View Full Version : Gibson f4 on ebay uk
Dave Hanson
Feb-20-2007, 2:42am
Item on eBay UK number 250086202101 1915 Gibson F4 good looking but suspect. No serial number, no payment method given, short auction span.
Am I just too cynical ?
Dave H
PseudoCelt
Feb-20-2007, 3:25am
I live in Aberdeen, so I'm not too far away from where it's supposed to be. I sent a message asking if I could view it and arrange to collect it if I bought it. So far no reply.
The lack of any information that could not be got from the photos, low starting price, 3-day auction, no payment method, etc, etc, all started the alarm bells ringing for me...
Maybe it is genuine, but it looks a bit dodgy to me.
Lovely back on it tho'
Patrick
I wondered about this one too, especially as the seller's feedback score doesn't inspire confidence.
Being cynical - or at least sceptical - is probably a good thing?
Fliss
Yeah, there are a couple that hit all the obvious scam warnings on at moment
1) zero feedback seller
2) non-standard selling location
I haven't had a chance to look through my backlog of archive entries yet, but willing to bet I'll find them in there.
f5loar
Feb-20-2007, 8:15am
Personally I would never bid on an ebay item with no photo.
If you can't get up a photo of your item to sell or don't have a way for someone else to do it for you , then you have no business doing business on ebay. Next if after viewing photos and you ask specfic questions and get no answer or an answer you know to be suspect best not bid. Next, dealing overseas even to known shipper friendly foreign countries should be a no no for USA residence on high end items. Follow those suggestions and you wont' get scamed. There is way too many F4's for sale in the USA to go after one overseas out of the country.
Martin Jonas
Feb-20-2007, 8:27am
F5loar: to be fair, everybody who has posted to this thread before you is resident in the UK, so the caveat about dealing with overseas sellers doesn't apply. Here in the UK, F4s are distinctly rare and getting one from the US is fraught with the same problems as in reverse.
This one still looks very suspicious, though, even with the three photos that are there.
Martin
Ken Waltham
Feb-20-2007, 9:24am
I personally would never bid on that one. I have noticed a lot of scams on ebay originating in the UK, which I find curious. Can any of you gentlemen from the UK offer an explaination for that?
Ken
f5loar
Feb-20-2007, 9:33am
Oh I have to agree that the US harbors thousands of ebay scammers so it's just not UK or other foreign. This one is the one being talked about so I related only to this case.
I do see now there are good photos but to me the photos look highjacked from another site. Only selling this one item with no feedback is reason enough to run from this one. It already has a bid. Since the cafe only reaches a small fraction of mandolin buyers it looks like this guy has snagged one and he will reel him in shortly.
2 things.
1) There is a picture.
2) If I decided to sell my mando on ebay. I would not have any feedback either.
That said. $999.00 no reserve raises the biggest question mark.
Well, that said.. I did get a tremendous deal on an F4 a few years ago because the auction looked a bit funny. I did call the guy, talk about the instrument, and generally check up on him beforehand though!
Dave Hanson
Feb-21-2007, 3:32am
It's gone now.
Dave H
Yeah, I think we are generally developing a good "Sense of smell" for these!!
grandmainger
Feb-21-2007, 11:49pm
That said. $999.00 no reserve raises the biggest question mark.
I always start all of my auctions at £0.99, with no reserve, for the following reasons:
- The listing fee is substantially less for lower starting prices.
- The item tends to sell for its value, regardless of the starting bid.
- A lower starting price usually means more bids, stimulating buyers and making the item more desirable.
IMO, this particular listing had the usual bizarre flaw of being listed in US$ while being alledgedly UK-based.