IMMEDIATE HELP Please! Huge scam???

[jscheiman]

Is this a scam? It seems way to good to be true. I emailed this guy. The listing says the product is in Baltimore, MD. Hi email reply says he's in Portland, OR.

He told me he's selling the 2.5 G5 tower for $2300, the 23" Cinema for $400 and the 30" for $600. However, if you buy all three he'll only charge $3,080 total inlcuding shipping and insurance.

Something seems way off here. Is it just me. The line of bait really has me interested however....

Check it out!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51036&item=5767634508&rd=1

 

[Sun Baked]

Nobody would sell a PowerMac G5, LCD, and stuff for that much of a discount.

Since Apple, nor their distributor off discounts that deep.

It's a scam, but go for it and we'll say "Told you so..." when you get ripped off.

 

[jscheiman]

I'm sure I'll end up passing up the deal, but I just can't help be intrigued by what the auction says. I don't think I'll be taking the fall on losing that much money.

 

[Sun Baked]

I'm sure I'll end up passing up the deal, but I just can't help be intrigued by what the auction says. I don't think I'll be taking the fall on losing that much money.

Didn't see anything original, just a bunch of crap directly off Apple's servers (literally).

It's 50-80% off LCDs and a PowerMac...

Only way to beat that price is to steal it yourself.

---

Heck, they even toss in Mac OS X Server Unlimited -- and that's a $1k all by itself, not to mention the 6800 card and the rest.

 

[macbaseball]

It's defiantly a scam. First of all, the majority of the listing is from apple.com. Secondly, the guy only has 3 feedback, and hasn't recieved any for 3 years. Third, people don't just becme computer dealers overnight. This guy has never old a computer, so why would he start now. If he really was a dealer, he would realize you could never make money on a maxed out Powermac. (That Powermac is probably worth 5 grand plus, because of the 8 gigs of RAM and 500 GB of Hard Drive space.)

 

[jscheiman]

That's why it stuck out so strong. There's more than $7000 worth of hardware there.

Like you said, the only other possibility is that it is all hot stuff and he just wants to make a quick cheap buck.

He really should be reported to eBay for this kind of scam, should it be true.

 

[Devie]

If it is an actual product, its probably stolen... but where the hell would you steal a PM with everything maxed out? Not to mention a 30 and 23" LCD... where the hell would you even find that?

 

[jscheiman]

The guy is really trying to play it straight by replying to my email. However, like I said earlier, the listing says it's in Baltimore but his email tells me Portland....

Here's a copy of the email he sent me:

Hi there,

The system is brand new factory sealed and comes with one year full manufacturer's warranty.
The price is $2,300 for the G5, $400 for the 23" Display and $600 for the 30" Display.
If purchased the G5 system plus both apple displays then the price for the package is $3,000.
FedEx delivery within US takes only two days and cost $80 including insurance.
So the total for the G5 package including two monitors and shipping is $3,080.
Reply if you're interested in purchasing this system.

Thank you.

 

[Lacero]

Ask if he'll do escrow. If he doesn't, it's a scam.

 

[jscheiman]

He didn't even reply to my second email. Why people have to play these kinds of games, I don't know. I guess I figured I'd post this link so that no one else would fall into his trap.

Hey thanks everyone for you quick replies. Now, I can no longer hold my eyes open so I'll dream of G5's in my head and hope to hear some positive things from NAB tomorrow!

 

[James Philp]

Any apple stores been ram-raided recently?

 

[R.Youden]

Look at the pics of the monitor boxes. If one is 30" monitor and one a 23" then why are the boxes the same size?

 

[matthewr]

someone BOUGHT it

Well, someone got a good deal, but somehow I don't think it was the guy who "bought" the PM for $1000. Apparently only one person was fooled by the scam. The auction has now closed.

 

[James Philp]

Like the way there's no actual pictures of the computer running, or even the computer at all! Lovely big, empty boxes!
I remember when someone bought an "xbox box" for $400 during peak time, and the poor sod got the empty box for the xbox!

 

[jscheiman]

He did email me back last night with this:

<<Safest for both of us is to deal under protection of eBay.
Provide your full name and address so I could forward your details to eBay to initiate the transaction.

Michael>>

It does seem like he is trying to scam to get personal information and hijack my eBay account or something.

I obviously have passed on this offer because it sounds far from reliable. I will probably forward this info on to eBay and have it checked out. Things just don't seem to add up here.

 

[dotdotdot]

The auction was closed, so why are you still emailing this guy?

 

[jscheiman]

The auction was closed, so why are you still emailing this guy?

I had emailed him twice last night before the auction ended. I am no longer in contact with him.

 

[Mord]

easyest way to test scammers

ask if you can pick it up physically, if it still seems dodgy take a friend with you and see the stuff working before you buy.

 

[notjustjay]

Yup,

Heck if that auction was legitimate, you could buy a first-class ticket to fly down and pick it up yourself and still come out ahead.