gerald.d
141
Warning - coordinated scam on Yahoo Japan auctions
Hi all -
I am aware that there are people here, like me, who frequently purchase items from Yahoo Japan auctions.
Just a heads up that there appears to be a significant and coordinated scam running right now with fake auctions.
Right now, the majority of the top 10 Grand Seiko auctions as ranked by number of bids fit the following pattern -
- Seller is new
- Auction started at 1 yen, with no reserve
- Auction only has three photos
- Photos are taken from auctions that closed several months ago (typically around the August-October 2017 timeframe)
- Shipping costs are not mentioned, or are a flat 1000 Yen for delivery anywhere in Japan
A 6215 and an Izul have sold in the last couple of days that fit this pattern. The 6215 winning bid was cancelled - either the winner was legitimate, realised what was going on and cancelled their bid, or, more likely, the winning bid was a shill caught out trying to bump the price for a genuine bidder.
There have possibly been some more auctions that closed recently that could well be fraudulent, but my spidey-senses only started tingling yesterday.
Also, there are of course many more than just the ones appearing in the top ten by number of bids (for example, there is an auction for a Grand Seiko "First" that is clearly fraudulent), but I'm not going to check them all!
Caveat emptor.
Kind regards,
Gerald.
Warning - coordinated scam on Yahoo Japan auctions
Hi all - I am aware that there are people here, like me, who frequently purchase items from Yahoo Japan auctions. Just a heads up that there appears to be a significant and coordinated scam running right now with fake auctions. Right now, the majority of ...
Thanks for the warning Gerald!
If I recall correctly you need a middleman for Yahoo Japan (if you are not based there). Are those aware of it?