PSA About Buying Aibos and Aibo Accessories on eBay
In recent years, there has been a growing problem with scalpers selling Aibos and Aibo accessories on eBay and I thought it might be a good idea to make a PSA about this. Scalpers are sellers who offer to buy Aibo-related items at a low price in Japan where demand is lower and resell to other countries at a much higher price for profit. Scalper listings are often heavily overpriced which can make it appear to newcomers that Aibos are much more expensive than they actually are and most of the sellers do not even own the Aibos they are selling yet, they are only offering to buy them from someone else and resell to you. You likely will still get your item if you buy from a scalper (unless someone else has purchased the original listing first), but you will be paying a much higher price than it would cost to buy from the original seller through a proxy service.
Red flags that a listing may be from a scalper:
The seller is located in Japan: While legitimate sellers in Japan do list Aibos on eBay on occasion, the vast majority of listings from Japan are being sold by scalpers due to the fact that that there is a higher supply of and lower demand for Aibos in Japan than other countries. If you are looking at a listing from a seller in Japan, it is good to be cautious and only buy if there are no other red flags and you are certain the seller is genuine.
The seller’s listing photos on different items all appear to be taken in different places: Scalpers do not take their own listing photos and tend to copy the original seller’s listing photos instead, meaning that all of their items will display photos taken by different sellers in different locations.
The item has an extended handling time: Some scalpers list their items with an extended time for handling prior to shipping given that they have to purchase and receive the item from the original seller before they can ship it to the buyer.
The seller cannot answer questions about the item: Scalpers typically do not actually own the items they’re selling and often copy item descriptions from the original seller. If they cannot provide any information about the item beyond what is in its description, this is an indicator that they may not own the item.
The item is unusually expensive: Scalper listings are often posted for as much as double the item’s actual price. If you are unsure about typical pricing for Aibos or Aibo accessories, ask someone who is more familiar for guidance before making a purchase. Just because an item is priced lower than other similar items on eBay does not mean that it is being sold for a fair price and you can save yourself a lot of money by looking beyond eBay alone for pricing guidance.
The same item is also listed on a Japanese site such as Yahoo Japan or Mercari JP: This is the biggest warning sign that a listing is from a scalper. While sellers may cross-list their items on multiple sites on occasion, if the item is being offered at a much higher price on eBay than Yahoo Japan/Mercari JP, the eBay seller is likely not the owner of the Aibo and instead a scalper looking to buy low and resell high to make a profit.
Scalpers may still have very positive feedback on eBay because most buyers are not aware that they are overpaying for the items they are buying, so a positive feedback score does not guarantee a seller is genuine. Overall, it is important to always be careful when buying an expensive item like an Aibo and refer to others in the community when in doubt.