https://www.ebay.com/itm/AmScope-10...300478&hash=item2a953ee0ab:g:m4YAAOSwPDBaBpuE

This guy is selling the Amscope (that's usually $185 new for $20). He has basically no seller reviews.
Is he fake? Seems to me. I've seen an ebay seller (2 years ago) that sold the Rigol $300 scopes for $50. Everyone bought it, and then he deleted his account. Had to call ebay to get my money back.

But why would these scammers do that if it's that easy to get your money back by simply calling ebay?

Anyways, I'm gonna see what happens to this seller after a few days.

 

Its only $20. Not the end of the world if you lose it. What to you want to bet he is legit but it is a typo?? Even free shipping. I was going to see if he has charging $170 for shipping but it is ftee.

Bet it is a typo.

 

Your fine to buy it being as a buyer ebay has your back 100% and you will get your money back if its a scam. However, if you're a seller they will screw you over even if you have 100% proof you are in the very process of being scammed by a buyer.

I was a regular ebay buyer and seller for years until last year when I got hit by someone running a well known shipping claim scam. ebay was very helpful until I came up with proof I was being scammed on a $1800+ sell that if they sided with me they were going to eat it. After that they stopped talking to me until the claim I had filed against the buyer timed out thus forcing me to give a refund for items that the buyer had started a UPS shipment damage claim on themselves that if paid they would have gotten the shipping insurance (for more than the item was worth) plus kept the item (that's what UPS typically does on a damaged item claim now, and did as my local UPS store manger tracked down proof of for me) and gotten a full refund from me as well for selling a damaged item.

I ended up abandoning my ebay account and my paypal plus had to close out my home bank account paypal was linked to to keep from loosing my money on the forced refund all while ebay totally ignored my proof of the shipping damage payment plus buyer keeping the item because it was past their 10 day claim period, that they ignored me for the last 5 of, when it became obvious it was a scam and they would loose their multi hundred dollar cut on the sale.

Since then I will not buy or sell with them ever again. They are a greedy crooked company and don't even care if everyone knows it.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AmScope-10...300478&hash=item2a953ee0ab:g:m4YAAOSwPDBaBpuE

This guy is selling the Amscope (that's usually $185 new for $20). He has basically no seller reviews.
Is he fake? Seems to me. I've seen an ebay seller (2 years ago) that sold the Rigol $300 scopes for $50. Everyone bought it, and then he deleted his account. Had to call ebay to get my money back.

But why would these scammers do that if it's that easy to get your money back by simply calling ebay?

Anyways, I'm gonna see what happens to this seller after a few days.

Why don't you just contact the seller and ask why they can sell 10X cheaper than anyone else?

 

The guy is selling stolen goods, misrepresenting the product, or he got a good deal at a fire sale.

The latter is unlikely -- why would he discount the price so much? Anyone who thinks $20 is a deal on these would not scoff at $30 or $50.

 

Sometimes eBay Sellers don't know what they're selling, or don't care.

I picked up an HP mainframe with a 2GS/s scope and a 32 (maybe 64) input logic analyzer for under $30. It was heavy and no one wanted to pay for shipping. The place offered local pickup and they were an hour drive away so I got it for cheap.

They bought surplus equipment and components from companies by the pound. They started all of their auctions low because they didn't have much money invested.

 

The guy is selling stolen goods, misrepresenting the product, or he got a good deal at a fire sale.

The latter is unlikely -- why would he discount the price so much? Anyone who thinks $20 is a deal on these would not scoff at $30 or $50.

I bet it is a typo that the seller did not catch. Wonder how many were sold at that price.

 

Sometimes eBay Sellers don't know what they're selling, or don't care.

I picked up an HP mainframe with a 2GS/s scope and a 32 (maybe 64) input logic analyzer for under $30. It was heavy and no one wanted to pay for shipping. The place offered local pickup and they were an hour drive away so I got it for cheap.

They bought surplus equipment and components from companies by the pound. They started all of their auctions low because they didn't have much money invested.

That's what I did a lot of my sales on given I do a lot of work for traded goods rather than cash. I would put things out for half and often less than the average listed price just to guarantee a sale plus to make the others who had the sma items look greedy as well.

If I trade a day's labor worth maybe $300 take home for several thousand dollars worth of surplus or fixable and sellable items and then turn around and sell those for $1000 I am way more money ahead in the end.

"What can I make' that's above my personal investment value of an item is way more important the waiting and hoping for a 'what could I make if I wait long enough' sale to go through.

 

That's what I did a lot of my sales on given I do a lot of work for traded goods rather than cash. I would put things out for half and often less than the average listed price just to guarantee a sale plus to make the others who had the sma items look greedy as well.

If I trade a day's labor worth maybe $300 take home for several thousand dollars worth of surplus or fixable and sellable items and then turn around and sell those for $1000 I am way more money ahead in the end.

"What can I make' that's above my personal investment value of an item is way more important the waiting and hoping for a 'what could I make if I wait long enough' sale to go through.

I found a picture of your home:

 

The guy is selling stolen goods, misrepresenting the product, or he got a good deal at a fire sale.

I would assume it's a counterfeit knockoff. That said, $20 delivered is still a pretty good deal unless the optics are crap. The reviews are favorable. I'd love to have one of these things and am sorely tempted!

Oops, forget what I said about reviews. Those are for devices sold by other sellers, not the likely counterfeit item. If there even is an item.

 

I would assume it's a counterfeit knockoff. That said, $20 delivered is still a pretty good deal unless the optics are crap. The reviews are favorable. I'd love to have one of these things and am sorely tempted! One photo in the ad suggests it can interface to a computer. Seems unlikely without add-ons?

At the risk of being presumptuous, let me add my two cents that may temper your enthusiasm.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. I don't know the seller or the product or whether it is real, bogus, a great deal or junk.

I have bought and sold on Ebay before. Haven't sold anything in years and I have only bought a few items in the last few years. I had excellent ratings as both. Never tried to screw anybody and gave the benefit of the doubt to the other party for the few times there was any small problem. The few problems I had with a seller were corrected quickly and these were, again, few and far in-between.

I also went through the add and I also wanted one of these - for photography mainly. I certainly don't want one that bad to pay even $100. I read the comments and my blind side, the I want it to be true side - read.. (I am paraphrasing).

• Some people don't know what they have.
• Got them cheap and just wants to dump them.

Then, I too read the reviews - ok, nothing bad there, I thought. Moreover, I mis-read them in the sense that those are product reviews not reviews of the product that the seller has sold. There are none like that!

Next are the reviews for the seller. As a buyer, there are quite a few and all good. Here is the problem though...I don't know what or when the items were purchased. The seller has an ID from 7 years ago.

As a seller, there are, apparently some reviews, but because there are less than 10, I can't even see them! (was this always the way Ebay was?)

There is free shipping...from Ohio...on a $19 purchase - UPS - could that be less than $7? Takes the profit down further for the seller and, in a sense, requires an outlay of cash..

Make the purchase with PayPal, because I am "protected". The funds get transferred to a .ru email address - and the item is in Ohio.

Cancelled the transaction (before it went through) and kicked myself (softly). I figure, even though $20 is not a lot of money, it is not a license for me to be foolish (there were a bunch of words typed before I settled on the more innocuous one).

If I examine this in terms of multiple (and not entirely independent) probabilities, I could only reach one conclusion.

[and yes, I will watch what happens with that listing, but my thinking is that I will not be surprised]

 

found a picture of your home:

Hardly. That's not my shop chair nor does the big shop have a concrete floor either.

The way I see it people can laugh at my collection whatever I have all they want, as they get up at 5 AM every day to go work their 10 - 12 hour shift (plus travel) at some job they have grown to hate years ago but can't leave because the catch 22 debt over their head that paid for the home and everything they never use because they are working their life away to pay for leaves them with no way out, while I on the other hand do pretty much as I please 3 - 5 days a week because my piles of junk (working material resources and assets) make it possible to have such a low cost of living that I don't have to get <snip>out of the house until I <snip> feel like it.

Sure, I can go back to the oil field and make 6 figures easily enough again and have piles of money to put next to my piles of junk for it now but then I wouldn't have all the free time to enjoy my life or work on my projects like I do now.

Mod edit: profanity

 

Cancelled the transaction (before it went through) and kicked myself (softly).

I was very close myself to hitting the button until I realized the reviews were not for anything sold by this seller. That was the lightbulb moment that made me lose interest pretty quickly.

 

I'll know in a week or so. My eyes are bad.....I wouldn't think much of spending 20 bucks on a good magnifying glass. So I thought I would chance it.

Got a large lite one on an arm, but it's still awkward to position. I have quite a collection of magnifiers. If I could ever find them. They walk away. I'll see if this one has legs.

 

I think the real story is the reverse. the scope is worth $20 and the lab supply companies, as usually, are charging a super premium price for their wares.

Here is my recent finding...
A lab jack that were always in short supply because they were so expensive for what they were - we always just used a stack of bricks or other block-shaped stuff in the lab. Now, a reasonable looking lab jack can be found on ebay for what the lab supply houses are likely paying for theirs.


Here is what the lab supply houses are charging...


$135.00 for the same thing at Fischer Scientific.

$218.00 at SigmaAldrich.com
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/z692417?lang=en&region=US

 

I think the real story is the reverse. the scope is worth $20 and the lab supply companies, as usually, are charging a super premium price for their wares.

I think there's a chance of that, because the markup in that market is ridiculous, but it would be nice if there was even ONE review of something received from this seller. The ad says 32 have been sold. Oh, I see it's risen to 37 already. I wonder if/when one of those people will come back with a review.

 

Well, I couldn't resist. I went ahead and purchased one. Ordered to ship by drone so I got it immediately.

The offer is legit. Here's a photo of my new $20 microscope:

 

I found a picture of your home:

I see a few gems in there...

The Smithwicke's sign alone has got to fetch a couple hundred.
Vintage Tractor (American Picker's price (aka: there's always a bigger sucker until you get to us) - easy 300 dollar bill (note use of Storage Wars lingo)
I see a nice bench vice - save me a trip to HF
And a couple of pitch forks - always useful for the realistic halloween costume with built-in self defense device.

I would clean that guys garage for free if I could have the stuff.

 

And now you have an off-topic post that will soon be cleaned up as well. Oops..

Mod edit: removed quote of deleted post. JohnInTX

 

I think there's a chance of that, because the markup in that market is ridiculous, but it would be nice if there was even ONE review of something received from this seller. The ad says 32 have been sold. Oh, I see it's risen to 37 already. I wonder if/when one of those people will come back with a review.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see if anybody gets anything at all. While I know well first-hand the "price inflation" that can be seen, it is just too difficult to believe that the model and brand listed could sell that cheaply. If it were available locally as some loss-leader black Friday BS, I would be tempted to go to see if I could get one (tempted, but would probably regret going).

I bought a little microscope from Radio Shack for ~$15... something like this one and it was actually useful for inspecting coins where a simple 7X or 10X loupe would not do the trick.

The same company as the one in the listing offers this for ~30 - if you can handle providing the PC. I have one of these and I am actually pretty impressed with how well it does work - although I have not yet found any diamond rings in the drain traps here.