Detecting and Reporting Scammers and Illegal Sales
Dec 27, 2016 10:31:45 GMT -8
Post by allurose on Dec 27, 2016 10:31:45 GMT -8
It has happened a few times that an unscrupulous person has attempted to "sell" a porcelain ball-jointed doll they do not actually own, usually on eBay. Unfortunately, as the work of these talented artists (and the accompanying price tag) becomes more well-known, there will probably be more of this.
As well informed fans, we have the power to STOP this activity. If you see an auction or sale that looks suspicious, please post a link here and we will investigate and, if necessary, report it. This thread serve to inform us of suspicious activity, curb it, and provide a permanent record of who the scammers are. The scammers use many aliases but if their efforts are not successful they will give up.
Signs a Sale or Auction May Be a Scam:
-there are no photos taken by the seller, only those of the original artist
-the seller uses photos taken by members of this community
-very low starting bid with no reserve
-unrealistically low shipping cost
-the seller has little or poor feedback
-the text does not describe the doll accurately according to what we know from the artist's website or community records
-the seller does not respond to reasonable questions about the doll or will not take their own photos on request
-we have reason to believe the doll can't possibly be in this person's possession, because someone else still owns it, or it was never sold
No one of these things necessarily means a sale or auction is a scam, but if there are several of them, the listing is suspicious and deserves investigation.
How to Report Suspicious Auctions on Ebay
1. Go to the item listing page
2. Click "Report this Item." It's in the left margin right above the listing discription.
3. Choose reasons you are reporting, which will probably be Listing Practices/Fraudulent Listing Activities/You suspect that a listing is fraudulent
4. Ebay will investigate. They are most likely to investigate if more people report the item.
5. Please also take a screenshot of the listing for our records, since eBay will take the listing down.
You can also report by phone.
How to sell a doll without fear of becoming a suspect
-take your own photos of the doll you are selling, with a paper where you have written your username and the date (this proves you took the photo).
-It's usually fine to use artist photos or a previous owner's photos as well as long as they are of the exact doll you are selling and you have a "proof" photo.
-establish your feedback, if you have any
-respond to questions promptly and politely
Reporting fraudulent auctions is very effective! Ebay does indeed listen to those reports and so far all auctions with suspicious activity have been taken down.
Record of previous scam attempts:
(these first few are from the Enchanted Doll community. I think we can assume there is some overlap of scammers)
Link (won't last long):http://www.ebay.com/itm/Enchanted-Do...item43b5ce1e19
Screenshot (useful for proving future scams):
Date: 11/14/12
Seller ID: 350z1975
Seller Location: Georgia, USA
Doll being "sold": Red-headed Rubanesque Enchanted Doll with accessories.
Case Summary & Notes: This person purported to be selling a Rubanesque porcelain doll, with a starting bid of $200. They used only Marina's photos and all the text was copied from Marina's blog. The shipping price was also suspiciously low at $6.
Link: www.ebay.com/itm/Enchanted-Do...item416f13e01d
Screenshot:
Date: 12/9-12/11/2012
Seller ID: qolender11
Seller Location: Itasca, Illinois, US
Doll being "sold": Elena the Beautiful Enchanted Doll with accessories
Case Summary & Notes: This scam appears identical to two previous ones. This person claimed to be selling Elena the Beautiful with crown, shoes, and fur stole. Community records indicate these items were split in a previous sale & the crown is currently owned by lilithskyblu. Seller had a $9 starting bid with no reserve and free shipping. The seller had zero feedback. They stole photos from Angelificatu. The auction was reported almost immediately and taken down 2 days later. This seller tried to sell another type of rare doll; that auction was also taken down.
Link: (none)
Screenshot:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0594859309.jpg
Date: 4/30/2012
Seller ID: dardaubenspeck1
Seller Location: Greenwood, IN, US
Doll being "sold": Elena the Beautiful Enchanted Doll with accessories
Case Summary & Notes: This scam appears identical to a previous one. The starting bid was $9, the seller had zero feedback and used a community member's photos. The doll being "sold" was owned by pinktink at the time. The listing was removed within a day.
Link: (none)
Screenshot:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0423992546.jpg
Date: 3/22/2010
Seller ID: lestruthven0
Seller Location: Bellmore, NY, US
Doll being "sold": Elena the Beautiful Enchanted Doll with accessories
Case Summary & Notes: The seller claimed to be selling Elena the Beautiful, who was owned buy a community member at the time.
Link: (already taken down)
Screenshot: ?
Date: 12/17/2016
Seller ID: ?
Seller Location: ?
Doll being "sold": Appolina Plague Doctor by Ekaterina Skorvka
Case Summary & Notes: The seller claimed to be selling Appolina Plague Doctor by Ekaterina Skorvka, but this doll is still in the artist's possession. The seller had good feedback on unrelated fossil sales. The seller used the artist's photos.
As well informed fans, we have the power to STOP this activity. If you see an auction or sale that looks suspicious, please post a link here and we will investigate and, if necessary, report it. This thread serve to inform us of suspicious activity, curb it, and provide a permanent record of who the scammers are. The scammers use many aliases but if their efforts are not successful they will give up.
Signs a Sale or Auction May Be a Scam:
-there are no photos taken by the seller, only those of the original artist
-the seller uses photos taken by members of this community
-very low starting bid with no reserve
-unrealistically low shipping cost
-the seller has little or poor feedback
-the text does not describe the doll accurately according to what we know from the artist's website or community records
-the seller does not respond to reasonable questions about the doll or will not take their own photos on request
-we have reason to believe the doll can't possibly be in this person's possession, because someone else still owns it, or it was never sold
No one of these things necessarily means a sale or auction is a scam, but if there are several of them, the listing is suspicious and deserves investigation.
How to Report Suspicious Auctions on Ebay
1. Go to the item listing page
2. Click "Report this Item." It's in the left margin right above the listing discription.
3. Choose reasons you are reporting, which will probably be Listing Practices/Fraudulent Listing Activities/You suspect that a listing is fraudulent
4. Ebay will investigate. They are most likely to investigate if more people report the item.
5. Please also take a screenshot of the listing for our records, since eBay will take the listing down.
You can also report by phone.
How to sell a doll without fear of becoming a suspect
-take your own photos of the doll you are selling, with a paper where you have written your username and the date (this proves you took the photo).
-It's usually fine to use artist photos or a previous owner's photos as well as long as they are of the exact doll you are selling and you have a "proof" photo.
-establish your feedback, if you have any
-respond to questions promptly and politely
Reporting fraudulent auctions is very effective! Ebay does indeed listen to those reports and so far all auctions with suspicious activity have been taken down.
Record of previous scam attempts:
(these first few are from the Enchanted Doll community. I think we can assume there is some overlap of scammers)
Link (won't last long):http://www.ebay.com/itm/Enchanted-Do...item43b5ce1e19
Screenshot (useful for proving future scams):
Date: 11/14/12
Seller ID: 350z1975
Seller Location: Georgia, USA
Doll being "sold": Red-headed Rubanesque Enchanted Doll with accessories.
Case Summary & Notes: This person purported to be selling a Rubanesque porcelain doll, with a starting bid of $200. They used only Marina's photos and all the text was copied from Marina's blog. The shipping price was also suspiciously low at $6.
Link: www.ebay.com/itm/Enchanted-Do...item416f13e01d
Screenshot:
Date: 12/9-12/11/2012
Seller ID: qolender11
Seller Location: Itasca, Illinois, US
Doll being "sold": Elena the Beautiful Enchanted Doll with accessories
Case Summary & Notes: This scam appears identical to two previous ones. This person claimed to be selling Elena the Beautiful with crown, shoes, and fur stole. Community records indicate these items were split in a previous sale & the crown is currently owned by lilithskyblu. Seller had a $9 starting bid with no reserve and free shipping. The seller had zero feedback. They stole photos from Angelificatu. The auction was reported almost immediately and taken down 2 days later. This seller tried to sell another type of rare doll; that auction was also taken down.
Link: (none)
Screenshot:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0594859309.jpg
Date: 4/30/2012
Seller ID: dardaubenspeck1
Seller Location: Greenwood, IN, US
Doll being "sold": Elena the Beautiful Enchanted Doll with accessories
Case Summary & Notes: This scam appears identical to a previous one. The starting bid was $9, the seller had zero feedback and used a community member's photos. The doll being "sold" was owned by pinktink at the time. The listing was removed within a day.
Link: (none)
Screenshot:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0423992546.jpg
Date: 3/22/2010
Seller ID: lestruthven0
Seller Location: Bellmore, NY, US
Doll being "sold": Elena the Beautiful Enchanted Doll with accessories
Case Summary & Notes: The seller claimed to be selling Elena the Beautiful, who was owned buy a community member at the time.
Link: (already taken down)
Screenshot: ?
Date: 12/17/2016
Seller ID: ?
Seller Location: ?
Doll being "sold": Appolina Plague Doctor by Ekaterina Skorvka
Case Summary & Notes: The seller claimed to be selling Appolina Plague Doctor by Ekaterina Skorvka, but this doll is still in the artist's possession. The seller had good feedback on unrelated fossil sales. The seller used the artist's photos.