eBay has a fraudulent scam on its hands from sellers looking to make a quick buck without parting with anything. I learned this the hard way when I purchased an ASUS Zenbook for $400, and I realized the seller didn’t even have a legitimate account. The seller Christopreic0 had an amazing deal on an ASUS Zenbook that was going for $1000 new. I jumped on the deal like a lemming racing for a cliff (dumb, I know). Then I realized that the seller had 0 reviews and created his account this month. I about lost my lunch.

Several messages for him to respond to the sale later, and I realized that no human had ever intended for this sale tohappen. Christopreic0 was hoping the money would hit his account and he would spend it before eBay’s policy forced him to give it back. In some cases, the seller will send fake delivery instructions to the wrong address to prove that something was sent, further muddying the refund policy. When threatened with a report and a voicemail to eBay’s customer service, Christopreic0 deleted his account. Most likely, he will create a new account under a different name and try to get another sucker like me.

I learned some important lessons.

  • If the price is too good to be true, then it probably is (In my defense, I had no idea that ASUS Zenbook Ryzen AI 7’s were selling for that high a price.)
  • Check the origination date of the account and the number of feedback ratings they have before selling.
  • Maybe Facebook Market’s face to face approach is better.
  • Accounts with first and last names are not going to give you a new laptop for dirt cheap.
  • eBay needs a new way to deter scammers who just use a different email account every time they get caught.

Please take a look at the pic below. An Apple MacBook Neo sells for $600, but this clown thinks he can rope in someone dumb like me because he took 60% off. I would like to point out the lack of reviews.

Be smart.

Update: After spending a morning in eBay chat trying to convince them that the seller no longer exists, they told me the seller never even took the funds. I am confused. If this is a scam, then the seller is clearly not good at it. Maybe AI is just creating empty accounts with ridiculously priced items just to frustrate humanity. The 3rd option is that the seller was new and spooked by the prospect of delivering a product, running for the hills. If that’s the case, then there are a lot of brand new sellers with ridiculously priced new computers who have selling anxiety.