:roll: Nevermind. It turned out to be a scam. :^o
It was on eBay with about a day and a half left on the auction. The location on the auction was given as Summerville, SC. The auction didn't have a reserve set, but the last sentence read "I will sell my bus for $2900." The auction didn't say that it was right hand drive, but I noticed the sliding door was on the left side so I emailed the guy through a link in the text of the auction (not the eBay "ask this seller a question" link).
He answered that email almost instantly saying yes, it was right hand drive. He brought it over from England a few years ago. Bidding was right at $2000 and Joy emailed him and asked if he would take $2500 . . . remember, he said in the auction that he would sell it for $2900. I thought he also had the bus for sale locally and if he sold it before the auction ended or the bidding reached $2900 he would end the auction. Dealers do it all the time. Anyway, almost instantly again, the guy emails back with link to email eBay and the information to put in the email. He said all I had to do was wait for eBay to send me an email and follow the instructions. Then he said "as soon as eBay verifies the funds, I'll load it on the car hauler and get it on it's way to you." OK . . . I was born at night, but not last night. I'm begining to smell a rat here. I emailed him and told him I didn't understand the transaction he wanted make . . . and asked him to send me his phone # so I could call him. He sent me an email that his phone was "down for upgrades, just email eBay at the address below and they will give you the instructions to complete the transaction." That rat smell is getting stronger all the time. :roll: Anyway, I sent the email and about 15 minutes later I got the following email, supposedly from eBay:
From: aw-confirm@ebay.com <aw-confirm@ebay.com>
Date: Saturday, November 05, 2005 12:20 PM
To: zenph@alltel.net
Subject: Notice: Payment details for item #4587461890 - 1977 VW VIKING CAMPER VAN 2000]
Dear zenph (zenph@alltel.net),
Currently, this seller (chippersbasee) has a $3,300.00 deposit in an
eBay managed purchase protection account. Transactions with this eBay
seller are covered by purchase protection against fraud and description errors eBay Safe Guard offered you, as the buyer, full purchase protection for the amount you agreed on with the seller.
Your eBay transaction in 5 easy steps:
1. Buyer and seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price.
2. Seller contacts eBay with the transaction details; eBay accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the buyer or the seller);
3. The buyer pays for the item.
4. Seller will be instructed to ship the item as soon as eBay confirms
the payment.
5. Buyer receives the merchandise and has five days to inspect it. If he
refuses the item, the buyer must ship it back to the seller within three
business days.
After the inspection period is over, the buyer must contact eBay with
the result of the inspection. If the buyer refuses the merchandise, the
refund will be sent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returned
shipment is verified. To enjoy the purchase protection, you must send the payment by the insured payment method below.
Attention: Sending the payment by any other method will void this transaction and your right to refund.
Details and instructions of this transaction:
*************************************************
The following item(s) are protected in this eBay transaction:
Seller : chippersbasee
Buyer: zenph
Item : #4587461890 1977 VW VIKING CAMPER VAN 2000
Buy it now : $2,500.00
Payment method : Western Union Money Transfer
The funds must be sent to our official agent assigned for your
transaction:
============================
Name: Brian Hampton
Address: 1121 East 60th Street
City: CHICAGO
State: IL
Zip: 60637
============================
Amount insured: $2,500.00
Next step to be taken:
The buyer must send the funds into eBay custody.
When the Western Union transfer is completed please contact our payment
department at support@items-ebay.com and provide the following
information:
- your full name and address ( as on the WU receipt )
- the MTCN
- the total amount transfered
The insurer of this transaction is eBay Inc., located at 2145 Hamilton
Avenue,San Jose, CA 95125, United States of America.
The account is managed by eBay's SquareTrade center. This transaction is
supervised by eBay's SafeHarbor team.
If you have questions regarding this transaction please replay this
email.
Regards, Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc.
You know the old saying, If it seems too good to be true, it probalby is. I forwarded the above email to spoof@ebay.com to make sure it wasn't from them . . . it wasn't. I wonder how many folks he's scammed out of money with this auction. The "seller" has over 100 feedbacks with only 1 negative, but they were ALL as a buyer, none as a seller. I would bet that the scam artist has stolen the password for the seller's account. Anyway, the bottom line here is be careful when dealing with large sums of money through eBay, and NEVER, EVER, EVER send money to someone you don't know through Western Union!
