80-400mm VR for $600

[sbuttrick]

I bid on a 80-400 on Ebay and lost. But, I have just been contacted by the seller through Ebay and apparently the buyer backed out. The seller has offered the lens to me for my bid price of $600. It almost sound to good to be true.

Should I buy it ???

 

[eng45ine]

Sounds too good to be true. I sold mine in Feb. for $1250. I would think that if the lens is in excellant condition, it should sell for around $1000. +

I would be rather skeptical...

 

[jfrancis]

Sounds iffy. Those go for $900-1100 any day of the week.

 

[sbuttrick]

Thanks Frank and John. I agree, it does sound a little strange. It makes me wonder why the original bid winner backed out.

 

[Keith]

If you go into ebay, that is a big SCAM right now. If that was true, he can ONLY send a second offer directly through ebay, no other way he can get your mail ID as it will not allow you. This way ebay gets their piece of the pie. Be EXTREMELY wary and buyer beware. Guarantee it is NO good............go to ebay safe harbour and they share all the ugly stuff going on!! Bet you too if you go to the actual auction, email off the ebay site, and email the original seller, they are not the same!

 

[JordanLFW]

I bid on a 80-400 on Ebay and lost. But, I have just been contacted by the seller through Ebay and apparently the buyer backed out. The seller has offered the lens to me for my bid price of $600. It almost sound to good to be true.

Should I buy it ???

he contacted you through ebay? did you get an email saying you had a second chance offer, with a button that took you to ebay to pay? or did he just write you an email himself and send it through ebays "contact a member"?

if he did it through the second chance program, its techincally still an ebay transaction. doesnt mean he isnt ripping you off though, i guess...but it has the same risk as if he ripped off the winning bidder.

the reason its so low is if the seller finds out the buyer is backing out, he can opt to offer it to the next highest bidder at whatever their max was. he cant choose to charge you more.

 

[sbuttrick]

I got a second chance offer and a button to contact the seller through ebay "contact member"

 

[Jerrold]

Hi,

I once had a second chance offer, they can only offer the maximum as to what you bid. THe email (uk) came from 2ndchanceoffer.uk@ebay.com
and looked like:
--------
Dear xxxxxxx,

Good news! The following eBay item on which you placed a bid for US $80.00 on Sep-14-04 14:31:14 PDT is now available for purchase:

R3 Wire/Wireless Controller f/ Nikon F5 F100 D1x D2H - ITEM # 3840229628

Second Chance Offer:
The seller, 2bexplicit is making this Second Chance Offer because the high bidder was either unable to complete the transaction or the seller has a duplicate item for sale.


The selling of this item through Second Chance Offer is in compliance with eBay policy; you will be able to exchange Feedback with the seller and will be eligible for all eBay services associated with a transaction, such as fraud protection.


Act Now - This Offer Expires Soon:
To take advantage of this opportunity, please act quickly. This offer expires Sep-16-04 00:05:55 PDT.


You may purchase this item by clicking the "Buy It Now" button in this email or on the following page:

xxx://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=384xxx628&category=15238

To ask the seller a question before completing this purchase, please follow the link above and click the "Ask Seller A Question" link on the item page.
To learn more about Second Chance Offer, please visit:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/personal_offer.html

Marketplace Safety Tips:

Never respond to an unsolicited email that includes incentives to buy or sell an item off the eBay Marketplace. If you get such an email, please report it to eBay at http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayI...aildate=2004/09/15:00:05:5xxxxmailtxxxxxxxId=

Never pay for your eBay item through instant cash transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram -- such services offer Internet shoppers no protection against fraud.

For more safe trading tips, please visit the eBay Security Center at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/securitycenter

Thank you for using eBay!

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To learn more how to protect yourself from Spoof (fake) emails, visit

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/confidence/spoof-email.html

eBay sent this email to you because your Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive Second Chance Offer Notices. eBay will not request personal data (password, credit card/bank numbers) in an email. You are subscribed as xxxxxx, registered on eBay.

If you do not wish to receive further communications, log into "My eBay" by clicking on My eBay link found at the top of the eBay home page and change your Notification Preferences. Please note that it may take up to 14 days to process your request.
If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy, visit, http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/community/png-priv.html. If you have questions regarding our User Agreement, visit http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/community/png-user.html

Copyright © 2004 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.

eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc.
--------------

This is a UK eBay email from last year, perhaps similar in US, but could be faked.
Maybe try something like an escrow service, the money you'd potentially save would easily cover it, right
Assuming you actually came second, the buyer could be desperate, but does seem a little unusual to sell so low.

sorry for the long post, hope that helps.

~Jerrold

 

[Removed User 2]

Absolutely NOT.

I've sold a D100 and the second highest bidder called me 3 weeks after to ask me where was the camera. He explained everything... A long story short, he received a second notification and it wasn't me.

Just don't buy unless you receive an eBay notification and besides, pay with paypal, and besides, takes his info contact info right through eBay and call him.

Voila.

 

[sbuttrick]

Thanks Guys,

I tried to contact the seller through Ebay and got no response. This just doesn't feel right, so I'm going with my gut and will let it pass. Thanks again for all the input, it was helpful and wise.

 

[johnczyz]

Be wary of bids outside of ebay

A few months back I bid on a few items (lens, camera, and accessory) and won two of them, all within the ebay system and all from sellers with good feedback. One was even a camera store.

However, I also got a bunch of second chance emails. I am not sure how they got my email. Anyways, I checked on one of the second chance items and found it strange that the Kodak SLRN camera I had bid on was already sold to the highest bidder and both the buyer and seller exchanged ratings.

Thats strange, so where was this other Kodak SLRN second chance bid coming from, as I had only bid on one camera? Glad I passed, didnt want to take a chance on a high dollar item.

John

 

[twig]

Do Not Ever do those second chance offers, they are almost always scams.

I removed my eBay membership after getting outbid for a d2x and the ngetting hundreds of offers for the item at my bid price (wow, who knew so many people wanted to give me a d2x for $1700 or whatever)

Anyway, it's all scams.
Do not reply to those e-mails, do not give them personal information, and do not think that there is a real item,

 

[sbuttrick]

Thanks twig

 

[JeffKohn]

Just got one of these supposed second-chance offers today after bidding (unsuccessfully) on an 85 1.4. One big tip on fraudulent messages now is if the message doesn't show up in the "My Messages" section of "My Ebay". If it's not there that means it's not a legit member-member communication.

 

[Electromen]

Yes be careful on ebay, I trust everyone