You know I’m not sure, I thought it was the last one but as you say more are listed. I emailed the seller who replied fairly promptly and I’ve had eBay shipping notice and tracking is currently available... so it’s anyone’s guess! Keep crossed, I’ll report back in a week or so

 

I bought one too, half knowing at that price it won’t come, lol! But I have bought a few things from this seller before, with no problems, so I thought i’d give it a go. I also have a tracking number but it hasn’t moved in 4 days. Him keep adding inventory to the listing as they sell is NOT a good sign though. Looks like i’ll probably be making a claim in a week or so.

 

I think qintianyu-ming on eBay is selling ft-04 scoria for 240usd shipping included. Every other seller is selling it for 400usd. This is the regular version. Definitely a red flag for me.

 

The red flag for me was the JiangXing Winged Dragon. While I know of a few places outside of Ebay that have it cheaper, the fact they're selling it for $185USD, when most everyone else has it for at least $40-50USD more, and many non-Ebay sellers are still $30-80USD more, it stood out as odd, especially when fewer and fewer seem to have stock of it.

 

I genuinely hope everyone does get what they ordered, especially given my own good experiences with the seller in the past, but pessimism tells me things don't look good. As usual, I figure so long as buyers don't mind offering Paypal a zero-interest loan for a month or two, feel free to gamble, but temper your expectations if it's something you actually want.

 

Fingers crossed for us all! You never know, we might have all bought bargain of the week... not too likely but let’s see!

I wonder if they read this thread, haha?!

Out of interest re scammy sellers, what’s ultimately in it for them? I get that they’d have purchase funds in their accounts for a few weeks, but if it all gets refunded to the buyer/s, what difference does it really make, other than maybe from a cash flow perspective. Sorry if I’m being naive!

 

Thanks. This is also how I see things and expect things to go. At least with my money tied up for a month or so I can’t spend it on some other crap I don’t need, lol!

 

My guess would be that they keep selling until the bad feedback starts coming in, then they empty and close their PayPal accounts, and the refunds have to come out of Paypal’s pocket?

 

Fingers crossed for us all! You never know, we might have all bought bargain of the week

Yes I suppose that makes sense. This seller had almost all good feedback that I could see though, so would hope that’d be a way off...

By the way, this was my message from them:

Hello there,
The post office is closed on weekends,
The item will be delivered to the post office tomorrow.
Reply
Your previous message

Hi!
Just checking to see when you will be able to ship my item?

Thanks,

 

This was mine...


New message from: qintianyu-ming (651)
Hello there,
I have asked the post office,
The post office responded to the cause of the COVID-19 epidemic,
All products require strict inspection,
Package processing time will be extended.
Reply
Your previous message

4 days ago the shipping order was created, however, Speedpak has yet to receive the package. Any chance of this happening soon?


Despite this, Speedpak say they haven’t received the package from the seller yet, so what the seller is saying is moot. Also, there doesn’t appear to be any such waiting time (I have lots of orders for various items) with ‘legitimate’ sellers using Speedpak and sellers using other shipping methods. I think they’re just stringing it out so they can get more sales in before the shit hits the fan. But then with the way things are at the moment...who knows. Frustrating.

 

Hmm. Well, I’ve had items from China in 2 weeks, so I’d expect, all being well, for this to be showing in the UK in about 3-4, given the ‘current situation’

I’ve also ordered an MP36+ that I’ve had my eye on for ages... double-more fool me! However all of his feedback was exemplary, so fingers and toes crossed

Either way, this experiment we seem to be conducting will be a fun way to pass the time in lockdown  
Kinda

 

Honestly, I usually run with the assumption that few, if any, sellers start off with the intention of becoming scammers. I tend to assume it's a number of factors that drive it, mostly stemming from them not being in direct possession of the item they're selling, that they've already been paid for; where supply, distribution, funding, and timing somehow don't line up correctly. From there, to cover their losses or expenses, they try to delay the fallout, possibly in hopes of rectifying the situation, but maybe just to pocket the money and run. I tend to assume when many of them get in a jam, or think they're about to, they throw any caution to the wind and go full tilt into scamming, because at that point, the end result is mostly the same.

 

Apologies in advance if I’m posting this in the wrong thread/section.

I’ve seen a price for Zeta Jazz which I personally think is too good to be true and I am tempted to have a punt on it as I know I can get a refund.

I’ve attached the details along with the eBay seller. Feedback is good but lack of activity in the last 2 months understandable but I think this seller’s account has been hijacked.

I’m curious for anyone elses thoughts on this.

Best wishes,
Steve

 

General consensus - scam. Some replied to me posting this in a new thread but informed to post this here. Thanks for the replies in another thread to this seller.

 

That feedback score alone would be a deal breaker for me. The lowest score I've ever seen for someone who wasnt a scammer was 96%, and that was mostly for garbage packaging and no post sales support.

 

What is your opinion on ebay seller mr.brian2009 who runs "shop of brian"? Member since 2009, 539 positive, 1 negative.

 

Update on my package from Shwi7900. I had almost given up on it. I ordered it back on March 13th and the seller delivered it to the post office in China on March 15th. It left customs on March 18th en route to US Customs in Chicago, and that's when it stagnated. Over two weeks with my MS-01X in tracking purgatory. I couldn't tell if it had actually left China yet, which was my fear. That possibly it got lost over there or wouldn't ship due to COVID19. I could tell if it left, if it ever arrived in the US. Nothing.

FINALLY, it looks like yesterday it cleared US Customs in Chicago and is in USPS hands. Due to be delivered Thursday.

I'll update when it's actually in my hands, but others have had good luck with Shwi7900 so here's hoping they're still legit.

 

Has anyone had any recent experience with animetropolis? I purchased some Gaia Notes laquer paint from them and the listing says shipping will process Monday through Friday 48 hours after payment. I purchased on Tuesday night in the US so it should have at least gone out on Friday or some sort of tracking number should have updated. I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt due to C-19, but was wondering if anyone had any insight.

 

In more positive news, my MP36+ from ‘steve880925_7’ is in DHL’s hands and now I’ve paid the £3.57(!) import tax, looks to be on its way to me...

We’ll see about that! Anyone had any dealings with him?

 

Has anyone else found that all their items keep getting blocked by security checks lately? I'm currently in Korea so maybe the government here is blocking everything due to Covid19, but the tracking info makes it seem like my packages aren't leaving China. Is China blocking outgoing mail?