SCAM: Ebay seller testequipmentexperts - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Anders Petersson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 10:28:18 am
content: I asked for pictures of itemhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/221180497049Labelled "MAKE OFFER Keithley 2010 WARRANTY WILL CONSIDER ANY OFFERS"The seller added one of the pictures fromhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Keithley-2010-TESTED-Low-Noise-7-Digit-Multimeter-w-Scanning-10nV-Resolution/303644733793"Keithley 2010 TESTED! Low Noise 7½ Digit Multimeter w/ Scanning 10nV Resolution" by seller equipteklabs in Californa.testequipmentexperts wrote "We posted a pic showing the unit is working properly." -- clearly stating the picture was of their unit.When I queried for more pictures, not yet realizing the scam, he replied "let me know what you're willing to pay and we can go from there."Looking closer at the account, testequipmentexperts is very suspect. 960 items for sale but only 6 reviews as seller for the last 12 months. Many items are very expensive (and overpriced), few pictures or descriptions and all with the tantalizing topic "MAKE OFFER [model number] WARRANTY WILL CONSIDER ANY OFFERS"Their most expensive offer ishttps://www.ebay.com/itm/MAKE-OFFER-HP-Agilent-8722ES-WARRANTY-WILL-CONSIDER-ANY-OFFERS/221180496003at USD 51713. No picture. No description. But the shipping is free, so there's that. (sarcasm)Reported to Ebay a few days ago, so far without any result.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 11:53:52 am
content: Loll oh yess they will rip youThey have bought my pm6304 lcr meter with the kelvin wires i've made, still in the same clear boxhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluke-PM6304-Fully-tested-with-warranty/222683114057?hash=item33d8f2aa49:g:M2IAAOSwnw9Z6KYvI wont say how much i sold it lollbut its around 3 to 4 times profit loll

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 01:54:34 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 04, 2021, 12:44:11 pmI spotted a Chinese 20MHZ usb scope on ebay for £12.99The same model by a few other vendors was £50+I alerted ebay that is was possibly a scam but was ignored.They went on to sell 211 items before negs started rolling in.At around 15 negs the item was pulled by ebay.I sold some amplifier modules on ebay for £50.Buyer said he wasnt happy with them so I told him to return them.I got back a lump of wood with nails sticking out of it !So he got refund, kept items and left me a neg.I reported dangerous item to the police and they went to see him.His wife said she had sent it so he got off and she got a formal warning.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 02:21:08 pm
content: Quote from: nigelwright7557 on March 04, 2021, 01:54:34 pmDid you file an appeal? You are allowed to. A police report showing what you received (block of wood) is one of the pieces of documentation you could have provided.EBay is a huge company with hundreds of millions of items sold, its not a medium sized business where you can expect individual human attention.If something on the site seems suspect, don't buy it.I personally buy a lot, its a great source for hard to find items but I make sure I understand all their policies and protections.I used to sell a lot but the 10% fee was hard to swallow and the switch to managed payments comes with some annoying changes.I do wish they'd invest in better employee training, but that is every US corporation, maximize profits by outsourcing and offering poor training.

author: guenthert
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 06:04:30 pm
content: Quote from: nigelwright7557 on March 04, 2021, 01:54:34 pmWell, I think the case could be made that a 20MHz USB scope at £50+ is the scam.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 07:11:54 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 04, 2021, 05:49:09 pmI've probably filed over 100 eBay claims as a buyer since 1998. eBay has had to step in and adjudicate maybe 15%. I've never had them fail to back me. Never. In that same time I've only had one case opened against me as a seller (claimed item was not delivered but tracking stated it was) and eBay backed me.I've also had to get an independent appraisal. It was a PayPal funded purchase (not eBay) where PayPal did nothing. I had to get the appraisal to get VISA to force a refund from the merchant.What does the above show? There are many different stories and experiences? Or maybe things are different in the UK?It reminds me of the who's worst "UPS, Fedex, Post Office" debate. Everyone dislikes one and has a story to support their opinion.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 08:22:16 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 04, 2021, 08:11:05 pmYes, eBay has policies that protect sellers in certain situations. Without knowing the specifics it's hard to comment more. The reply is clear, under certain situations, certain sellers are able to automatically have feedback removed.I highly doubt, even in the EU, that you have Free Speech rights on a privately owned platform. You're covered by the agreement you signed with eBay.I've found when filing claims that it's important to be clear and precise. Expecting eBay to parse kernel dmesg output to adjudicate your claim is unrealistic. If you're 1 for 3 in your dispute success, eBay may not be the right place for you to be buying from.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2021, 08:54:48 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 04, 2021, 08:45:54 pmhttps://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy/seller-performance-defect-removal-policy?id=4352"What are the guidelines ... We automatically remove defects, adjust your late shipment rate, and remove feedback when ..."As for "useful for buyer". Well, as with anything eBay has to balance what buyers think is fair and what sellers do.I suspect if you asked 100 eBay sellers they would claim that eBay policies net benefit buyers over sellers.QuoteWhen you signed up to the site, you agreed to their end user agreement.Also, please note, I'm not a shill for eBay. I dislike lots of things about eBay but I'm aware of what they are and why they are.

author: fourierpwn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2021, 07:40:50 am
content: 8722ES is a VNA with a colour LCD screen. The single image in that post is an 85xx series spectrum analyser - green phosphorus CRT. That alone is enough of a red flag for me.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 08:38:53 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 04, 2021, 09:54:21 pmProblem with eBay is that they cannot hire millions of experts in every area and performing manual investigation of every controversial situation. That's why I'm trying not to buy or sell anything expensive on ebay anymore.I had opposite experience. I sold mining equipment. 5 months after when profit dropped by 80% buyer opened case stated that equipment doesn't work. Ebay backed me, but paypal (which is only one option to pay on ebay) backed buyer. He got refund i got my equipment back, but instead of $1000 i can sell it only for $200-$300. I tried everything, i tried emailing, I tried to call them, explaining that equipment was fully functional, even making photos and videos where everything working, they just ignored everything.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 11:44:27 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 11:10:44 amSelling used laptops on ebay is not a federal crime. Here is another example how other dude ripped off seller with scary words likeILLEGAL ITEM, FEDERAL CRIME, etc.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/i-purchased-a-non-compliant-220v-hakko-888-got-a-refund!/\Quote from: DiTBhoIs it some kind of joke? Your "expert" can easily be your friend or neighbor. Or you can bring him just another item simply swapped PCB's from good unit into bad unit. There is no way how one person can proof that item was good or bad. Ebay, Amazon and other digital marketplaces trying to solve this problem, but they almost always side buyer with very few exceptions.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 12:45:09 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 12:27:54 pmI don't see how what you saying applies to ebay resolution center. And also you didn't provide enough information about your case. Was laptop heavily damaged, or completely different?Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 12:27:54 pmBut shop or labaratory having absolutely no obligations and they will sign any document. Let's make example you are ebay. You have one guy (seller) who sold something and another guy (buyer) who disagree with seller. Both provided signed paperwork from shop and laboratory. How you going to decide who is right?Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 12:27:54 pmThis is just what happened to you. You said laptop was bad, and seller said laptop was good. You got your money back, so what else do you want?Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 12:27:54 pmAmazon and ebay is both full of counter-left and fake items, fake reviews and other kind of stuff. Doing some serious testing and checking all documentation will make fees way above 50%. If you really need warranties you should not buy anything pre-owned.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 01:19:00 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:02:58 pmCan you tell exactly what was wrong? Maybe it's just a same situation that i showed above with soldering iron.Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:02:58 pmYes and they are going to do anything to make their client (you) happy, because you are going to pay them money. Also, did paypal asked you for that?Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:02:58 pmThey will confirm anything as long as you pay them money.Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:02:58 pmI don't know why you calling a peace of paper with sign from random stranger a "technical documentation", but i can assure you that nobody going to waste any time checking that. Both ebay and amazon almost always side buyer, because buyer is the one who pay money. They have a lot of different items for sale and as i said simply cannot afford hiring millions experts in every area to check "technical documentation"

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 01:30:56 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 04, 2021, 08:11:05 pmMaybe it's different in Britain, but in the US the Right of Free Speech is not anabsoluteRight (Ebay being a US company). It is a Right only in that it protects someone from prosecution by the Government. A good example is slander, the Right of Free Speech doesn't not protect you from being sued for slander. And in addition, more and more lately, people are also being prosecuted or just being fired or otherwise punished for the use of derogatory terms involving race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, origin, being fat or ugly or handicappedor just about anything else that someone can conceive to complain about. So the Right of Free Speech is barely a Right any more and it certainly doesn't apply in cases of someone slandering someone else on Ebay.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 01:56:49 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:49:13 pmWhy you don't tell us what exactly happened with laptop? Did you pay for macbook and received a lenovo with apple sticker on top? Can you tell what exactly was wrong with laptop?Usually ebay sellers having absolutely no reason to screw buyers because they know about moneyback rules. And if paypal never asked you to prepay any kind of "documentation" you just did it for yourself. Why someone need to pay you for that?

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 01:59:55 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:52:07 pmSellers just printing shipping label with address that you provided during checkout. He cannot even edit that address. Even if you ask him for that. And also, tracking number can be always found in "purchase history" section.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 02:14:04 pm
content: Quote from: Arhigos on March 18, 2021, 08:38:53 amI don't sell mining equipment.Any expensive electronics I sell gets serial# anti-tamper stickers applied to prevent any opening. Disclosed in listing.My eBay/PayPal is linked to a bank/account that has no overdraft feature. Money deposited there gets transferred to another financial institution so I never hold a balance.For a SNAD (not as described) I believe eBay is still 30 days but PayPal, I think last year, raised their buyer protection from 90 to 180 days. Half a year!There is a difference. eBay, SNAD, seller pays for return shipping. If buyer is fraudulently returning item, seller then has to dispute to get return shipping back. PayPal, buyer always pays return shipping unless contract stated otherwise. If buyer demonstrates they have returned item to seller (tracking#) PayPal is going to refund the buyer.Right now I'm in a dispute with eBay/PayPal. I bought an item (using PayPal) that arrived broken. The seller promptly refunded me but eBay somehow failed to process the refund. Seller confirmed they been debited. eBay system told me refund was coming (since 2/17) but it's never arrived at PayPal. I spent an hour being bounced from department to department within eBay. They acknowledged the transfer to PayPal failed in their backend but couldn't figure out how to fix it. Then after an hour they disconnected me. Called back, no call record, please explain over. I filed a case with PayPal. They closed it. I had to force them to reopen it. eBay are supposed to respond to PayPal by today. Nothing so far. God knows what PayPal will do as they are useless. I actually wrote to eBay via USPS mail expressing my displeasure at being messed around with for an hour. No response.Bottom line. eBay are horrible. PayPal are even worse. If you can sell, make good money and avoid using them, well of course you probably should. But for many they're the only game in town and most business have dealt with chargebacks, from VISA for decades so this isn't a new problem for them.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 02:18:12 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 01:52:07 pmMost shippers don't report a delivery address in response to a tracking number. I'm not aware PayPal has access to anything like this.I must say, IMO, you're carrying a lot of misconceptions which I don't think is helping you.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 02:30:00 pm
content: Quote from: dorkshoei on March 18, 2021, 02:14:04 pmI don't think that any sticker will help you with paypal dispute. They will simply ignore it. I never had any experience with that kind of situation, but from what i know about paypal, they just always ignore any facts from seller. When i received my miners back i wanted to open dispute back, because they were heavily used and missed original packaging, even in fully working condition (i sold like new items) and they told me that i have to get some kind of lawyer signature for that (i can find emails from paypal if you want). Also, i had only 3 days to open dispute since receiving (versus 180 days for buyer).Also, paypal balance can overdraft. They are not alllowed to charge your credit card without approval, but if you don't pay for refund they will simply block you.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 02:39:45 pm
content: Quote from: Arhigos on March 18, 2021, 02:30:00 pmRemember, even if somehow PayPal backs the seller, if the buyer used a CC, then can go to VISA. I have. as a buyer, personally used this route (I had to provide 3rd party appraisals). VISA sided with me after PayPal refused to.This is life as a seller.Using an anti tamper sticker just signals to the buyer that you are taking precautions. If you disclose in ad, perhaps it turns any deliberate fraudsters away from buying item.Bottom line, THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES.QuoteYes and take you to collections. But you have legal protections at this point (in the USA).For me it would depend on the amount in question. If PayPal is going to block me and take me to collections over a $15 chargeback I disagree with, I'll roll over and pay them. A $3000 chargeback where I believe buyer has committed fraud, they're going to have to fight me. And if I win, I'm sure I will end up getting banned from PayPal.Again, there are no guarantees. Merely a sequence of things you can do totryand protect yourself. In the end, the corporations have the power.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 07:18:50 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 07:08:33 pmI'm sure in your mind it is :-) For the rest of us not so much.

author: dorkshoei
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 07:34:12 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 18, 2021, 07:23:55 pmYour posts are full of emotive claims and hyperbole. Fraud, federal crimes, freedom of speech violations.I'm out. Good luck.

author: Arhigos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 10:43:05 pm
content: > Counterfeit products + false declaration to the customs *was* my case, and look at the penalties I risked, and try to understand why I don't strongly like that eBay permitted to similar "sellers" to operate!Why you refusing to tell us what was wrong with laptop? What kind of evidence you had that laptop was counterfeit ?

author: max-bit
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2021, 07:37:38 am
content: You don't want don't buy. Not complaining.Can't you read?After that, buying on ebay is safe and you can always return!

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2021, 11:25:54 am
content: the subject was : testequipmentexperts no ??

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2021, 02:16:00 pm
content: Quote from: Anders Petersson on March 04, 2021, 10:28:18 amThis might not be fully fraudulent, but something called "arbitrage selling" - a common find on Amazon and ebay not too long ago (not sure if this is still a thing).List something someone else offers with some hefty premium and grab their pictures and descriptions. If you sell it, have the original seller ship this item to your customer.(I think there has been some software from Israel to automate amazon-ebay cross-listing. Not too long ago, there were plenty of sellers offering millions of items - none of which they had in stock...)Edit: Of course, don't buy from this seller. Just to make that clear