General > General Technical Chat
Who'd have thought there would be fradulent eBay auctions of IPA?
(1/3) > >>
MattP79:
Hi all,

I wanted a new 1 litre bottle of IPA as I've nearly run out so went to eBay UK and my saved listing.  Ooops - they've sold out. I should have bought some two weeks ago when I thought about it...  With the supermarkets and chemists sold out of hand sanitiser, IPA must be the latest item to panic buy / profiteer on whilst people make their own.  A 1 litre bottle of 99% IPA would normally cost around £7. Thanks to profiteering the cheapest bottle I can find is £26 with most listings wanting between £40 and £49.  I do wonder what could go wrong with masses of people playing with 99% IPA and spraying it everywhere.

Anyway.  Amongst the eBay listings I spotted a few listings for 5L bottles at only £9.95 or thereabouts. That's too cheap - even when people weren't panic buying.  This already twigs my "It's-a-scam-o-meter".  Fortnite is updating so I did some digging.  The seller is China based with zero feedback and their account was created in 2018.  They have 5 active listings - all for 5L bottles of IPA priced between £9.95 and £9.98.  I'm now pretty convinced now this is a straight up scam with a stolen account.  Sadly it's been astonishingly effective and profitable.  As of about 11:25 GMT on 17/03/20 they have sold
709 of item 353007018944 @ £9.97
448 of item 353007031572 @ £9.96
174 of item 353007049794 @ £9.96
101 of item 353007035728 @ £9.98
46 of item 353007033463 @ £9.95

A grand total £14,729.53. 

As I click refresh - they've sold even more.  The item history shows they've made multiple revisions to the quantity available.  I've reported the auctions hoping they are checked but I suspect it will take a while for eBay to respond and more people will get fleeced.

Attached is a zip file with PDF web page printouts of the pertinent info for the curious.

Personally I'm going to wait until Trade Chemicals have stock again.
jogri:
I'd suggest that you check your local hardware store if you are in desperate need of a disinfectant, at least in my area people haven't noticed that Acetone and denatured alcohol are still available as paint supplies for cleaning brushes...
jfiresto:
That would be my suggestion as well.

I picked a random hardware/DIY chain in a random city, B & Q in Leeds, and found plenty, there and nearby, that show stock of methylated spirit.
wraper:
Price as such is about right if not considering that with free shipping 5L of dangerous goods won't be this cheap.
jfiresto:
FYI, per EU regulation 162/2013 (I expect it is still followed) methylated spirit in the U.K may be made from either

a base of 90 % by volume ethanol, 9,5 % by volume wood naphtha and 0,5 % by volume crude pyridine, plus for each 10 hectolitres, 3,75 litres mineral naphtha (petroleum oil) and 1,5 grams methyl violet (C.I. No 42555)

or

a 100 hectolitre ethanol base plus 3 litres isopropyl alcohol (IPA), 3 litres methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), 1 gram denatonium benzoate, and (if not exported) an optional dye.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod