For $750 in shipping he had better take a plane to NY and hand deliver it to me 0

[Tony S]

Certainly looks like the same book....

 

So, let's supose someone decides to take a flyer and wins a $50,000+ book for $25,000.

 

And then let's presume that there is no book in the package sent to the buyer.

 

Doesn't Paypal Buyer Protection cover the buyer for the full purchase price and original S&H??

 

I would think that this isn't a rare occurence and Paypal has been stuck numerous times. What am I missing here?

 

What you are missing here is how Paypal really works. You can't send a payment bigger than 10K through Paypal in one day. That's because Paypal views large transactions as risky. To send more through Paypal you have to do an echeck which isn't guaranteed by Paypal. The only way you do a payment for 25k through paypal and have any protection is to break it into three parts paid over three days and fund it with your credit card. They you rely on your credit card company to back you if there is a problem. Most of us don't have a a 25K limit on our credit card, though I'm sure some do. Or have multiple cards.

 

Anyone with any sense will only do this transaction -at a safe location - in person. And it doesn't appear the seller has responded to any inquiries as of yet.

 

[Buzzetta]

Certainly looks like the same book....

 

So, let's supose someone decides to take a flyer and wins a $50,000+ book for $25,000.

 

And then let's presume that there is no book in the package sent to the buyer.

 

Doesn't Paypal Buyer Protection cover the buyer for the full purchase price and original S&H??

 

I would think that this isn't a rare occurence and Paypal has been stuck numerous times. What am I missing here?

 

What you are missing here is how Paypal really works. You can't send a payment bigger than 10K through Paypal in one day. That's because Paypal views large transactions as risky. To send more through Paypal you have to do an echeck which isn't guaranteed by Paypal. The only way you do a payment for 25k through paypal and have any protection is to break it into three parts paid over three days and fund it with your credit card. They you rely on your credit card company to back you if there is a problem. Most of us don't have a a 25K limit on our credit card, though I'm sure some do. Or have multiple cards.

 

Anyone with any sense will only do this transaction -at a safe location - in person. And it doesn't appear the seller has responded to any inquiries as of yet.

 

I am interested in another copy of AF15. If I take the plunge and buy a 5.0 or a 5.5 I will pay cash at NYCC, Metropolis, Heritage or CLink. I was tired and should have known better than to violate my own principles.

[Tony S]

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7009&lotNo=91139

 

I mean, no way, right?

 

Very nice catch Sal. Thank you!! It surely looks like the same book.

 

So let's see. Whoever bought it back in 2009 from Heritage for $52,281.25 put it in a box with a couple of raw comics and then put the box in a storage unit. That is where all high dollar collectors keep their books you know. Then they quit paying the storage unit fees or maybe they died and their heirs didn't know about the storage unit. So now it shows up on ebay with a listing that was suspicious even before Sal here found the Heritage link.

 

Will be interesting watching this one. I expect negative feedback left at some point.

 

 

 

[Buzzetta]

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7009&lotNo=91139

 

I mean, no way, right?

 

Very nice catch Sal. Thank you!! It surely looks like the same book.

 

So let's see. Whoever bought it back in 2009 from Heritage for $52,281.25 put it in a box with a couple of raw comics and then put the box in a storage unit. That is where all high dollar collectors keep their books you know. Then they quit paying the storage unit fees or maybe they died and their heirs didn't know about the storage unit. So now it shows up on ebay with a listing that was suspicious even before Sal here found the Heritage link.

 

Will be interesting watching this one. I expect negative feedback left at some point.

 

 

 

Maybe he had to hide it from his wife in the divorce settlement...

Stranger things have happened...

 

[revat]

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7009&lotNo=91139

 

I mean, no way, right?

 

Very nice catch Sal. Thank you!! It surely looks like the same book.

 

So let's see. Whoever bought it back in 2009 from Heritage for $52,281.25 put it in a box with a couple of raw comics and then put the box in a storage unit. That is where all high dollar collectors keep their books you know. Then they quit paying the storage unit fees or maybe they died and their heirs didn't know about the storage unit. So now it shows up on ebay with a listing that was suspicious even before Sal here found the Heritage link.

 

Will be interesting watching this one. I expect negative feedback left at some point.

 

 

 

Maybe he had to hide it from his wife in the divorce settlement...

Stranger things have happened...

 

 

I agree, and there are lots of people who treat 50K like we treat 50$ or even 5$. Hell this could have been his/her ("storage owner's") 100th AF15 for all we know.

 

Of course, everyone has the right to be suspicious and to bid or not bid as they feel comfortable, for any number of reasons. And there are risks with any transaction.

 

But I'm not sure anything should be reported unless you have a good faith belief (somewhat supportable) that something is fraudulent/stolen.

 

 

NOTE: i'm of the OPINION that this is pretty shady.

Edited May 21, 2012 by Revat

[sterlingcomics]

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7009&lotNo=91139

 

I mean, no way, right?

 

Very nice catch Sal. Thank you!! It surely looks like the same book.

 

So let's see. Whoever bought it back in 2009 from Heritage for $52,281.25 put it in a box with a couple of raw comics and then put the box in a storage unit. That is where all high dollar collectors keep their books you know. Then they quit paying the storage unit fees or maybe they died and their heirs didn't know about the storage unit. So now it shows up on ebay with a listing that was suspicious even before Sal here found the Heritage link.

 

Will be interesting watching this one. I expect negative feedback left at some point.

 

 

 

Storage Wars anyone?

[scooter99]

I sent a note to the seller as well stating that I would be happy to pay him in cash if I were to win the book and if it was done in person. Looking forward to a reply, although I don't think I'll be getting one.

[SummumBonum-migration]

I purchased (or attempted to purchase) a gold bar from this person a few weeks ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270967084092

The item cost about $12,000.

I later found this image elsewhere thinking he probably lifted the image and does not even own the item:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/pamp-suisse-gold-bar-250-grams-99-99-pure-gold-509231350

 

Now I see he is selling a similarly priced comic book

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440

 

I had to pay him split payment on PayPal and the PayPal invoice did not seem to be connected to the original eBay item.

 

The PayPal was linked to Frankie Arcuri from North Provedence, Rhode Island and the eBay was associated with Encore Thrift Store.

http://www.facebook.com/frankie.arcuri.1

 

I offered to meet him in person to save the $500 in shipping. I even offered to meet in a safe location like bank or police station, but he refused for "safety concerns."

 

Thinking I had eBay Buyer Protection behind me, I paid anyhow. After I paid using PayPal, he took his time shipping. After he exceeded his promised shipping date, when I asked about shipment, he said I was threatening him and said he would cancel the transaction. He then delayed paying me back, so I opened up a PayPal case and eBay case and things are still in limbo.

 

Stay away from this guy. I'll follow up on here to let you know how things go, but at the very least, I think he's trying to get a quick payday loan, and he may be possibly trying something more nefarious.

[Buzzetta]

I purchased (or attempted to purchase) a gold bar from this person a few weeks ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270967084092

The item cost about $12,000.

I later found this image elsewhere thinking he probably lifted the image and does not even own the item:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/pamp-suisse-gold-bar-250-grams-99-99-pure-gold-509231350

 

Now I see he is selling a similarly priced comic book

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440

 

I had to pay him split payment on PayPal and the PayPal invoice did not seem to be connected to the original eBay item.

 

The PayPal was linked to Frankie Arcuri from North Provedence, Rhode Island and the eBay was associated with Encore Thrift Store.

http://www.facebook.com/frankie.arcuri.1

 

I offered to meet him in person to save the $500 in shipping. I even offered to meet in a safe location like bank or police station, but he refused for "safety concerns."

 

Thinking I had eBay Buyer Protection behind me, I paid anyhow. After I paid using PayPal, he took his time shipping. After he exceeded his promised shipping date, when I asked about shipment, he said I was threatening him and said he would cancel the transaction. He then delayed paying me back, so I opened up a PayPal case and eBay case and things are still in limbo.

 

Stay away from this guy. I'll follow up on here to let you know how things go, but at the very least, I think he's trying to get a quick payday loan, and he may be possibly trying something more nefarious.

 

Thank you for coming here to state this. I must ask though... what led you to this site and this specific discussion? Of all the gin joints in all the world... how did you find your way here?

Edited May 22, 2012 by Buzzetta

[oakman29]

What a scumbag.

[Tony S]

I purchased (or attempted to purchase) a gold bar from this person a few weeks ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270967084092

The item cost about $12,000.

I later found this image elsewhere thinking he probably lifted the image and does not even own the item:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/pamp-suisse-gold-bar-250-grams-99-99-pure-gold-509231350

 

Now I see he is selling a similarly priced comic book

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440

 

I had to pay him split payment on PayPal and the PayPal invoice did not seem to be connected to the original eBay item.

 

The PayPal was linked to Frankie Arcuri from North Provedence, Rhode Island and the eBay was associated with Encore Thrift Store.

http://www.facebook.com/frankie.arcuri.1

 

I offered to meet him in person to save the $500 in shipping. I even offered to meet in a safe location like bank or police station, but he refused for "safety concerns."

 

Thinking I had eBay Buyer Protection behind me, I paid anyhow. After I paid using PayPal, he took his time shipping. After he exceeded his promised shipping date, when I asked about shipment, he said I was threatening him and said he would cancel the transaction. He then delayed paying me back, so I opened up a PayPal case and eBay case and things are still in limbo.

 

Stay away from this guy. I'll follow up on here to let you know how things go, but at the very least, I think he's trying to get a quick payday loan, and he may be possibly trying something more nefarious.

 

Thank you Summun for your post and information. And welcome to the boards.

 

FYI for those who haven't tried using Paypal for big ticket purchases (over 10K) What SummunBonum describes is how it looks and has to be done. Because you are making two or more payments the purchase is not tied to the original ebay item. The seller can make up an invoice of course - but it doesn't link back to the ebay item. So as far as Paypal is concerned you as the buyer just sent someone money. Period. They are no longer guaranteeing anything.

I can't say how it works out if things go bad. I just know you cannot rest on "buyer protection".

 

If it's any comfort, it's not all that much better for honest sellers. PayPal's Seller Protection is even more useless. So many scams where the person claims their account was hijacked (unauthorized purchase) or they never received the item. Especially bad with out of the USA sales. It's why so many sellers won't ship anything or anything expensive outside the USA.

 

I recently sold a book on ebay for 13K. My first sale or purchase on ebay over 10K. It was an eye opener just how much hassle Paypal made it and how they (Paypal) were not going to be on the hook if anything went wrong. They will collect their fee of course....

 

Also of concern is how little eBay does to police itself. Here they have an open dispute on a seller for 12K and they let the seller run another auction for a similiar amount?

 

For me, any future big ticket items I sell I will offer to use eBay's approved escrow service (escrow.com) and splitting the costs. Those costs are about the same and sometimes less than the Paypal fee. I'll propose the same to sellers for purchases if the Seller isn't well known.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Tony S

[Buzzetta]

I purchased (or attempted to purchase) a gold bar from this person a few weeks ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270967084092

The item cost about $12,000.

I later found this image elsewhere thinking he probably lifted the image and does not even own the item:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/pamp-suisse-gold-bar-250-grams-99-99-pure-gold-509231350

 

Now I see he is selling a similarly priced comic book

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440

 

I had to pay him split payment on PayPal and the PayPal invoice did not seem to be connected to the original eBay item.

 

The PayPal was linked to Frankie Arcuri from North Provedence, Rhode Island and the eBay was associated with Encore Thrift Store.

http://www.facebook.com/frankie.arcuri.1

 

I offered to meet him in person to save the $500 in shipping. I even offered to meet in a safe location like bank or police station, but he refused for "safety concerns."

 

Thinking I had eBay Buyer Protection behind me, I paid anyhow. After I paid using PayPal, he took his time shipping. After he exceeded his promised shipping date, when I asked about shipment, he said I was threatening him and said he would cancel the transaction. He then delayed paying me back, so I opened up a PayPal case and eBay case and things are still in limbo.

 

Stay away from this guy. I'll follow up on here to let you know how things go, but at the very least, I think he's trying to get a quick payday loan, and he may be possibly trying something more nefarious.

 

Thank you Summun for your post and information. And welcome to the boards.

 

FYI for those who haven't tried using Paypal for big ticket purchases (over 10K) What SummunBonum describes is how it looks and has to be done. Because you are making two or more payments the purchase is not tied to the original ebay item. The seller can make up an invoice of course - but it doesn't link back to the ebay item. So as far as Paypal is concerned you as the buyer just sent someone money. Period. They are no longer guaranteeing anything.

I can't say how it works out if things go bad. I just know you cannot rest on "buyer protection".

 

If it's any comfort, it's not all that much better for honest sellers. PayPal's Seller Protection is even more useless. So many scams where the person claims their account was hijacked (unauthorized purchase) or they never received the item. Especially bad with out of the USA sales. It's why so many sellers won't ship anything or anything expensive outside the USA.

 

I recently sold a book on ebay for 13K. My first sale or purchase on ebay over 10K. It was an eye opener just how much hassle Paypal made it and how they (Paypal) were not going to be on the hook if anything went wrong. They will collect their fee of course....

 

Also of concern is how little eBay does to police itself. Here they have an open dispute on a seller for 12K and they let the seller run another auction for a similiar amount?

 

For me, any future big ticket items I sell I will offer to use eBay's approved escrow service (escrow.com) and splitting the costs. Those costs are about the same and sometimes less than the Paypal fee. I'll propose the same to sellers for purchases if the Seller isn't well known.

 

This is why, for the most part I try to keep all sales under a certain level. I like hassle free avenues to dump my goods.

[Tony S]

I purchased (or attempted to purchase) a gold bar from this person a few weeks ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270967084092

The item cost about $12,000.

I later found this image elsewhere thinking he probably lifted the image and does not even own the item:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/pamp-suisse-gold-bar-250-grams-99-99-pure-gold-509231350

 

Now I see he is selling a similarly priced comic book

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440

 

I had to pay him split payment on PayPal and the PayPal invoice did not seem to be connected to the original eBay item.

 

The PayPal was linked to Frankie Arcuri from North Provedence, Rhode Island and the eBay was associated with Encore Thrift Store.

http://www.facebook.com/frankie.arcuri.1

 

I offered to meet him in person to save the $500 in shipping. I even offered to meet in a safe location like bank or police station, but he refused for "safety concerns."

 

Thinking I had eBay Buyer Protection behind me, I paid anyhow. After I paid using PayPal, he took his time shipping. After he exceeded his promised shipping date, when I asked about shipment, he said I was threatening him and said he would cancel the transaction. He then delayed paying me back, so I opened up a PayPal case and eBay case and things are still in limbo.

 

Stay away from this guy. I'll follow up on here to let you know how things go, but at the very least, I think he's trying to get a quick payday loan, and he may be possibly trying something more nefarious.

 

SummumBonum

I also meant to mention that if you agreed to cancel the transaction this prevents you from leaving feedback. If you agreed to cancel the transaction before you got your $$$ back that is a big mistake.

 

The Buyer has to agree to cancel a transaction. (unless the seller has grounds for it like the buyer not paying) If you haven't received such a request from ebay then the transaction has not been cancelled. If this is the case please do the collecting world a favor and leave negative feedback so that everyone else knows he didn't deliver on a 12K transaction.

 

If you get the gold bar later you can always withdraw the negative. If you have to fight it out to get your money back you can let the neg stay.

[Ditch Fahrenheit]

I purchased (or attempted to purchase) a gold bar from this person a few weeks ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270967084092

The item cost about $12,000.

I later found this image elsewhere thinking he probably lifted the image and does not even own the item:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/pamp-suisse-gold-bar-250-grams-99-99-pure-gold-509231350

 

Now I see he is selling a similarly priced comic book

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440

 

I had to pay him split payment on PayPal and the PayPal invoice did not seem to be connected to the original eBay item.

 

The PayPal was linked to Frankie Arcuri from North Provedence, Rhode Island and the eBay was associated with Encore Thrift Store.

http://www.facebook.com/frankie.arcuri.1

 

I offered to meet him in person to save the $500 in shipping. I even offered to meet in a safe location like bank or police station, but he refused for "safety concerns."

 

Thinking I had eBay Buyer Protection behind me, I paid anyhow. After I paid using PayPal, he took his time shipping. After he exceeded his promised shipping date, when I asked about shipment, he said I was threatening him and said he would cancel the transaction. He then delayed paying me back, so I opened up a PayPal case and eBay case and things are still in limbo.

 

Stay away from this guy. I'll follow up on here to let you know how things go, but at the very least, I think he's trying to get a quick payday loan, and he may be possibly trying something more nefarious.

 

Thank you Summun for your post and information. And welcome to the boards.

 

FYI for those who haven't tried using Paypal for big ticket purchases (over 10K) What SummunBonum describes is how it looks and has to be done. Because you are making two or more payments the purchase is not tied to the original ebay item. The seller can make up an invoice of course - but it doesn't link back to the ebay item. So as far as Paypal is concerned you as the buyer just sent someone money. Period. They are no longer guaranteeing anything.

I can't say how it works out if things go bad. I just know you cannot rest on "buyer protection".

 

If it's any comfort, it's not all that much better for honest sellers. PayPal's Seller Protection is even more useless. So many scams where the person claims their account was hijacked (unauthorized purchase) or they never received the item. Especially bad with out of the USA sales. It's why so many sellers won't ship anything or anything expensive outside the USA.

 

I recently sold a book on ebay for 13K. My first sale or purchase on ebay over 10K. It was an eye opener just how much hassle Paypal made it and how they (Paypal) were not going to be on the hook if anything went wrong. They will collect their fee of course....

 

Also of concern is how little eBay does to police itself. Here they have an open dispute on a seller for 12K and they let the seller run another auction for a similiar amount?

 

For me, any future big ticket items I sell I will offer to use eBay's approved escrow service (escrow.com) and splitting the costs. Those costs are about the same and sometimes less than the Paypal fee. I'll propose the same to sellers for purchases if the Seller isn't well known.

 

Bravo.

 

Excellent post.

 

You too, SummumBonum. Thank you for coming forward.

[Tony S]

The listing is gone - the "item is no longer available".

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270981943440?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[TFTCVOHHOFSSS-migration]

There's got to be someone local who can message him and ask to see it in person. the response to that request would be priceless!

 

Done and done (and I really do live pretty close to him).

 

 

Let's see what he says!

 

No answer before it was pulled.

[SummumBonum-migration]

I Googled "Encore Thrift Store" and "eBay" and came across your thread. Thank you for posting, I sent this thread over to eBay fraud department. The auction was "Ended" shortly thereafter.

 

I'm not much into comics, sorry, but one of my best friends owned a comic store once in Idaho Falls, but I much appreciate you guys posting this on a publicly accessible forum.

 

Now I still have to get my money back, but at least we kept another person from getting duped.

[SummumBonum-migration]

I called Encore Thrift Store, and they said that there is no Frankie Arcuri working for them, at least not in the store, since the store is staffed by just women. Now he may be doing the web site for them although they claimed to have no eBay presence whatsoever.

 

I see that Frankie Arcuri has removed the reference to Encore Thrift store from his Facebook profile, so he's on the run. Good luck for web caching, so that really did him no good. If anything, it actually helped for him to remove the reference, cause he's trying to hide. No problem either as Facebook tracks that all and will release it when subpoenaed.

 

I've contacted eBay fraud and am going on up the line. Next, I'm contacting my local authorities. They will be in contact with both FBI and local authorities in Rhode Island.

[Zaitsev]

Is there a CSI thread here?

 

I was told that the escrow service is the way to go for big money, although I don't know all of the ins and outs of it. The person talking to me about it was trying to describe that it was either better or worse to use an outside service vs. the one ebay/paypal provides, I can't remember what he said exactly. Do you guys know anything about that? (And I know "big money" is relative but many people would try to be as careful as possible with 10 or more stacks.)

[gyro-1]

The listing is gone - the "item is no longer available".

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270981943440?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

The seller is a crook and someone may be a victim

**This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available**