eFencing on eBay!! Read this
By greengal
@greengal (4286)
United States
February 18, 2007 9:13pm CST
Did you know that eBay is a place for crime at large??
Many people sell stolen goods on eBay and make loads of money. They don't go to pawn shops and prefer eBay since they can sell high volumes and make money. Shop lifters don't get caught and then begins "efencing" ---a new term for selling stolen goods.
The best way to identify if the product you are buying is stolen or not is to check the price and quantities being sold. If its way too less than the manufacturer's cost then it is a stolen product. eBay is encouraging sellers to validate their products before putting them on sale.
eBay says retailers should be more careful and curb shop lifters in the first place. eBay also claims that such sellers are only a small fraction. eBay keeps the identity of all sellers confidential so there is no way we can verify thiefs and miscreants ourselves.
So the next time you buy on eBay you might want to think twice!!
3 people like this
8 responses
@sunshinecup (7871)
•
19 Feb 07
Not trying to sound like I support this behavior, but I have thought about how much more a crook can get for their stolen merchandise on ebay than at a pawn shop as well.
Here is my question, if we buy something off the street and it's stolen, we could face a charge of receiving stolen goods. Are the laws the same for buying off ebay?
1 person likes this
@greengal (4286)
• United States
20 Feb 07
I have no idea Sunshine but I think those laws don't apply, since we are not aware if the goods are stolen or not.We assume eBay filters sellers and allows then to sell after a certain criteria is met. And moreover, eBay is responsible for curbing this and dealing with it legally too, but I'm not sure if they are doing anything about it at all!
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
19 Feb 07
I am always careful at what I buy on Ebay and I certainly don't use it as much as I once did, I was forever on there, but you hear so many stories of people getting ripped off, and stuff being sold on the site illegally, obviously it is ideal for the criminal element to use and it's now a haven for them.
1 person likes this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
19 Feb 07
Well, I'll definitely be more careful. To be honest, I had never even thought about this. Fortunately, I haven't yet bought anything on ebay, and my husband, while he has bought stuff, has bought hobby related items that were used, not new, and if they were stolen goods, someone was going to a lot of trouble to make maybe $1
1 person likes this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
19 Feb 07
Hi Greengal, that is why I don't use E-Bay much. My Son bought a Car on there which is over 10 years old and he paid £1200 for it he has in the meantime spent another £1000 to repair it and it still need more work doing, so I do not like E-bay much at all.
@Sasselle (698)
• Australia
19 Feb 07
Why does this surprise you?? People offload stolen goods wherever they can!! Everywhere from pawn shops to yard sales to on the corner!
If you see something that you think is stolen you just press the report button at the bottom of each auction and then go to "stolen goods" and let eBay deal with it. If it's genuine the seller will quickly clear their name with eBay.
Bottom line is that if you think that it's too good to be true - then it probably is!!
@Dinner (153)
• Canada
19 Feb 07
That's not always the case, but I agree with your point. Of course people will sell stolen stuff at half the price since it cost them...well, nothing. And they are trying to gaurantee themselves a sale by selling so low. eBay has lots of scammers, and I think it's ridiculous. Just remember to stay safe on eBay...and everything site actually!
1 person likes this
@pebbles_cubbie (3789)
• United States
26 Feb 07
efencing will become even more popular over the next few years. stolen goods are the easiest for a person to sell because they haven't put any money into it and don't care what they get. it's sad but true. retailers should be more careful but they might not have stolen the items from a retailer. it could be a burglary or robbery that they got it from. which is equally bad. people are just out to make a quick dollar
1 person likes this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
26 Feb 07
It dont surprise me a bit. That would be a cheap way to unload it with out much of a risk of getting caught. Wonder if they do catch them. It would be much harder than catching them taking it to a pawn shop
1 person likes this
