Genuine E-bay seller or not?

euphsrock

euphsrock

Member
I was browsing e-bay and came across this dodgy looking listing. What appears to be a horn (or possibly a bari?) being listed as "trumpet".

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/trumpet_W0QQi...str_Brass_RL?hash=item19b99d4a6d#ht_500wt_977

It got me wondering if it was genuine, or maybe it had been stolen and the thief didn't know what it was or what to do with it?

There's also a cornet on there somewhere listed as trumpet, this is a more common mistake I'm sure, but the seller said he used to play it. Seems odd for someone not to know what it was they were playing.

Anyway, any thoughts?
 
tpcornet12

tpcornet12

Member
Definately looks dodgy to me, not sure what can be done though. Interesting that he doesn't offer pick up which would be usual in an item that size. Perhaps he doesn't want anyone to know his address.
 
_si

_si

Member
maybe ask him for the serial numbers 'to do a bit of research' and then ask the police if its stolen?
 
Leyfy

Leyfy

Active Member
'that I bought for my kid'

Yeh.... you buy a top of the range instrument for a 'kid' when you don't even know what it is....

Deffo dodgy.
 
brassneck

brassneck

Active Member
Plenty bidding activity though ... and only a little less than 4 hours to go! I wonder if anyone has the guts to report their suspicions?
 
Toxophile

Toxophile

Member
Alarm Bells

What rings alarm bells on this is the poor description of the item, the seller appears to know nothing about it; poor spelling, which wouldn't go with a parent buying a child what looks to be a good quality instrument and most worrying, the very short trading history - 4 purchases of what look to be low value items since joining ebay, all the purchases in the last 2 weeks while the trader has been a member since august, curiously the item went up for sale on the same day as the first purchase. The seller accepts no returns, why not? I have been trading on ebay for the last few years and always offered returns, I also allowed buyers nearby to collect the items to save postage.

Not in my mind the profile of a genuine seller.
 
brassneck

brassneck

Active Member
I've always been intrigued by what would happen to the buyer of stolen goods ... even if that person is innocent of knowing the origin of the item? The item would have to be identified as stolen/reset by a third party and reported as such to warrant prosecution of the buyer?
 
Toxophile

Toxophile

Member
This happens regularly with cloned cars. If you buy stolen goos "in good faith" from someone who misrepresents them deliberatelky to sell them, then you would not be prosecuted for handling stolen goods, however the goods would be seized and returned to their rightful owner. You would then be left to pursue the seller through the civil courts in order to recover your losses or if you used buyer protection in ebay claim the losses back from them.

If however you should have been suspicious of the goods on sale, for example a Sovereign Tenor Horn selling on an auction site at a fraction of its true value with a lack of credible provenance, then if the Police or CPS think you had good reason to believe the goods were stolen then you can be charged with handling stolen goods, have your fingerprints, photos and DNA taken and end up with a criminal record.
 
BigHorn

BigHorn

Active Member
Don't just discuss whether its stolen - if you think it is report it as such. Theres a button on every ebay sale screen for just that purpose.
 
brassneck

brassneck

Active Member
Erm, did anyone notice what was in the reply by eBay?

The sale of stolen goods is forbidden on eBay because it's against the
law to sell stolen property. eBay strongly supports law enforcement
efforts to recover stolen property listed on its website. However, we can only investigate such a serious allegation if it comes from the police.
Click to expand...
 
Leyfy

Leyfy

Active Member
brassneck said:
Erm, did anyone notice what was in the reply by eBay?
Click to expand...

Yup


Thank you for taking the time to report a seller who you suspect is
offering stolen goods on eBay.

The sale of stolen goods is forbidden on eBay because it's against the
law to sell stolen property. eBay strongly supports law enforcement
efforts to recover stolen property listed on its website. However, we
can only investigate such a serious allegation if it comes from the
police.

If you believe that an item on eBay may be a stolen item, please inform
your local police and ask them to get in touch with us. The
investigating officer can then use the contact details provided in our
Safety Centre:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/law_enforcement.html

We know your time is valuable and we appreciate you taking a moment to
express your concern to us. Thank you for helping to keep eBay a safe,
fun place to shop.


Regards,

eBay Trust & Safety
 
euphsrock

euphsrock

Member
Good shout guys. I'm reporting it now too.

Wow, this thread has generated a fair bit of interest in the few hours it's been here.

I've sent my report, what happens now?
 
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