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WARNING: New(?) eBay scam
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Schenkenstein:
Hi all!

I wanted to share my experience with a new (at least new to me) type of eBay scam with you so that you don't repeat my mistakes.
eBay does not offer purchase protection on certain kinds of stuff like real estate, vouchers, or businesses. Unfortunately, on localized eBay sites (e.g., ebay.de as in my case), the categorization of the item does not always show and the "Not eligible for eBay purchase protection programs" in a tiny font is easily missed if you find an awesome piece of equipment with a irresistible 'buy it now' price. I fell into that trap and after I paid for the item, the seller activated his 'on vacation' notice and a couple of days after that, his account was deleted.
I only found out about that because I wanted to check one of the pictures and could not access the listing anymore. I was unable to file a regular complaint ("please contact the seller first" - yeah, great...) or cancel the purchase since it's not covered by the protection. I finally managed to 'return' the item and got my money back but I don't know if I just was lucky and had a really nice chap working on my ticket, saving me lots of back and forth with the rather pedantic eBay 'customer service'.
I happened to find another listing with the same scam and took a screenshot (see below). I tried to report it as fraudulent but, unfortunately, someone did already hit the button :(

TL;DR: always check, if the item you want to buy on eBay has purchase protection!

Take care,
Schenkenstein
Schenkenstein:
somehow, the second screenshot did not make it...
Haenk:
This is awful, glad you got your money back.
But a hint for future purchases: Don't buy from zero-feedback users 2000km away with a mid-3-digit purchase price. That's just asking for problems.
Fraser:
Interesting scam. Thankfully as soon as an eBay customer services representative reads the auction they will note that it is not in the correct category for the item and clearly a scam. Hopefully they would always side with you in such circumstances. I have certainly found them to be very helpful in the past.

Fraser 

nctnico:
A seller with zero feedback is a red herring. Although I did buy a rather expensive scope from a seller with zero feedback many years ago. But I paid using Paypal plus a credit card on top for my own protection.
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