This cant be real!!!! Must look!!!

[marsh.miguel]

ok so im looking on ebay and I type in alienware cuz im bored. Ive been wanting a laptop (gonna sell my desktop and get a laptop) for sometime now. Well, after searchung alienware on eBay. I got a ton of hits. The weird thing is is that people are "Selling" them for like $200 bucks! I thought no way! This has to be a scam right?!

Acroding to a few sellers it isnt. Some romanina guy was selling a brand new alienware laptop for $500 usd. It has an AMD fx-57, 2gb of ram and a ton of other crazy stuff. This thing is over $5000 in retail!!! These have to be fake?!

Heres a link to the one auction. I have found many more but do not have any links, but you can search em yourself. linky

It has to be fake right?! Well I email the guy and he says its the real deal. if this is the case, what should I do? I would like to jump on it and get it (i mean who wouldn't!) but im worried im getting ripped off of my money or he could just send some other crappy laptop. The problem is even though he lists an auction, none of it is done through eBay so therefore if it is fake then theres notheing i can really do. He doensnt even want to use paypal. He says he wants me to wire him money over to Romania through Western Union. So what do you guys think I should do.

Heres a copy of the various emails I sent him then his replies.

How does this work??? I see that this is a very good deal but is this for real??? why would you be selling it for $500 when you payed $5000. Ive been seeing alot of these auctions, and im wondering whats the deal with them all. So, whats the deal? Is this fake, is the item fake, and does it even work? This better not be a scam. Im interested cuz I want a alienware gaming notebook but i dont want to spend $5000+++ for it. Also ive seen that alot of these auctions with email adresses in them are in other countrys. Is there something you guys get and we dont? Im curious. If its realy im highly interested. Get back to me as soon as possible.

then he replies

I will send you the info how to buy it and don t worry is it new and comes with international warranty!! I have alot items!!Ok! Mail me asap!! Thanx!!

I write back a few times
ok so tell me how i can get it. Im very interested!!!!!!
this will work in the USA correct? By work i mean i will be able to charge it over here with our wall outlets and differnt voltages etc without having to use a transformer?? Thanks again!

His reply to me.

You have the info thanx and mail me asap!! My name is VLAD FLORIN NICULESCU .In order to end this deal in good terms i am going to
tell you some things that i want to follow:
1.GENERAL INFO- It is better for you to know that the item is
brand new it has never been opened, have international warranty
provided by the factory and come with all accesories that you need.
2. SHIPPMENT ---this is a thing about you shouldn't
worry about because i belive that it is my responasability to
deliver it to your home.We can do it through
-UPS overnighted
It will take one day and a half for the package to arrive to
your door.The shipping costs will be paid by me and i will also pay for the
insurance in case of any damage happens during the handling and shipping,so
i will be protected in case of damages and you too.
3.THE WAY TO PAY ---as a payment method i have
chosen WesternUnion's services because they always served our
interests in a professional manner and helped us gain buyers. i consider
promptitude a vital condition on the modern e-Commerce markets and a
guarantee of quality. To arrange the transfer, you must go in person to a
Western Union office and send the money from your name and address to my name
and address .Here are the details that you need for the money transfer:

FIRST NAME:VLAD FLORIN
LAST NAME:NICULESCU
ADDRESS:AV. POPISTEANU NR. 1 SECTOR 1
CITY:BUCURESTI
STATE:BUCURESTI
COUNTRY:ROMANIA


Please be carrefull with my first and last name.
For sending the money you must find a western union agent location and send the money from there because western union don't send the money online in Romania
After that, you will recive an confirmation number and
I want you to send me the folowing details :
-the sender name
-the sender address
-the amount
-MTCN (money transfer control number)
4. REFOUND ---After the package arrives you have an 7 days period in which you can send the package back for an full and NO
QUESTION refound,but you will pay for the shipping and handlling back to me.
5.TAXES ---There may be some customs duties for you to pay, but if you
wish we can avoid them (if any):
ME --i have to declare the item as a gift for you and in this way you will pay NO costum fees and you will receive the item very fast.
YOU--have to declare at Western Union that you send the money to a friend in Romania that need this money, in this way when
our deal will be finished and i get the money from W.U. without problems.
Please let me know when you can make the payment and after this i will start the delivery process.
I hope you agree my terms and we will close this deal
sucessfully.
I look forward hearing from you.
Thanks!


So what do you guys think? Scam, for real? Is europe getting somthing we dont? Or is this another one of those referal type things kinda like freeiPods.com? Maybe he is getting them thorough a service like that, then selling them. The whole thing seems kinda sneaky, and im 50/50 on it wheter or not to take a risk and either lose $500 or gain something very nice of $500.

thats all for now! Cheers!

-Mike

[marsh.miguel]

plus idk if i like the whole money transfer thing and the whole lying to customs part of the deal. the whole thing is kinday shaky if you ask me. but then again im tempted to go for it!

-Mike

[Pitch]

Wouldn't touch this personally.

If it were through Paypal, I might be inclined. But I can almost ensure you that once you wire the cash, that will be the end of it.

No feedback on the seller what so ever, too good to be true.

AVOID.

Ask him for the serial number of it or something, that should throw him.

[danrok]

That link is dodgy for sure.

He is encouraging people to email him, rather than bid. Which is against eBay's rules and is a dead give away that he is trying to scam people.

[marsh.miguel]

thats what i was thinkning. plus the whole money transfer thing........

-Mike

[noob]

several main reasons its a scam:

1. If it sounds to good to be true (and money is invloved) it IS to good to be true
2. He wants to go through email, not a registered site
3. He wants Western Union - its like handing cash over without getting the goods at the same time
4. He states he is paying for shipping / insurance / etc. This will cost him a huge amount if it was really 'overnight' - possible in the range of $200US
5. Even in places like Hong Kong and Japan the prices of this machine are more than $500US.
6. He was 'willing' to be a party in tax evasion.

and thats not all of them.

[marsh.miguel]

lol.

-Mike

[danrok]

PayPal is best for eBay, you get some protection when buying:

PayPal Buyer Protection
£500.00 GBP purchase protection at no additional cost.

PayPal Buyer Protection covers:

* An eBay item that you paid for but never received
* An eBay item that is significantly different than what was described in the listing

Guidelines:

* You must send payment to the PayPal account associated with the eBay listing
* You purchased a tangible item
* Your claim must be filed within 45 days of payment
* You may only file one claim per PayPal payment
* You are limited to three PayPal Buyer Protection refunds per calendar year

[danrok]

Note that it says "tangible item"! So, if you bought the statue of liberty for $100 you want get your money back!

[SteveI]

This sounds like the old nigerian scam.

[captaincurran]

What is the nigerian scam?

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by captaincurran

What is the nigerian scam?

It's an old email scam... succeeds with the morally corrupt, where greed overwhelms common sense. An official sounding spam email is sent out, claiming that due to customs restrictions, an outside established bank account is necessary to initiate a transaction.... The target's bank account is necessary to send money to temporarily store money. The cut is huge, and usually in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars... All that is necessary is a "token" wire of money to authenticate the account and pay for legal or customs fees. Get it? The wire is not cancellable, and often can be switched with a money order or the like.

[captaincurran]

ah, darn scammers trying to get our money. Bad enough our own governments take it.

[fantomfreq]

This sounds familiar....

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

[Pitch]

That was an ammusing saga, I watched in unwind.

[zetachi]

LOL I had a similar guy contact me to end an auction early for 3x what the item was worth using this Western Union type thingy.

This listing (5643630835) has been removed by eBay or is no longer available. Please make sure that you've entered the item number correctly.
If the item was removed by eBay, please consider this transaction canceled. If anybody contacts you to complete the sale, please ignore the request. Completing the sale outside of eBay may be unsafe and will not be covered by eBay purchase protection programs.

Items that ended more than 90 days ago are no longer accessible through the eBay system.

[Logan]

You should have done it for a dollar or something...then had Chrisbard waiting by the wire with a baseball bat and walk up to the guy and say, "Hello...my friend sent you a wire and asked for me to pick up the laptop and see that it is shipped!"

Now THAT would be humorous. Chris would have to find someone to hold the video camera when he does it though.

[danrok]

The person may or may not be Romainian. If he is he could be located in some other country while he is scamming people.

[Allan]

The name does sound Romanian alright, but this is absolutely a scam. Don't let it tempt you!

[marsh.miguel]

lol never will never did! he keeps emailing me back saying that its geniune blah blah blah.....YEAH RIGHT, BS!!!! Anyways, everytime he emails me it goes straight into the trash! lol.

-Mike