After placing a destined-to-lose bid on an API pre, I got this e-mail:

"Hello, my name is Stephen Budko, I am from Madrid, Spain, and I hope
that I
won't waste your precious time with my offer. I saw that you are
interested in
buying a API 3124+ 4Channel Mic pre and that you also placed a bid for
this
item. I'm contacting you to let you know that i have a 100% identical
item whith
the one you are interested of. If you are interested in closing this
deal with
me I will give you a 100% safe and fast method to close this deal. I
can offer
you this product at a special price of 1000 $, shipping charges
included, only
if you want to close the deal as quickly as possible, cause I'm having
some
financial problems and I need the money very fast. Please contact or
reply me at

To eliminate any kind of problems concerning you trusting me, please
check my
feedback.My user name is: step_b
Please go to http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum...ack-login.html
to see my
ebay record.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you."

I replied:

"Stephen,

The following quote is from the paragraph below:

"eBay does not tolerate spam"

In any event, your price of $1000 the 4-channel API preamp is great -
too great. I understand you're directing me to your eBay profile to
"feel more comfortable", but that doesn't mean anything if the eBay
name is stolen. If you can send me pictures of you holding your API
preamp, give me your address, phone number, and work address and phone
number and then send the unit to me COD - we might be able to start
talking about "closing a deal". Thanks."

Just thought I'd throwout a heads up, seems like a stolen ID thing.

"Chris Coleman" wrote in message
om...
After placing a destined-to-lose bid on an API pre, I got this e-mail:

"Hello, my name is Stephen Budko, I am from Madrid, Spain, and I hope
that I
won't waste your precious time with my offer. I saw that you are
interested in
buying a API 3124+ 4Channel Mic pre and that you also placed a bid for
this
item. I'm contacting you to let you know that i have a 100% identical
item whith
the one you are interested of. If you are interested in closing this
deal with
me I will give you a 100% safe and fast method to close this deal. I
can offer
you this product at a special price of 1000 $, shipping charges
included, only
if you want to close the deal as quickly as possible, cause I'm having
some
financial problems and I need the money very fast. Please contact or
reply me at

To eliminate any kind of problems concerning you trusting me, please
check my
feedback.My user name is: step_b
Please go to http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum...ack-login.html
to see my
ebay record.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you."

I replied:

"Stephen,

The following quote is from the paragraph below:

"eBay does not tolerate spam"

In any event, your price of $1000 the 4-channel API preamp is great -
too great. I understand you're directing me to your eBay profile to
"feel more comfortable", but that doesn't mean anything if the eBay
name is stolen. If you can send me pictures of you holding your API
preamp, give me your address, phone number, and work address and phone
number and then send the unit to me COD - we might be able to start
talking about "closing a deal". Thanks."

Just thought I'd throwout a heads up, seems like a stolen ID thing.

You should use the "contact seller" function to see the same guy actually
responds. That would make me feel a little more comfortable...but would
still want him to send it COD.

Ask him if he has a second one for me!

Actually, if I had $1000 right now to spend on gear I wouldn't take the
chance with this guy. If he needs money fast and is familiar with Ebay then
why doesn't he place an auction with a $1000 starting bid and a BuyItNow of
$1000. I'm sure he would move it in less than 24 hours and he'd be more
protected. Sounds like a stolen unit or he plans on ripping you off in
some way.

Be careful!

John L Rice


"Chris Coleman" wrote in message
om...
After placing a destined-to-lose bid on an API pre, I got this e-mail:

"Hello, my name is Stephen Budko, I am from Madrid, Spain, and I hope
that I
won't waste your precious time with my offer. I saw that you are
interested in
buying a API 3124+ 4Channel Mic pre and that you also placed a bid for
this
item. I'm contacting you to let you know that i have a 100% identical
item whith
the one you are interested of. If you are interested in closing this
deal with
me I will give you a 100% safe and fast method to close this deal. I
can offer
you this product at a special price of 1000 $, shipping charges
included, only
if you want to close the deal as quickly as possible, cause I'm having
some
financial problems and I need the money very fast. Please contact or
reply me at

To eliminate any kind of problems concerning you trusting me, please
check my
feedback.My user name is: step_b
Please go to http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum...ack-login.html
to see my
ebay record.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you."

I replied:

"Stephen,

The following quote is from the paragraph below:

"eBay does not tolerate spam"

In any event, your price of $1000 the 4-channel API preamp is great -
too great. I understand you're directing me to your eBay profile to
"feel more comfortable", but that doesn't mean anything if the eBay
name is stolen. If you can send me pictures of you holding your API
preamp, give me your address, phone number, and work address and phone
number and then send the unit to me COD - we might be able to start
talking about "closing a deal". Thanks."

Just thought I'd throwout a heads up, seems like a stolen ID thing.

definately a stolen id. Check the feedbacks, they are from a person in
the united state who owns a tropical greenhouse. Not someone in Spain.
Chances are they have no idea thier account has been hyjacked.





http://www.vintagemicsales.com

I had someone for Spain try to scam me a few months ago on a keyboard. They
also had a perfect record of over 100 transactions, but they were all buys,
and they seemed like the kind of stuff a woman would be buying. He wanted me
to send him a Western Union payment first, but I told the guy I would only
deal if he sent it to me first. Needless to say that was the last I heard.

If it smells at all funny, then don't touch it. In this case there were a
few things that looked fishy.
--
Bill L

"Twist Turner" wrote in message
...
definately a stolen id. Check the feedbacks, they are from a person in
the united state who owns a tropical greenhouse. Not someone in Spain.
Chances are they have no idea thier account has been hyjacked.





http://www.vintagemicsales.com

In rec.audio.pro, (Chris Coleman) wrote:

After placing a destined-to-lose bid on an API pre, I got this e-mail:

I quote the whole thing, scroll down for my observations and
comments.

"Hello, my name is Stephen Budko, I am from Madrid, Spain, and I hope
that I
won't waste your precious time with my offer. I saw that you are
interested in
buying a API 3124+ 4Channel Mic pre and that you also placed a bid for
this
item. I'm contacting you to let you know that i have a 100% identical
item whith
the one you are interested of. If you are interested in closing this
deal with
me I will give you a 100% safe and fast method to close this deal. I
can offer
you this product at a special price of 1000 $, shipping charges
included, only
if you want to close the deal as quickly as possible, cause I'm having
some
financial problems and I need the money very fast. Please contact or
reply me at

To eliminate any kind of problems concerning you trusting me, please
check my
feedback.My user name is: step_b
Please go to http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum...ack-login.html
to see my
ebay record.

See all the wonderful positive feedback? Click on the item numbers
and see what this "guy selling the API pre" has been selling to get
these positive feedbacks. These are the auctions for the last seven
feedbacks:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=2341158 321
TROPICAL ALOCASIA 'PURPLE PRINCE', 3 PLANTS Winning bid: US $11.99
[one more seller detail, just for reference] Location: West Chester,
PA United States

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...tem=2342907102
TROPICAL PLANT ALOCASIA 'PURPLE PRINCE' Winning bid: US $5.99

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...tem=2342907116
TROPICAL PLANT ALOCASIA 'GREEN SHIELD' Winning bid: US $5.99

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=2340133 710
3 NIGHT BLOOMING JASMINE JESSAMINE PLANTS!! Winning bid: US $16.75

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=2341158 357
3 NIGHT BLOOMING JASMINE JESSAMINE PLANTS!! Sold for: US $15.99
Auction ended early with Buy It Now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=2339325 346
TROPICAL PLANT HINDU ROPE HOYA Sold for: US $6.99 Auction ended
early with Buy It Now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=2338035 775
CULINARY HERB LEMONGRASS 3 PLANTS! Winning bid: US $9.99

There are about 20 or 30 more closed auctions of this seller still
available if anyone wants to see if this seller has ever sold API
pre's, Massive Passives, wind-up-powered radios, or ANYTHING other
than plants or anything over $20 or so.

After seeing this, does anyone believe this is NOT a stolen ID?

You say you had earlier placed a bid, was the seller's ID listed as
step_b? If so, the ID has absolutely been hijacked.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you."

I replied:

"Stephen,

The following quote is from the paragraph below:

"eBay does not tolerate spam"

[it's technically not spam, since your bid gives you and the seller
a 'pre-existing relationship', though of course there are other
reasons to not respond to this email]

In any event, your price of $1000 the 4-channel API preamp is great -
too great. I understand you're directing me to your eBay profile to
"feel more comfortable", but that doesn't mean anything if the eBay
name is stolen. If you can send me pictures of you holding your API
preamp, give me your address, phone number, and work address and phone
number and then send the unit to me COD - we might be able to start
talking about "closing a deal". Thanks."

Just thought I'd throwout a heads up, seems like a stolen ID thing.

(Twist Turner) wrote in message ...
definately a stolen id. Check the feedbacks, they are from a person in
the united state who owns a tropical greenhouse. Not someone in Spain.
Chances are they have no idea thier account has been hyjacked.

http://www.vintagemicsales.com



Last week I received 2 *very* convincing e-mails that appeared to come
from eBay (but obviously didn't). The address was
(note the typo).

Other than that, it was professionally written and used eBay's graphic
look to a tea. The obvious tip that it was a spoof was that the
"login" form was right there in the e-mail rather than a link to an
eBay page. Obvious to me - but less obvious to less savvy and more
trusting web users - like my dad for instance.
So I'd expect alot of this kind of stolen id stuff in the coming weeks
- at least until the person is caught. Twist, it may not help, but I
would report this matter to .

Take caution, Kato