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eBay Scams Targeting Mini Classics

August 1, 2007 on 9:29 pm | In Recent Posts |

I have been on the hunt for a Mini Classic Sportspack and have encountered two separate eBay listings that were both scams and followed a similar pattern. 

Recently this gorgeous Mini 40th Anniversary edition in Silver w/Mulberry interior was listed and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it having missed out on a Mulberry w/Mulberry 40th Anniversary a few weeks back and almost glad I did as this little cutie pie looks great in Silver.  Ok so I was really really excited and was not going to get outbid on this one.

At first nothing suspicious as it had several pictures and detailed description but looking closer beyond the seller having low or no feedback I noticed that several people had already bid but had their bids cancelled with comments to contact the seller.   Those bidders with no or bad feedback was understandable but several folks with several years presence on eBay and great feedback were also cancelled..hmm.  I sent several emails to the seller receiving no response so I went ahead and tried to bid and was surprised to find I was blocked from bidding.   

Eventually the listing was removed from ebay and to my surprise an email arrives from the seller with the most remarkable of offers.  First one was for $6,000 and this MINI 40 for $2,900.  Seriously $2,900?  I couldn’t buy a stolen Cadillac from a crack whore for $2,900. Well actually I probably can and a lot more but I digress.

1. In both situations I asked for the sellers contact information so I could call them.   In the first case the seller came back that was not an option as they were “deaf” of all things and could only communicate with the computer. Second seller wasn’t comfortable giving me their number for the lamest of excuses and would call me after payment.

2. When I pushed to fly in and drive it back home they both responded that was not possible as they were currently in a different State then the car but offered to ship the car to me for FREE. yes free.  Now come one, no one is going to ship a car for free. 

3.  Payment was consistent with both as they both were trying to get you to pay for the car using what was referred to as “eBay motor vehicle purchase protection program which will hold the payment until you receive the car” and funds would not be released until you received the car.  basically escrow service.

The more I pushed for information and details the more they became alert to my suspicions and ceased communication with me.  I figure at some point they would have sent a link to a ficticious escrow service and taken my money.   Over the years I have purchased and sold many cars on eBay and never encountered any issues but have been surprised to encounter the same scam on two Mini Classic listings in a matter of a few weeks.

Advise.. Always get contact information and speak to them. Always run a carfax though not possible for Mini Classics which is what makes them an easy target.  If using escrow make sure it is escrow.com and not redirected to some other site.  Never pay by cash or wire money unless you’ve physically seen the car, met the seller, feel comfortable and have title in hand.  Preferably use a Bank Check and never negotiate an auction item outside of ebay and if it sounds too good to be true it usually is.

My Mini 40 search continues….