Steinberger XP-2L

[paulo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steinberger-XP2 ... 1845156058

[thumbslam]

Or the same thing cheaper

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Free-Shipping-U ... 1845156058

[pjmuck]

Third time's the charm:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steinberger-XP- ... 3641.l6368

So that's 3 different sellers selling the same exact bass from Japan. I have never seen a legitimate lefty XP-2. There was a red one for sale a few years ago but it was clearly a modded righty. Maybe this one's legit...and maybe not, but the fact that 3 different sellers are offering the same bass is suspicious.

[Addison]

Third time's the charm:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steinberger-XP- ... 3641.l6368

So that's 3 different sellers selling the same exact bass from Japan. I have never seen a legitimate lefty XP-2. There was a red one for sale a few years ago but it was clearly a modded righty. Maybe this one's legit...and maybe not, but the fact that 3 different sellers are offering the same bass is suspicious.

I'm honestly surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more.

While eBay "sold item fees" are horrible, listing fees are actually pretty cheap (and sometimes free, depending on the special eBay is running), so what better way to maximize your item's exposure than to list it under multiple accounts?

Sure, it's against eBay policy, but I'm not sure how they can be very effective at enforcing it unless the items all get reported. And if the thing sells, they still get paid... so I doubt they really care all that much.

If it sells under one account, they just delete the other listings on the other accounts.

[Matt R.]

Whew. Seeing that thing only once is bad enough.

[pjmuck]

Third time's the charm:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steinberger-XP- ... 3641.l6368

So that's 3 different sellers selling the same exact bass from Japan. I have never seen a legitimate lefty XP-2. There was a red one for sale a few years ago but it was clearly a modded righty. Maybe this one's legit...and maybe not, but the fact that 3 different sellers are offering the same bass is suspicious.

I'm honestly surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more.

While eBay "sold item fees" are horrible, listing fees are actually pretty cheap (and sometimes free, depending on the special eBay is running), so what better way to maximize your item's exposure than to list it under multiple accounts?

Sure, it's against eBay policy, but I'm not sure how they can be very effective at enforcing it unless the items all get reported. And if the thing sells, they still get paid... so I doubt they really care all that much.

If it sells under one account, they just delete the other listings on the other accounts.

So you're thinking it might be the same guy/girl listing multiple times? If so then why compete with yourself by offering a lower price as one seller than the other? Or, here's a thought: could the owner be consigning it to multiple brokers and the first one to the finish line gets the commission?

[tim]

could the owner be consigning it to multiple brokers and the first one to the finish line gets the commission?

That was my thought.

[Addison]

So you're thinking it might be the same guy/girl listing multiple times? If so then why compete with yourself by offering a lower price as one seller than the other? Or, here's a thought: could the owner be consigning it to multiple brokers and the first one to the finish line gets the commission?

How can you compete against yourself?

If someone clicks "Buy it Now" on the cheapest listing, you still sell the item and it's mission accomplished. If someone buys the highest priced listing because they didn't do their due diligence with research first, then you sold the item AND you end up with more money in your pocket.

Either way you win.

I wouldn't count out the multiple broker idea either... makes sense to me.

[paulo]

They want someone to say "wow this one is cheaper than the other ones, let me snag this one before someone else does"

[AHNC]

For some reason every time I see one of these I have a strange urge to wear a Kimono and play 2112...

[pjmuck]

So you're thinking it might be the same guy/girl listing multiple times? If so then why compete with yourself by offering a lower price as one seller than the other? Or, here's a thought: could the owner be consigning it to multiple brokers and the first one to the finish line gets the commission?

How can you compete against yourself?

If someone clicks "Buy it Now" on the cheapest listing, you still sell the item and it's mission accomplished. If someone buys the highest priced listing because they didn't do their due diligence with research first, then you sold the item AND you end up with more money in your pocket.

Either way you win.

I wouldn't count out the multiple broker idea either... makes sense to me.

I'm not following the selling "strategy". What happens if more than one of them sells? The seller's going to respond to the buyer and state that it's no longer available after said buyer has already paid? That would result in an immediate negative feedback and complaint from me if anyone did that to me, especially in view of the multiple listings. I'd think anyone seriously considering buying this bass is privy to this and/or has done their homework...but maybe not. All three of these sellers has a legitimate number of sales and feedback already, most of which are positive, so unless they've gotten lucky and never had a situation where multiple listings sold I can't see how this strategy wouldn't result in more negative feedback, unless they rarely do this kind of thing. Just seems like a risk to me.

Whatever the case, something's fishy here.

[Addison]

What happens if more than one of them sells? The seller's going to respond to the buyer and state that it's no longer available after said buyer has already paid? That would result in an immediate negative feedback and complaint from me if anyone did that to me, especially in view of the multiple listings.

Honestly, what are the chances that two people are going to pull the trigger on two separate listings for a lefty Steinberger bass within minutes or seconds of each other?

People who have store fronts sell items in the store before they get a chance to cancel an eBay auction. It's the chance they take selling an item in more than one place.

Why is it any different than that?

In the incredibly rare chance the item sells under multiple accounts, one negative feedback isn't the end of the world for anyone... most high volume sellers have several negative feedback hits, and they're mostly due to not having the item when it has sold.

The strategy is simple. You have an uncommon item so you list it multiple times under different accounts to maximize exposure.

I guess I'm not following why that is so hard to grasp, but I'll quit derailing the thread now.

[Addison]

The first listing is 100% Feedback.

Just for fun, I checked out the negative feedback on the second listing from above... pretty much exactly as I described.



The 3rd listing posted has a couple of similar feedback messages as well... 2 out of 3 people complained that "Guitar wasn't in stock" when they bought it.

My guess is because it already sold in a store or in another eBay listing.

[paulo]

The first listing is 100% Feedback.

Just for fun, I checked out the negative feedback on the second listing from above... pretty much exactly as I described.



The 3rd listing posted has a couple of similar feedback messages as well... 2 out of 3 people complained that "Guitar wasn't in stock" when they bought it.

My guess is because it already sold in a store or in another eBay listing.

WOW and they where all high prices!

[pjmuck]

The first listing is 100% Feedback.

Just for fun, I checked out the negative feedback on the second listing from above... pretty much exactly as I described.



The 3rd listing posted has a couple of similar feedback messages as well... 2 out of 3 people complained that "Guitar wasn't in stock" when they bought it.

My guess is because it already sold in a store or in another eBay listing.

The 1 seller seems to have gotten their money back eventually, but without this kind of investigation I'd still question whether these are scam dummy listings or just multiple listings as you mentioned. I have to wonder if everyone got their money back or not. Whatever the case, it's BS and I'm reporting them.