I have a number of standard searches on ebay for things of interest. Occasionally some comes up that is 'too good to be true' and starts my alarm bells ringing. Today a very nice lathe turned up.
At the moment I cannot prove it's a scam and I am reluctant to call this particular item out , in case it is legit. So, let's just look at the suspicious bits. (in no particular order)
The pictures:
In the past I have recognised the photos as being of a fiend's lathe and so reported the scam to ebay . In this case , even a reverse search has found no originals. The suspicion is the condition of the lathe; These are 'pride and joy' shots , the thing is polished and posed , devoid of swarf , unused.
The description: "Not only but also..."
The description tells us about the make of lathe, how good the condition: 'made to last a lifetime' . But wait there's more! not pictured are parts that are very desirable that are hard to find and/or command outrageous prices (one item 'included' is typically listed at a greater price that most lathes) and he'll even throw in the 3ph converter so you can run this at home.
And of course the kicker: He can arrange transport.
There is nothing about why this immaculate machine is being sold .
The seller: 100% feed back... from 53 purchases
I'm guessing this is not the lathe 'owners' actual account (wife/girl friend, ex-?) , since the items bought (none sold) include fashion, shoes , garden and general domestic purchases. No machining parts tooling etc.
The location: Arseendofnowhere (or near to the 'rigs' - see later)
I'm not casting aspersions on the good people of said county (counties) merely pointing out that the scam machine is rarely easy to get-to and not readily available for collection ( hence the' kicker 'above)
The scam:
The object of the scam is to relieve you of your money and leave you waiting in vain for the delivery of a machine . The story goes something like :
it's for sale because ... bereavement, new job , emigration, exodus etc.
the machine is not viewable ATM because , i'm on the off-shore rigs for the next X weeks, or it's in storage, or it's packed etc. etc.
Yes , you can send your own courier. but...
If you send the money ... I'll pay for the shipping ... pay for express shipping ... throw in the girl fiend/wife /ex etc. etc. etc.
Anything - as long as you send the money.
The scammer:
Usually male , probably knows something about machines , probably hangs about in forums like this one (Hi, scammer). The may only be a few such people currently operating.
The morel:
Be careful , it is so easy to 'want' something so bad, that ones brain fails to operate normally (under no circumstances go shopping after drinking alcohol - beer goggles work on everything) .
The old old adage 'if it looks to good to be true - it probably isn't" should be first thing in your mind
In this case I cannot prove it is a scam so I cannot act, other than to warn others .