Ebay Scam or Not ? Is This for Real?

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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses concerns regarding a specific eBay listing that some participants suspect may be a scam related to Pampered Chef products. Participants share their thoughts on the legitimacy of the listing and express varying degrees of concern about potential phishing or fraudulent activity.

Discussion Character

  • Opinion-based
  • Anecdotal
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a customer, expresses uncertainty about the eBay listing and seeks others' opinions on its legitimacy.
  • Another participant notes that the listing appears suspicious and suggests contacting the home office.
  • Several users mention personal experiences with scams on eBay, including account theft and phishing attempts.
  • One participant shares their experience of having their eBay account compromised and advises caution regarding password security.
  • Another participant speculates that the listing may be an attempt to circumvent Pampered Chef's selling policies.
  • Some participants argue that the seller is not actually selling products but rather offering access to buy Pampered Chef items, which they believe may not be against the rules.
  • One participant expresses frustration with the ongoing discussion, suggesting that energy could be better spent on productive activities.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ significantly among participants, with some expressing strong concerns about the listing and others downplaying the risks involved. No clear consensus emerges regarding the legitimacy of the eBay listing or the appropriate response.

Contextual Notes

Participants share a mix of personal experiences and opinions, reflecting varying levels of familiarity with eBay and Pampered Chef policies. The discussion highlights a range of concerns about online safety and compliance with company guidelines.

Who May Find This Useful

Members of the Pampered Chef consultant community who are interested in online selling practices and potential scams may find this discussion relevant.

TriciaAnn
Messages
70
I was searching on Ebay and I came across something that I think someone should look at. I don't know if it's a scam or not.

Just type in #4437402885

I will try and copy the link but if it doesn't work just add in that ebay item number.

I would like your thoughts of this as well.

Loyal Customer,
Tricia Ann

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4437402885&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Fcgiurl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fcgi.ebay.com%252Fws%252F%26fkr%3D1%26from%3DR8%26satitle%3D4437402885%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1
 
Looks very fishy to me.
 
it is fishyI looked at it and something is up. Did you email the home office on this one??

Boomer Sooner
Shannon Overstreet
 
  • Thread starter
  • #4
What to do? Ebay Fishy!!!!I'm just a customer of Pampered Chef. I host shows about 2 - 4 times a year. I love this site because it helps me with my sales as a host. I wouldn't know where to start in regard to reporting this to home office. But I agree that it needs to be reported. :eek:

Tricia Ann
 
I emailed them a question. Hopefully they will answser it soon to see what they have to say about it.
 
We must have emailed the HO at the same time.

Boomer Sooner
Shannon Overstreet
 
Chefloriray Tricia Ann,

I'd change ALL my password info immediately! eBay, Internet Banking, email and Paypal! The reason I say this is because I received a shady email from an eBay user in Valpariso and had my ebay info stolen. The person listed 11 items for sale in about 3 minutes! I contacted eBay and was told that the person was stealing eBay account info in the attempts to get Paypal and bank info!

If I were the 2 of you I'd call 888-OUR-CHEF and report them to HO and also report them to eBay by clicking the LIVE CHAT link on the eBay homepage!
 
It's a type of phishingThat person is basically charging an "access fee" to get a catalog. All they are doing is selling information or a list or something so they can get your address and then maybe spam you with a catalog and stuff. It seems like they are offering you products for a dollar but I bet they are charging you money just to get your address and then give you a link to someone so they can send you information.

It's a total gray area. All I could say is contact eBay they may be doing something fraudulent. I buy stuff on eBay all the time and see this kind of phishing auction often.
 
DZ mom
Why would they have to change all their info? I don't think they have given any info to this person. Tricia ann saw the auction listed. I don't think it was emailed to her. The reason I say this is because it is a big undertaking to change all that info. I myself have gotten some crazy emails from people trying to get my info. But I don't think this is what happened in this case. Of course the seller still needs to be reported because something is fishy with his auction.
 
What I was told to do!This scam artist had gotten ahold of my eBay password and listed items for sale with VERY short listing times. Had I not caught them they could have gotten my Paypal account info and bank info from paypal. Also, by clicking on the link the scam artist could have stolen their account information. I'm suggesting that they change their passwords to their accounts so that they do not have to go through the same agony that I went through recently. When I contacted eBay to report this person, I had to PROVE who I said I was. Needless to say I chatted with an eBay representative for nearly 2 hours trying to get everything changed and the listings removed and I still ended up charged for the 11 listings somehow and had to contact eBay.

So basically, I am suggesting that they change their passwords to eBay, Paypal, their bank account and email just for precaution! They should especially change their info if they've clicked on a link within the listing to contact this person, since this is the way that they are copying account info.
 
I emailed the person. I asked them if that meant I could buy a pan set for .$99 plus the cost of S&H. She emailed me back and said "Nope...sorry...you get the products for its actual cost. .$99 for the pans would be way too good to be true. Sorry if there was any confusion. I thought that when I put $.99 would not have to be paid that the buyer would pay actual costs, I made it clear. Sorry that I didnt."

So I emailed her back and asked her then if I was basically paying her for a catalog and am waiting for that answer.

I do not use a credit card or paypal to pay anything in ebay so there really isnt any infor for her to get unless it be my other email address and I use it only to get junk mail.
 
All I was saying was that there is no reason to go and cancel accounts because you looked at a ebay listing. If you have not typed any password in on her link then there is nothing to worry about. I looked at the auction myself and emailed her a question. No response yet.
 
OH NO! I didn't mean to CANCEL their accounts, just to change the passwords to those accounts. I won't say that at all!
 
It looks to me like it's just a P.Chef consultant trying to get around the "You can't sell on Ebay" rule. Technically, she's not selling a specific product, just getting people to inquire so that she can solicit for customers. If that's the case, even if she's not breaking THAT rule, I'm sure she's breaking one of the advertising rules.
 
I believe they're breaking copyright laws or something by using the PC logo on there.
Does HO know about this?

Kris
 
A couple of thoughts...First...
The person isn't actually selling anything except access to buy pampered chef stuff.. "you can get access to BRAND NEW Pampered Chef products for their actual prices". And even that you don't need to pay for... "Well, look no further, for only $.99 (I'll pay the eBay fees on the $.99, but you don't really have to pay anything)".
Second...
People are looking ON THE INTERNET to buy PC products. This person is simply offering to help those people...
Third...
Nobody needs to change their Ebay user ID's and Passwords.
Fourth...
This person probably isn't going to spam you. The last time I checked my Spam folder it was full of Viagra ads and male enhancement pill offers. Not "Buy PC stuff Cheap" ads.


Fifth..
I think this person should have just put a link in her(/his) ad to their PC website... But oh wait - PC doesn't actually want you to SELL stuff on your site, they just want to SELL you a site. HA HA HA HA HA... That's the funniest scam I've ever seen! (Hey.. you wanna buy a website that you can sell stuff on? Yeah? Ok... Just don't TELL ANYONE ON THE INTERNET YOU HAVE IT! Or we'll take it away!) (Sorry... I was venting a little on the 5th point. first 4 still stand..)

Seth
 
Move On Please!!!!Oh Good Lord Seth...don't you have anythink else to do? Please, move on. Isn't some actual wrong being done in the world that you could use your energy for? Go help the homeless or something?
 
I have my website as a service to my hosts and their guests and for friends across the country that I have. I'm thinking that Pampered Chef doesn't want us to become an unconnected internet sales company. Personally I don't have a problem with the policy.
Anyway it doesn't say not to tell anybody, you just can't link your website on another website.

Kris
 
Gee Whiz-EnoughYou know all this banter about eBay is getting very old. Do any of us have limitless hours to peruse eBay trying to find a culprit selling PC and report them to the home office? All of this sounds like a 4th grade classroom where kids like to tattle on other kids.

Pc made the policies so let us allow them to do their due diligence! Stop sniping about every little sale on eBay. Instead, use your positive energy to build your own business; it is time better spent.
 
I am ending with this...I recevied my reply from the seller and this is what was said:

"Sorry for the confusion. I am not selling a catalog. Technically I am selling the address for my website, although I do not actually have the person pay the $.99, I just pay ebay the commission on it. The website has a catalog online though with the amount of time that the warranty is good for and the cost...the cost is not inflated, but the actual pampered chef price with no increase with an added middle man. I just thought that putting this ad online would be helpful to people who dont realize that by ordering products through a non-consultant makes the warranty null and void. The people who are selling the products obviously are not going to mention that and I feel that the consumer isnt getting the best information. Apparantly I didnt do the greatest job of describing what exactly I was selling, sorry. I hope this clarifies any confusion. Thanks for asking."
 
Happy Mom said:
You know all this banter about eBay is getting very old. Do any of us have limitless hours to peruse eBay trying to find a culprit selling PC and report them to the home office? All of this sounds like a 4th grade classroom where kids like to tattle on other kids.

Pc made the policies so let us allow them to do their due diligence! Stop sniping about every little sale on eBay. Instead, use your positive energy to build your own business; it is time better spent.

Well said!
 
Happy Mom said:
You know all this banter about eBay is getting very old. Do any of us have limitless hours to peruse eBay trying to find a culprit selling PC and report them to the home office? All of this sounds like a 4th grade classroom where kids like to tattle on other kids.

Pc made the policies so let us allow them to do their due diligence! Stop sniping about every little sale on eBay. Instead, use your positive energy to build your own business; it is time better spent.

So, let's not stop what's wrong...let's just try to turn our eyes from it? Every person who breaks policy and sells PC on eBay is doing wrong.. by saying "let's just close our eyes and focus on our business" is not the right thing to do.. this IS our business.. you can use your energy to build up your own business all you want, but if Joe Consultant is selling PC on eBay, stealing business from you, then what they're doing IS your business.. I doubt those of us that are noticing these people selling on eBay are not sitting at the desk for 4 hours straight fishing out people who are scamming PC products against policy, and even if they are doing that.. who cares? Personally, I search eBay all the time, and keep an eye out for discontinued products to give as gifts (ex: my grandmother loves to make gingerbread houses, so I keep an eye out for the discontinued mold to give to her sometime).. and to keep up on discontinued products so that when someone comes to me with something that was phased out two years ago, I'll have some knowledge of it.

If you saw someone snatch your wife's purse would you do something about it or would you just turn your eyes the other way and figure the cops will catch up with them eventually.. .. I mean, the laws do exist to say that it's wrong, right? Would you just focus on working extra hard to make more money at your job instead of stopping the one who took the money you had? These scammers are stealing legit business from those of us who are working our tails off to get it. And if stopping them means that a handful of us keep reporting them to the proper PC authorities.. then I'm all for it.
 
AleeChef--I feel as though you are well within all limits to do so. I personally have boycotted EBay, for my own mental state as much as anything. So I am not noticing or searching or anything the wrongdoers, but I applaud those of you who do.

Ebay has a place in this world market, however, the ways in which some people choose to use it doesn't have a place. It's a shame that we even have to have these debates.

In the oft quoted words of a well-meaning man, "Can't we all just get along?"
 
Aleecef,

Understanding the pitfalls of electronic communication, the main one being that the respondents do not have a face to face conversation, let us just agree that we have different opinions and leave it at that.

Personally, I have no desire to politicize this issue which is heated enough already.

Respectfully,

Happy Mom
 
The answer to this problem is RECRUIT MORE!!Oh, this is all so entertaining. I hardly think that Jo Schmoe selling stuff on eBay is anywhere close to the same thing as someone stealing my purse! DO I think the people on Ebay are not following the rules? Absolutely! BUT...they are not stealing any business from me! How many people do you run into that have never heard of PC? It still happens believe it or not! What about the people (I was one of them) whose consultant moved/quit and they couldn't find someone...so they turn to the computer. What this says to me is that we all need to RECRUIT MORE and TALK TO EVERYONE so that everyone everywhere in the whole wide world will be able to easily find a consultant that they can have an actual, honest to goodness, face to face relationship with. The other thing to consider is that many people who shop on the internet do it because they don't want to deal with people! They want their stuff...period. I had some sales via my website, I e-mailed the people thanking them, and I have never heard from them..EVER...because they don't want to be bothered...they just want their stuff!

Lord..I am DONE with all of the blah blah blahing about Seth and his website lists and Ebay and who is taking advantage of whom....sweet dreams all.
 
No matter what it is wrong! Some people get more excited about things than others. So be it. Some people want to make sure others play fairly, some don't care. Either way, it should not bother anyone this much that others want to make sure rules are adhered to. I have not turned anyone in myself to HO but more power to the ones who do. Thank you for taking the time!!
 
No matter how maney people you report there are still going to be people selling PC on ebay , consultants use a friend or family member to list the stuff , and it would take a long time for HO to trace it back to the consultant. There are ways around everything.
 
I wish they would take the people at HO who work on catching the EBAYERS and get them to get my freaking February 1 order shipped out! SHEESH!
 
PamperedPrincess74 said:
I wish they would take the people at HO who work on catching the EBAYERS and get them to get my freaking February 1 order shipped out! SHEESH!

Amen! Waiting on one as well... 8 days now. UGH! But in PC's defense, my show was held up because someone's cc was put on hold (it got flagged as stolen! :eek: )
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Really? You're still waiting on show orders??

I submitted one yesterday and it shipped today.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the common scam involving eBay?

Common scams on eBay include fake listings, non-delivery of items, and sellers who do not have the products they claim to sell. Scammers may use enticing prices or create fake accounts to lure buyers into making purchases that never arrive.

How can I tell if an eBay listing is a scam?

Look for red flags such as prices that are significantly lower than average, poor-quality images, vague descriptions, and sellers with little to no feedback. Additionally, be cautious of listings that ask for payment outside of eBay’s secure payment system.

Is eBay a safe platform for buying and selling?

eBay has measures in place to protect buyers and sellers, including buyer protection programs and secure payment options. However, it is essential to remain vigilant and conduct thorough research on sellers and listings to avoid scams.

What should I do if I suspect a scam on eBay?

If you suspect a scam, report the listing to eBay immediately. You can also contact eBay’s customer service for assistance. If you have already made a purchase, file a dispute through eBay’s resolution center to seek a refund.

Can I get my money back if I fall for an eBay scam?

In many cases, you can get your money back if you fall victim to a scam on eBay. If you used eBay’s payment system, you may be eligible for buyer protection. Always report the issue and follow eBay’s procedures for disputes to increase your chances of a refund.

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