they need shipped (shipping to europe is mega bux)- if i can't get them shipped now, they have to wait for a convoy to travel there next may or so, with a religious affiliation! the religious affiliation did nothing to help me gather and buy the toys, i can sit on my duff and let them take them, and let people believe that highehr powers are looking out for them, or i can send them, and let them know normal people concern thermselves too! i have 4 big computer monitor boxes FULL to the brim!

Gerbear	06 Dec 2003
The auctions have been de-listed by ebay, although the seller says that she made an error in the listing. This is a means of getting around ebay's fees, and is not allowed. We may not hear from this seller for a while depending on what action ebay took. I'm sure that all the people reporting this incident to ebay, at least brought their attention to it before anyone was victimized.

Moonbow*	06 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Gerbear The auctions have been de-listed by ebay, Well done Le_Corsair and everyone - a result......*.*.*.*.*. Moonbow* :D

Mimers	06 Dec 2003
Thanks Le Corsair. Pretty honest for a pirate! ;)

Le_Corsair	06 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Mimers Thanks Le Corsair. Pretty honest for a pirate! ;) Please! I prefer "Maritime Income Redistribution Specialist!" :joke: Bob :THERM

firestorm	06 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Gerbear The auctions have been de-listed by ebay, although the seller says that she made an error in the listing. This is a means of getting around ebay's fees, and is not allowed. We may not hear from this seller for a while depending on what action ebay took. I'm sure that all the people reporting this incident to ebay, at least brought their attention to it before anyone was victimized. Too funny. Ebay won't investigate high shipping charges unless it effects their bottom line. :D

Riversea	06 Dec 2003
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2970482226&category=19271 Hope the buyer knew the shipping going into this! I guess it is an ok price at $157 (another closed at $200!), but still it stinks! And not a word about this one going for charity! I love eBay, and have only had one bad experience when a seller not ship an item. I guess I've been lucky! Edited to add: searching on the seller's username, they closed a bunch of tarot decks today that they were using the same ploy of low "Buy-it-now" and inflated shipping. Shipping ranged from $17 to $150 or so!

Tallarico	06 Dec 2003
The above link says "open for researching". I suppose this means that it is under investigation...

Shade	06 Dec 2003
I bid on an art print that started at $.01. No one else bud, after the auction was over I discovered that the shipping for the print was $25.00. I really feel that overhead and whatnot should only be a part of the list price and shipping should reflect the money for a box and postage.

LadyMedusa	06 Dec 2003
Tallarico, "Open for researching " was part of the title listed by the seller. I believe to indicate the deck has not been used for reading. For everyone else , Ebay does have a policy against using excessive shipping and handling to circumvent the normal seller fees as I posted in the other thread reguarding this seller. LadyMedusa edited to ask: How is it a trap when the listing clearly states the shipping charge? Absurd yes, just plain rip-off yes, but trap? Not if you use common sense and read the listing before you bid. The seller did make it rather obvious.

Le_Corsair	07 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by LadyMedusa Edited to ask: How is it a trap when the listing clearly states the shipping charge? Absurd yes, just plain rip-off yes, but trap? Not if you use common sense and read the listing before you bid. The seller did make it rather obvious. The phrase I used to describe this practice by the seller was booby-trap. Here is the definition of booby-trap as found in the American Heritage Dictionary: A situation that catches one off guard; a pitfall. Further, a booby is defined in the same dictionary as: A person regarded as stupid. (their wording, not mine.) My intention was not to save the person using common sense, as you put it, but the person made heedless by desire to get a rare tarot deck for a song. In an Ebay Buy It Now sale situation, speed is of the utmost importance, as someone else may get the bargain before you do. Therefore not everyone will scroll down to see the hidden, heinous shipping charges, but will click the Buy It Now button, ending the auction and obliging themselves to pay for the item regardless, as Ebay's policy on recanting bids is rather harsh. I did not say not to buy from this person. I advised potential purchasers who visit this forum to be careful about apparent bargains and that deceptive practices were being employed. The people on this forum are my friends, and you don't let friends walk unsuspecting into danger. This is the essential difference between the Tarot Fool and the Tarot Hermit. Bob :THERM

Mystic Zyl	07 Dec 2003
3 Cheers for people that really care! I guess this web site really makes a difference. Sometimes as one person you can feel helpless to instigate changes, but as a group, well feel the power! Glad and proud to be a member here.

Ruby7	07 Dec 2003
I have made a few e-bay purchases that I have been quite happy with, sellers were honest, decent, people. In one case i purchased a jadeite pendant and received it broken in the mail due to bad packaging . I e-mailed the seller and complained about the bad packaging because if the item had been packaged well it would not have been broken. I did not expect him to do anything about this because he was under no obligation to. He sent me another pendant completely free of charge and well packaged. We had some good communication back and forth, and we gave each other positive feedback in the end. I think that the seller LeCorsair alerted us to was definitely using deceptive methods. Yes, he/she did state the shipping charges, but the "information" before that was so long and I think purposely long so that the buyer might not read all the way to the end. There are definitely people to watch out for on E-bay and thanks to LeCorsair for alerting us and everybody involved who did something about this, Ruby7

Shade	07 Dec 2003
I guess my issue with it is that the seller is breaking ebay's rules. The policy is very clear on their site that the seller can charge for reasonable shipping and handling. Putting the cost of the item or other overhead in the shipping violates the policy.

Star Spirit	08 Dec 2003
Charity? That seems quite a pathetic excuse to me. First they set it up as a trap, then they change the auction description to state it as being for charity so that some poor soul might still be sucked in. Traditionally, when raising money for a charitable cause, you do it with something small in price....amid a very large group of people....not have one person on the internet pay outrageous shipping costs towards something of which they have no proof exists. Perhaps it could be possible, but in this case I'd bet you $125 it's a hoax. That person should be banned from Ebay.

The Ebay Booby-Trap Alert. thread was originally posted on 06 Dec 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.