XBox Ebay Scam?

[novon]

Ebay Item

$200 for a XBox, what do you think?

MY BROTHER SAW THIS IN EBAY'S FEATURED ITEMS

 

[randomlinh]

i would be very suspicious...

 

[goog40]

With 2 games and an extra controller too, when will people learn?

 

[Johnnie]

<< I do not accept money orders,cashiers checks, or BillPoint. I only accept PayPal. >>


mmm..does sound like a scam

 

[crypticlogin]

It's not just the XBOX

I wouldn't touch this with a fifty foot pole. Even if he does have the 300 units, I'm wary of where he got the quantity (stolen?).

 

[Danman]

Me either.........

 

[jcovercash]

<< I do not accept money orders,cashiers checks, or BillPoint. I only accept PayPal. Thank you for your business >>



Hmmm

 

[novon]

It might be the mafia with a stolen shipment. I'm not kidding.

 

[falias]

Yup, there's something weird about this one.

Just e-mailed Ebay about it.

 

[Pr0Hawk]

300 xboxs dont just get into someones hands....

 

[TrevL63]

Theres no way in hell this mofo has 300 x-box's. this thing has SCAM written all over it. i also emailed ebay about this.

 

[webnewland]

Very suspicious indeed, 13 feedbacks too

 

[falias]

Yeah, I mean look at what this guy has been selling before, CDs, books.

 

[MeanMeosh]

hahaha, with 300 of those and 100 Toshiba 800MHz/128MG/DVD/10G HDD - BRAND NEW! and 13 feedback, i wouldnt even consider it...

 

[KthxBye]

If it is a scam, he has gone to greater lengths to legitimize it then the other half-witted attempts I've seen on ebay. As the guy dosn't have the time on ebay, or the feedback to run a dutch auction, he must be ID verified. As I belive ebay contacts you to verify the info you give them...it would somewhat difficult to fake, but certainly not impossible. He has a few feedback, but they all seem to be small items. One does not ussually go from selling single cassettes to 300 game consoles. *shrug* worst case, he is a small time thief who was using Ebay to fence things he stole whiel setting up this xbox ripoff.
The details on his "me" page indicate he owns a website. The whois on it seems to confirm his identity, but that wouldnt be to hard to fake....anyway i copy and pasted it.Registrant:
Todd Rustad (TODDRUSTAD-DOM)
200 Nathan Ln N Apt C364
Plymouth, MN 55441
US

Domain Name: TODDRUSTAD.COM

Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Rustad, Todd (TRW273) postmaster@TODDRUSTAD.COM
200 Nathan Ln N Apt C364
Plymouth, MN 55441
US
(612)596-4529
Technical Contact:
Domain Hostmaster (DH-ORG) hostmaster@VISI.COM
VISI.com
12 S 6th St Suite M115
Minneapolis, MN 55402
US
612-288-0880
Fax - 612-288-0889

Record last updated on 04-Sep-2001.
Record expires on 04-Sep-2003.
Record created on 04-Sep-2001.
Database last updated on 20-Nov-2001 12:24:00 EST.

Domain servers in listed order:

NS.VISI.COM 209.98.98.1
NS2.VISI.COM 206.124.0.33

 

[LiQiCE]

SquareTrade.com has this guy ID verified and guarentees up to $250 against fraudulent activity. It looks sortof like this guy's account may have been hacked and someone is trying to screw him over. He even has his picture on his "About Me" page for eBay ...
Link

Definitely fishy, although I'm almost tempted to buy one because of the fraud protection. But its definitely too good to be true.

 

[Blades]

Hah. ok guys keep an eye on this one. Within the closing hours of the auction it will zoom to 500-600.. its crazy

 

[Blades]

oh sh*t!! 300 xboxes? HAHHAHHAHA. the pope couldn't even get that much. Hell, bill gates couldn't get that much..thats bs

 

[crypticlogin]

If you look at the ended items list, he had a bunch of plasma screens and TVs from various makes and models. So this guy deals in CDs, Cartier Watches, plasma screens, and everything in between??

Sorry, I wouldn't risk anymore of my fifty foot poles on this.

 

[AnandTech Moderator]

<< SquareTrade.com has this guy ID verified and guarentees up to $250 against fraudulent activity. >>



Attention members who may be considering this deal: The fraud protection guarantee provided is useless when this many items are involved. It is subject to a maximum of $500 total in the first 30 days of the seller's membership, and $1000 thereafter. In other words, if this is a scam, each purchaser would, at best, receive $3.33 and, at worst, 83 cents.

Carry on.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[Thegonagle]

Plymouth is a rich suburb west of Minneapolis, but I think that address might be located in a very densely populated apartment development, which makes me raise my eyebrow. The area code over there is now 763, changed from 612 a year or two ago. If I get bored sometime soon, I'll drive over and go check it out.

EDIT: the 596 prefix on the phone number seems right for that area (Plymouth) before the new area code was implemented.

Visi.com is a local ISP here.

I don't know what this guy is trying to pull. This does look a bit fishy, despite the legit (but outdated) looking contact info.

 

[BD2003]

Theres two days left, and considering how much attention its getting, I dont doubt for a second by the time its ended, itll be well over 300. Its not $200 until the auction is ended.

Whoever this is isnt a scam artist, he's actually pretty smart. Anyone that looks will find it, and jump on it...once he's got enough people, the bidding wars begin.

 

[Joemonkey]

am i the only one who noticed his address is.... NATHAN LANE

or maybe i'm reading to much into this

 

[Thegonagle]

<< am i the only one who noticed his address is.... NATHAN LANE >>



Why? Who is Nathan Lane? That's a real street in Plymouth, MN.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Scam. 100%, IMHO. Look at his feedback. Yes, most are positives, BUT look @ the items. DVD's, 10-13 bucks each. And somehow a small fry DVD hustler somehow has several HUNDRED units of one of, if not the hottest gaming system on the market? If you believe that, I got some oceanfront property to sell you in Arizona.