So, you're looking to buy a used copy of a newly-released book on Ebay.
Most of the listings are way above the MSRP because they're collectors editions, signed editions, etc.
Oh! But there! Someone's selling a used copy for under $10!
Or.... are they ?
If you would like to learn how you too, can combat ebook scams on ebay, read on!
Because Ebay is seemingly trying to make it as difficult as humanly possible to find the option to report a listing.
So, what are the first red flags for ebooks scams you can spot in the search results?
[ID: A screenshot of ebay search results for Platform Decay by Martha Wells ,showing three listings, in order: * A $26.24 copy from Alibrisbooks, with a 99.6% positive rating based on 574.3k reviews, * A $6.50 copy from Frie7634, with a 0% positive rating based on 0 reviews, * And a $25.00 copy from Book-and-mortar, with a 99.6% positive rating based on 11.8k reviews. The price, seller name, seller rating, and review count has been underlined in green for the copies from Alibrisbooks and Book-and-mortar, and underlined in red from Frie7634. End ID]
So, first thing's first: the absurdly low price compared to all other listings, along with the brand new account that has a string of numbers attached (bot account, one of many for they are legion) , and having 0% positivity from 0 reviewers, showing this is a completely brand new ebay account. So, what are some more red flags on the fraudulent listing itself?
[ID: a screenshot of the details page of the ebay listing for the fraudulent $6.50 copy of the book sold by Frie7634, the increased size of the preview photo showing that above the cover of the book, extra text has been added that reads "E-book, no paperback", highlighted in red, and underneath the price is a customization box, with a note that reads: “Please carefully check the product details before ordering to avoid any issues after purchase.” Both the price, seller name, and Personalization box have been highlighted in red. End ID]
So, we can now see on the Details page that this ebay account is, supposedly, selling an ebook copy of this book. Despite being a random nobody, brand new account on ebay and not an official ebook vendor by any definition. So, according to the Personalization box, we should read the full product description before placing an order... ...So, what does that look like?
Well, it's this mess:
[ID: A screenshot of the description for the ebay listing, showing text in huge dark blue font, small text highlighted in neon green, tiny grey text, and all-caps text in yellow at the bottom, making it all very difficult to read. The plain text,complete with typos & grammatical errors reads as: "This is not a physics book. How does it work? 1. Purchase the listing 2. Send me an ebay message and I'll reply with the download link of the PDF. 3. Access the template. 4. Edit & save -> Download as a PDF. Attention: do not steale or copy in any forms. Be a quality seller that buys love. End plain text and end ID.]
So.... it should be abundantly clear that this is 100% a fraudulent ebook listing: 1) Not from an official ebook vendor, its a random empty account 2) Price is far below the current official ebook price 3) Extremely complicated method of purchase that *directly violates Ebay's terms of service* 4) product description is riddled with typos and grammatical errors, and horrendous formatting that no official ebook vendor would allow. So! you've confirmed that you've found a fraudulent ebook listing on ebay! Now, how do you report it to get it taken down? Scroll back up to the top of the listing...
[ID: A screenshot of the details page of the listing again, unedited except for a black border, showing options to sell a similar item, sell something else, buy now, add to cart, add to wishlist, share, 'heart' the item, and expand the preview photo to full size. There is no obvious "report" option visible. End ID]
So this is the hardest part, only because Ebay really, really wants to take their cut of all the profits off sales on their site, and people being able to easily report fraudulent listings would get in the way of the bottom line!
[ID: A the same screenshot, now zoomed in to show a very small question-mark icon in the bottom right corner, a tiny white circle on a white background, with a lightgrey outline around it, highlighted in red to be visible. End ID]
Click on the tiny, almost invisible question mark to bring up this Help menu:
[ID: a screenshot that shows the ebay help menu, which reads: "How can we help you? Find answers to your buying, selling, and account questions, or contact us for more help. Report content: If you find content that may not comply with our policies opens in a new tab or window or applicable law, you can submit a report to help eBay maintain a safe environment for all: Submit Report The quickest and easiest way to report suspicious activity is by selecting Submit report above. You can also use our voicemail to report stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe items. The voicemail system is used only to collect reports and doesn't connect you with a live agent. Let Us Know: Send Feedback or Report a technical Problem. End ID]
Click on "Submit Report"
On the menu that opens, select, in this order:
> Product or Store Listing > Reason For Report: Item Not Allowed* > Detailed Reason: Electronically Delivered Item* > Please provide additional details (optional): "This account and listing is for an illegal, unauthorized ebook, and is being used to scam customers who think they are purchasing a legitimate ebook copy from the publisher" (Or your own variation thereupon)
> Click the confirmation box that confirms this information is all true to your best knowledge, then click "Submit Report".
It will probably take a day or two, but there's at least two or three fraudulent listings I've reported so far and they've been taken down, but obviously, the scamming bots can just keep making a bunch of new accounts, so always be aware of what an ebook scam looks like, and always report them when you find them!
As for the * asterisk on the reasons for report: if you say it's copyright infringement, I'm 99% certain it will not let you report it unless you specifically are the copyright holder like most websites, so you can pick the next most relevant option: Ebay does *not* allow the same of electronically delivered items, aka, downloadable, digital media, which these listings definitely violate!
