Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

[Seagull6]

On Thanksgiving I came across an exceptional deal on Ebay. A 2000 Boston Whaler Dauntless with 90 HP 4 stroke Mercury and trailer - all in like new condition. The starting bid was $5666 and after I emailed the seller a few questions he said that the (unpublished)"buy it now" price was $6400 but that if I was interested and committed within 24 hours he would give me a 10% discount. The boat is in Germany, but it has US titles for the boat and trailer and he could have it shipped to NJ for $650. He preferred wire transfer as mode of payment. When I emailed him and asked for his name, address, and telephone number so that we could discuss - I didn't hear back. I checked the for feedback on this guy in Ebay and it was all A+ - A++++, but only for buying transactions - he had not sold anything previously through Ebay.<br /><br />Sounds like someone hijacked a legitimate Ebay login and tried to run a scam. Anyone else have experience with this?<br /><br />Incidentally, the ad was closed on Ebay last night, but I printed it out. The hull registration number on the boat is MC 3595 SA. Does anyone know where that would be from?

 

[Uncle Dave]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Chuck,<br /><br />Good post!!!<br /><br />If you could contact ebay, although hard to do via phone.<br />He may be ligitamate, perhaps a missed email?<br />But for that much monies, darn well worth letting the cat out of the bag.<br /><br />Fitz.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Chuck,a friend of mine had a similar bargain on an outboard motor.this was also from europe.He sent the $6000 and never heard a word about it again.The seller offered to sell it to him outside of ebay.My friend learned an expensive lesson."If it sounds too good to be true" you can finish the rest.Charlie ps I truely hope your situation is legitimate and you get the great deal on ebay--GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 

[usedboats4u]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

I BUY ALOT OF BOATS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, NEVER SAW A MC FOR A STATE CODE, I COULD BE WRONG.

 

[johnnybigrigger]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

ZZZZZZZZZZ

 

[neumanns]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Chuck... If it looks like a duck & quacks like a duck and walks like a duck odds are its a duck! <br /><br />Forget about that Boat.

 

[Northern Eclipse]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Chuck DO NOT send a dime This scam has been running on ebay before, but with Harley-Davidsons , Check with eBay they have already reported these types of scams with the FBI, Remember "sounds to good to be true" , Report this seller the rest of us don't need these bottem feeding scumbags around.

 

[usedboats4u]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

NOT ALL OF US WHO SELL ON EBAY RUN SCAMS, I SELL BOATS AND MOTORS ALL THE TIME AND HAVE NEVER HAD A COMPLAINT, BUT THEN AGAIN I STILL CARE ABOUT MY CUSTOMERS

 

[djvan]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

MC=Michigan, I know MI is the mailing abbreviation but on my boat it is MC.<br /><br />DougV>

 

[Offshore22]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

This scam has been discussed on other forums. the sellers were selling Yamaha Outboards for rediculous prices. They will never accept Paypal or other legitimate payments. They alway's want direct bank money transfer. This is the worst possible payment method as it leaves the buyer no recourse. As a buyer you must verify where you are sending your money. Ebay has a tutorial on this subject.<br /><br />Offshore 22

 

[Badger99]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

ALLWAYS CHECK FEEDBACKS I have been selling boat parts on ebay for years and have had only 2 negs out of 220 pos feedbacks and frankly those 2 were newbies that didnt understand feedback. There are lots of good sellers on Ebay and you can get Great deals. I purchase lots of items at big boat and part auctions and sell on ebay Cheap. Often pennies on the dollar and I don't care as long as I make something on it. Not every good deal on Ebay is a stinker but do be carefull and check Feedbacks. Don't send $6000.00 to someone with 3 feedbacks

 

[Northern Eclipse]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Usedboats4u I must agree there are still plenty of honest sellers and buyers on eBay, my point is soley directed to the ones that are not, Trust me I know about being typecasted, My family is in the used car business and have been for over 40yrs...we get very PO'd at the shady side of business, one thief and lier is all it takes to hurt all the other's just trying to make a honest living, about 70% of our business is repeat and referral from past customers and to Badger99 and Offshore 22 thats great advice it is a buyer beware policy when making any purchase, and yes I agree that there can be great deals on ebay and I have made a few myself. Hey Chuck good luck with your boat hunting.

 

[boater4life]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

You can always use the Escrow option on Ebay for high ticket items.

 

[Seagull6]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

This guy had an interesting mode of operation. He conducted a dozen small transactions over the past couple of months on ebay, paid up quickly and was easy to deal with, resulting in a dozen positive feedbacks (A+ - A++++). That way when you checked feedback on him he looked pretty good. <br /><br />He put the boat up for bid, but specified that bidders needed to be pre-qualified by him first. To do that you had to email him through ebay, which I did. As soon as he received my email he suspended bidding on ebay and attempted to conduct the transaction with me outside of ebay demanding wire transfer as method of payment.<br /><br />Eventually he gave me his name and address (in Munich), but no telephone number. I attempted to look him up in the Munich online telephone directory, but couldn't find a listing for him. Then I contacted one of the people that gave him positive feedback on ebay and learned that he had given them a different name and an address in Indiana back on November 20th. I attempted to call him in Indiana, but couldn't find a listing for him, but I did reach a grand mother with the same last name out there in the town he claimed to live in, but she had never heard of him. At that point I turned the scammer over to ebay security with everything that I had learned over the weekend.<br /><br />So, checking the feedback on a seller is probably a good idea, but a clever con artist can essentially create his own feedback by the method that I described. The giveaways here were that the price on the boat was way too good to be true, the seller wanted wire transfer, and the boat was in Germany.

 

[Northern Eclipse]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Good work Chuck... I ran across the same game on a Harley, What tipped me off is that Boats and Bikes and anything else North American are usally going overseas.. not coming back...except for my mother-in-law.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

YES, there is a long running E-Bay scam modus operandi that maps right into the boat you were looking at.<br /><br />NO, you can no longer depend on feedback ratings. Used to be a 1-2% negative feedback was normal. Now, with increasing frequency, sellers are requiring the buyer to leave feedback first or the seller withholds posting feedback, or worse. If the buyer posts anything other than a positive feedback, the seller will retaliate. Buyers with negative experiences have become increasingly reluctant to leave feedback about it. You won’t know this about a seller until after you purchase an item from them. It is a way many, many E-Bay sellers are now dishonestly manipulating a positive feedback rating for themselves. I call it Feedback Extortion. You have no way of knowing if the seller you are dealing with engages in these practices. It has ruined the feedback rating system for everyone. Can't tell the good ones from the bad ones anymore.

 

[BigDiesel]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

Johnny:<br /><br />My heart goes out to you ... been there, done that. I bought my first boat over eBay ... had maybe 100 satisfying purchases prior and I quizzed the seller like crazy before bidding. He sent me lots of pictures, told me that the boat ran well (had it out that weekend) and that there were no problems whatsoever. I asked for a sea-trial and he told me that he worked a lot and really did not have time for a sea-trial ... I was green behind the ears and missed this warning light. I drove five hours to pick up the boat. It looked good, but not as good as in the photos. The paint was more faded, but the inside was clean. He produced a bill of sale that completely released him from all responsibility, warning light two that I missed. Returned home and took the boat out that weekend. Noticed that the outboard motor was missing hoses and a motor for the power trim ... no way to control the tilt of the motor. Start motor and learn that there was no reverse. Boat starts to plane and then dies. Repeat. I returned home furious and called seller, who's comment was "what do you expect for a boat that age?" It was a very expensive lesson for me, I should have demanded the sea-trial and I should not have been so trusting. In the end, I lost $400 because I had to pay $200 to have the reverse gear fixed and I sold the boat for $200 less than what I paid.<br /><br />Rabbit,<br /><br />You are so correct, this is one of my biggest problems with eBay. To me, the feedback system is almost worthless. Any seller that does not leave feedback for me after he/she has received my payment, I will not leave feedback for them .... unless they did something exceptional. I fault eBay for the feedback misuse. They should change the system so that you comment on payment, communication, and product quality. If someone takes a long time to pay or a seller drags his/her feet in acknowledging your payment, then Payment rates as a C or D. If the auction item is as described, then there is a C or C+ for Quality; if it is very well packaged and in pristine condition, then there is an A. If the seller or buyer quickly responds to email, works with you to resolve any questions/problems, then communication gets an A.<br /><br />There are still some good deals on eBay, but you have to really be careful these days.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

just my opinion, developed from minimal ebay experience- ebay is a great site. it's fun to play with. it allows you to find the most unusual items. sometimes it's the only place to find certain items. and if you do your homework, you can usually get a good deal. but i doubt i would ever buy an expensive (> $1000) item such as a car or boat. if i had a nice boat to sell, i would simply advertise locally. throw it out on the street, and make it easy on me. it doesn't make sense to me that someone would want to deal with all the emails, sending pics, arranging payments, shipping, etc. at least for a nice boat or car that i could easily sell close to home. so i would always question the "super" deals for expensive items. just my thoughts, of course.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

I don’t think my individual effort is going to make any significant impact on the integrity of the E-Bay Feedback system, but here is what I started doing: I created an ‘About Me’ page that contains only a Feedback Policy. After winning an item, I pay promptly, and then send a payment-made confirmation email to the seller, asking that they leave feedback and mention that they, as the seller, should read my Feedback Policy, as it is going to affect their rating. Amazing! Sellers are promptly leaving feedback for me. <br /><br />Here is what is in the “ME” page (feel free to copy and use in your own ME page):<br /><br />FEEDBACK POLICY<br /><br />IF YOU ARE THE SELLER: I feel my obligation to the transaction is complete as soon as I contacted you with my shipping address and satisfy my payment obligation. At this point, you should be leaving feedback for me. If you require me to leave you feedback first, I will view this as an attempt to manipulate an inaccurate positive rating for yourself. I call it Feedback-Extortion. It is dishonest and I cannot support this action. In such a case, I can only leave a “Neutral” feedback at best, stating this as the reason. NOTE: IF YOU ARE AN HONEST SELLER YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS LEAVING APPROPRIATE FEEDBACK. Once I have received your item, I will email you a confirmation that the item was received and I will leave appropriate feedback.<br /><br />IF YOU ARE THE BUYER: I feel your obligation to the transaction is complete as soon as you contacted me with your shipping address and satisfy your payment obligation. At this point, I will be leaving feedback for you. Once you have received the item, please drop me an email and let me know the item arrived and everything is fine. Should you choose to do so, leave the feedback you feel is appropriate.

 

[KM2]

Re: Ebay deal on Boston Whaler Dauntless 160

There is a commmon scam on ebay, I have seen it on ATV's. Often the seller's feedback is stolen, I mean that they don't know an item has been listed for sale under them. Or they open a new account buy some small items to build up feedback. Things to look for are super low buy it now prices, no location for item, seller wants you to wire transfer funds, they want to do business outside of auction, ebay account was started in Europe, offers free shipping, must be on a pre approved bidders list, the listing has a different email address to use then the sellers. Ebay is aware of the problem and are trying to stop it. <br /> <br />These ebay scumbags will steal the pic's and info from legitmate auctions to use in there little scam. <br /><br />I think ebay is great and most people are a pleasure to do business with. Just be careful and use your head. <br /><br />IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT IS!