Warning - coordinated scam on Yahoo Japan auctions

[gerald]

Hi all -



I am aware that there are people here, like me, who frequently purchase items from Yahoo Japan auctions.



Just a heads up that there appears to be a significant and coordinated scam running right now with fake auctions.



Right now, the majority of the top 10 Grand Seiko auctions as ranked by number of bids fit the following pattern -

    

    *    Seller is new

    *    Auction started at 1 yen, with no reserve

    *    Auction only has three photos

    *    Photos are taken from auctions that closed several months ago (typically around the August-October 2017 timeframe)

    *    Shipping costs are not mentioned, or are a flat 1000 Yen for delivery anywhere in Japan


A 6215 and an Izul have sold in the last couple of days that fit this pattern. The 6215 winning bid was cancelled - either the winner was legitimate, realised what was going on and cancelled their bid, or, more likely, the winning bid was a shill caught out trying to bump the price for a genuine bidder.


There have possibly been some more auctions that closed recently that could well be fraudulent, but my spidey-senses only started tingling yesterday.



Also, there are of course many more than just the ones appearing in the top ten by number of bids (for example, there is an auction for a Grand Seiko "First" that is clearly fraudulent), but I'm not going to check them all!



Caveat emptor.



Kind regards,





Gerald.

[rossr]

Thanks for the warning Gerald.

[tritto]

Thanks Gerald. I doubt I'm at their target end of the market, but I'll keep this in mind if I bid on anything.

[cobrajet25]

Thanks!  Helpful for a YJ noob like me.  Most of what I have bid on so far isn't worth scamming anyone over (I don't think).  Kinda like counterfeiting $1 bills!

[rossr]

Perhaps this was one of the items. I had this on my watch list out of interest. Zero feedback seller. The auction was completed, but finished lower than I expected. I suppose some of the proxy bidders, such as Buyee, prevented users from bidding.

[cobrajet25]

Jan 28, 2018 2:41:58 GMT -8 rossr said:

Perhaps this was one of the items. I had this on my watch list out of interest. Zero feedback seller. The auction was completed, but finished lower than I expected. I suppose some of the proxy bidders, such as Buyee, prevented users from bidding.

Saw that one.  I have seen several of what you would expect to be high-yen auctions on rare Seikos that I have been blocked from bidding on. 

It normally says something along the lines of "Buyee has manually reviewed this auction and determined that you can't bid on it".

I am not entirely sure what the criteria are for bidding on things over there.  Sometimes, I am told that I cannot bid on auctions from somebody with 1500 Buyee points because their 'feedback is too low'.  Other times, I am allowed to bid with buyers with only 1000 points.

[bombora]

I have been blocked a couple of times on Yahoo Jp using EAJ as the proxy. I asked EAJ what the issue was and they replied that the seller only sold to Japanese buyers.

[tritto]

I'm noticing quite a few 6159s from sellers with zero feedback right now. I assume it's all part of the same scam.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the heads up 

[bombora]

There are heaps of nice Seikos up on Yahoo Jp now from new sellers with zero feedback using old photos.
One of note is a 6306 Scubapro with a horribly scratched caseback which i first saw late last year.

The Izul purchaser said in his feedback that the sale was fraud.

[tritto]

Anyone want to take a punt on this rather desirable 5718? I seem to remember one sold for a tidy sum a few months ago 😀
Only problem - a zero feedback seller that's blocked by buyee.

[Mr.Jones]

It probably IS the one that sold a few months ago - or at least the picture is of it.

[rossr]

Looks like it. There are quite a few 0 0 0 sellers with great stuff at the moment.

[gerald]

Photos from auction x489956989 that closed for 2,221,000 Yen on June 20th 2017.

[allkindsofwatches1]

Usually buyee.jp won't let you bid on items if the seller has a low number of feedback. I've had success with all of my purchases so far.

[timjohn]

I bought an SBDA003 on Yahoo Japan through a proxy service a few months ago and the same watch, or at least the same photo, was still up on Ebay a week later. Dunno what was going on, but the watch arrived alright.

[pip]

I don’t know about all the scams, but that 5718 is absolutely gorgeous! I’m not sure I’ve seen one before. (Cue people reminding me I liked their picture of one in a WRUW thread last week!)

[tritto]

Feb 14, 2018 16:39:57 GMT -8 pip said:

I don’t know about all the scams, but that 5718 is absolutely gorgeous! I’m not sure I’ve seen one before. (Cue people reminding me I liked their picture of one in a WRUW thread last week!)

One of our members bought an absolutely stunning NOS one last year for a VERY large sum of money. You might find the discussion thread then reveal thread if you use the search function.
Edit: here it is.
5718 on YP
r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=93409&share_tid=12994&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwristsushi%2Eproboards%2Ecom%2Fthread%2F12994&share_type=t

[pip]

Feb 14, 2018 17:12:49 GMT -8 tritto said:

Feb 14, 2018 16:39:57 GMT -8 pip said:

I don’t know about all the scams, but that 5718 is absolutely gorgeous! I’m not sure I’ve seen one before. (Cue people reminding me I liked their picture of one in a WRUW thread last week!)

One of our members bought an absolutely stunning NOS one last year for a VERY large sum of money. You might find the discussion thread then reveal thread if you use the search function.
Edit: here it is.
5718 on YP
r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=93409&share_tid=12994&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwristsushi%2Eproboards%2Ecom%2Fthread%2F12994&share_type=t

Ah, I do remember that thread and Eric winning it, had forgotten the model ref and the black dial threw me. I should start making more notes. Gorgeous watches but way beyond my wallet. However, if my numbers one up one Friday it’ll go on the list!

[doomguy10011]

Thanks for the heads up! Fortunately, I usually don't go for new sellers and my watch budget is moot for a few more months.