3 Mar 2002 (updated 1 Jun 2002 at 20:28 UTC)
»
UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OF THIS DIARY
ENTRY WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR IS A
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION.
The Ebay Laptop Auction Fraud Continues
All I
wanted was a laptop so I could work on the road.
- 1/18/2002
I won
a bid on an IBM Thinkpad T23 laptop on Ebay, sold by a
one "Brian Silverman", aka
"electro_depot", and overnighted the payment to him in
certified funds (as required by his terms) within 5 days of
auction close.
- 1/25/2002
The payment was
received on
1/25/2002 and signed by one "Jena/Tina A. Waterman"
and immediately deposited. Based on the terms of the
auction, this individual had 2-4 weeks to ship the laptop
from this date.
- 1/31/2002 09:50:31 -0800 (PST)
Received an
email from Brian acknowledging the receipt of the payment.
1/31/2002 10:19:13 -0800 (PST)
Requested a
tracking number
for the shipment.
- 2/18/2002 16:41:26 -0800
(PST)
Received email from Brian asking for the ebay
tracking number. This number was clearly written on the
cashier's check,
and on an included note that was shipped with the check,
which he recieved and signed for on 1/25/2002.
2/18/2002 17:11:28 -0800 (PST)
Responded with
tracking number within
30 minutes.
- 2/19/2002 16:47:17 -0800
(PST)
Received an email from Brian stating that my
Sony Vaio 300 series (PCG-FX370 or PCG-FX390) laptop
was no longer available,
and asked that I select another model. 2/19/2002
17:11:28 -0800 (PST)Responded to this email, clarifying
that my auction was for an IBM Thinkpad T23 laptop, model
26479LU, not a
Sony VAIO.
2/19/2002 17:53:04 -0800 (PST)Received
an email acknowledging the error, and stating that the item
would ship "shortly".
- 2/20/2002 04:57:56 -0800
(PST)
Responded to last email from Brian, stating
that it was now a month after the date of the auction close
and over three weeks since he received and deposited my
payment into
his account. "Where is my laptop?!" 2/20/2002
06:30:59 -0800 (PST)
Received email from Brian
stating that they're "running the full shipping time" on
this item, and that I
should be glad to wait the extra time to save the money on
the hardware.
- 2/27/2002 12:18:48 -0800
(PST)
Sent email to Brian clarifying his violation of
his own auction
terms. It is now 40 days past the close of auction. After
researching his
feedback profile on ebay
it became clear that this person has a real problem with
shipping dates and times.
2/27/2002 12:18:48 -0800
(PST)
Made it very clear that if he could not ship
the laptop to
meet my deadline of March 4th (I had a speaking engagement
in Berkeley, CA), to overnight me a full refund, so I could
use the cash to purchase another laptop in time for my speaking
engagement.
- 3/1/2002 09:15:25 -0800
(PST)
Sent email to Brian with my telephone number
requesting that he contact me directly to work out issues
related to shipping and
delays. 3/1/2002 18:20:34 -0800 (PST)
Receive
an email from Brian asking for my shipping name and address.
He stated that he sent me an email "several days ago" asking for
this information.
3/1/2002 18:58:14 -0800
(PST)
Requested copies of the original emails sent
"several days ago", to try to track down what may have
caused the disconnect.
Never received copies of his emails. I receive over 400
emails a day, and never lose a single one. Brian never
emailed me, this was a delay tactic.
Demanded refund or
laptop by Monday
3/4/2002, or I would initiate an investigation. Also
requested a full receipt for the item, if it shipped.
Brian's feedback profile led me to believe that he does not
provide receipts, and
hence no way to secure the manufacturer warantee.
3/1/2002 19:27:36 -0800 (PST)
Received email
from Brian stating that the "warehouse" was closed on the
weekend, and the best
way to proceed was to refund my payment by wire transfer.
3/1/2002 19:30:30 -0800 (PST)
Received email
from Brian stating that a "printout of the ebay auction
webpage" is a
valid receipt. He also states that he is not late in
delivering the laptop (he's 42 days past the close of the
auction at this point). He also states that he does
$1,000,000 annually in
sales, and asks me not to start quoting him federal
infractions and IRS tax laws regarding his questionable
business practices.
3/1/2002 19:52:09 -0800
(PST)
Received email
from Brian stating that he could come in on Saturday
(3/2/2002) to check on his email, presumably in anticipation
of my rapid response.
- 3/2/2002 09:07:03 -0800
(PST)
Sent
email to Brian: "Do you have the laptop or not? You've
had 42 days to obtain the merchandise. Do you have it or
not?!" 3/2/2002 14:29:51 -0800
(PST)
Received email from
Brian stating that these items ship "warehouse-direct" and
that they usually have no problems shipping on time (another
lie, since his feedback profile has 60% or more of his buyers
complaining about incorrect or "epic" shipping delays). He
states that he thinks the T23 is in stock, and could ship in
1-2 days. He also states that he can upgrade it to overnight
shipping "..if that helps".
3/2/2002 14:39:34
-0800 (PST)
Responded to Brian stating that even if
he shipped the laptop on Monday, it wouldn't get to me in
time for my
departure to Berkeley and my speaking engagement. The delays
and the transaction in general have caused me to miss two
speaking engagements already, and will now cause me to miss a
third.
I request that he upgrade it to overnight shipping,
and if possible, upgrade the RAM in the laptop as a
complimentary compensation for my troubles.
- 3/3/2002 12:45:23
-0800 (PST)
Received email from Brian stating that
they cannot help me, and that he will be sending me back my
money.
At this point, the scam becomes abundantly
clear.
He's had my $2350.00/USD in his bank account for 37 days,
gaining him interest on my money. In this time, I
have seen Brian put identical laptops up onto ebay for sale,
and seen
other bidders bid, win, and be successfully shipped their
laptops, all in less time than I've had, and I still have no
laptop, and no money back from Brian.
Based on his current
auctions, and this scam he's got running, he's making
literally thousands of dollars a month in interest alone on
these "sales". I'll bet he double and triple sells the same
laptops to
different bidders, gains the interest from all of them
sending him their money, then cancels out on all but one
bidder, refunding their payment, minus the interest he's
gained on their
money in his account. Some bidders have even waited up to 8
weeks to receive their purchases, all the while, Brian
states he's still within his auction terms of 2-4 weeks.
Where? On
Jupiter?
If I do not receive the exact funds in return on
Monday, I will be calling the FBI and the IRS on Brian
Silverman. Perhaps they'd be interested in his "$1,000,000
in sales
annually". If he's doing that much business, why is it so
hard to ship a single laptop 100 miles away? Why is it so
hard to provide a valid receipt? Why is it so hard to keep
your word
without excuses and lies? Well, I'll let the FBI and IRS
figure it all out on Monday.
Meanwhile, I'm out one
laptop and $2350.00/USD.
I'm pissed. Why does so much
"dark cloud"
always come my way. I'm a vortex for bad luck.