Man arrested in alleged sales of pictures, not TVs, on eBay

Palm Beach Post.com ^ | Friday, October 17, 2003 | By Larry Hobbs, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

[areeves79]

Man arrested in alleged sales of pictures, not TVs, on eBay

By Larry Hobbs, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 17, 2003


WELLINGTON -- A budding young entrepreneur went on eBay in March, promising savvy television shoppers a bundle in savings on a large-screen "plasma high definition picture," the sheriff's office said.

And that is just what 19-year-old Jeffrey Roberts of Wellington delivered. A picture -- of a big-screen plasma television. Deputies said at least four eBay shoppers from coast to coast took the bait, netting Roberts a total of $11,726.

But authorities were not amused, nor were they satisfied that Roberts met the legal terms of the offer by mailing buyers a "picture." Deputies arrested Roberts, of 12064 Suellen Circle, Wednesday and charged him with grand theft. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail Wednesday on $3,000 bond and is set to appear in court Nov. 21.

"Most people thought, 'Wow! What a deal,' " said Detective Pete Palenzuela of the sheriff's business crimes unit. "The victims would send him a personal check... but instead of a television, he would FedEx them a small envelope with a picture of a television inside."

The victims hailed from California, Illinois, Georgia and Connecticut, and paid anywhere from $800 to $5,100 for what they believed were high-definition plasma televisions with screens ranging from 50 to 61 inches, Palenzuela said. Such cutting-edge technology sets can cost between $8,000 and $10,000 in retail stores.

Roberts' justification didn't hold up with authorities. First, he advertised in the popular online auction company's electronics section. And although the headings described the item as a "picture," the high-tech details that were included made it clear the seller was describing a television, Palenzuela said.

Sang Park of Palatine, Ill., paid $3,701, thinking he had bought a 50-inch Panasonic.

Park still has the computer print-out photograph that he received instead.

"I said, 'You gotta be kidding' " said Park, 32, a dentist. "I e-mailed him back and he said, 'That's the item you were bidding on.' "

Deputies tracked down Roberts through complaints filed by Park and others with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center. But Roberts' arrest offers little solace to Park.

"After a while he basically sent me an e-mail saying that he went fishing and lost his cellphone, so there's no way to get ahold of him," Park said. "I want my money back."

[Hetfield1]

I remember when X-Box came out and was very difficult to get. A poster put up for sale on eBay an XBox Box!! And some lady paid many hundreds of dollars for it. She bought the box that the XBox came in. She tried to sue over it, but lost because the description on eBay very clearly said she was getting the box, and not an XBox.

[stainlessbanner]

If it's too good to be true, it probably is

[SquirrelKing]

I'll only take money on the barrel-head.

[wheelgunguru]

How about this one: When I was a kid there was an advertisement for a guaranteed cock roach killer. The price was something like $5.00. The killer? Two pieces of 2 by 4. One piece had, "Place cock roach here. And then hit it with the other block of wood." The FTC shut him down. I always thought it was kind of ingenious.

[Hetfield1]

Sounds like an ideal novelty gift.

[KellyAdmirer]

Riiiiiiiiiiing

Hello?

I wnat my money back!

Hello, who is this?

I'm the guy that bought that tv from you, and you sent me a ... a ... picture!

Yes, I did. That's what the auction was for.

No it wasn't! It says right in your ad, "This auction is for a big screen tv."

Right, well, it all depends on what the meaning of "is" is.....

[4mycountry]

Well, you'll never get bad reception...

Just ____ ping!

[adaven]

LOL, kind of like the product that "100% guaranteed to double the size of your @#N!$" and the poor suckers who responded got a magnifying glass in the mail...

[Maelstrom]

This is Clinton's legacy...

Without his precedent as president, certain turns of phrases being taken alternately as metaphorical or literal would never have come in vogue

[Hodar]

How about Uncle Bob's Glass Eye?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2955931507&category=1469

[Coop]

LOL, kind of like the product that "100% guaranteed to double the size of your @#N!$" and the poor suckers who responded got a magnifying glass in the mail...

Hmmmm, you seem to know an awful lot about this particular scam...

[FreePaul]

The world is full of incredibly dumb people. Sometime in the ninteen fifties a man I worked with sent off something like $29.95 for a washer dryer combination. He received a wash rag and a towel.

There was another "guaranteed fly killer" with which you could rid your house of flys in a short time. You got two wooden blocks. Instructions were to put the fly on one block and hit it with the other. I don't know for sure if it worked since I never got one.

[adaven]

Hmmmm, you seem to know an awful lot about this particular scam...

Sorry, did I get your hopes down? I hope you have not sent in the check for your order yet!

Check out http://www.scamwatch.com before you order your next "enhancement" ;-)

[John Beresford Tipton]

I remember the Engraving of President Abraham Lincoln--
turned out it was a Lincoln penny, and no, I didn't fall for it.

[dead]

"I said, 'You gotta be kidding' " said Park, 32, a dentist.

You’ve got to be kidding me that you’re a dentist!

I’ll bet he has a picture of a degree hanging on the wall of his office.

[reagan_fanatic]

Love the one about the glass eye!

The description was hilarious!!

[supercat]

I remember the Engraving of President Abraham Lincoln-- turned out it was a Lincoln penny, and no, I didn't fall for it.

That would be a scam, since coins are stamped rather than engraved.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

When I was a kid there was an advertisement for a guaranteed cock roach killer.

Reminds me of the ads for a "Solar Powered Clothes Drying System" that was for sale during the big "energy crisis" in the '70s.

Turns out for $29.95 you got a couple of pulleys and about 50 feet of rope.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[As i mentioned, the B/C & JD! lists are going to float into and out of whack over the forseeable future, while I try to cobble a rig back together for myself. My apologies for any incovenience or misunderstandings in this time frame. New signups/removals may be flaky in this time-frame as well; please bear with me, and keep in mind you may have to FReepmail me more than once for me to get it done. Thanks again!]

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

I can't believe that someone paid $108.49 for Uncle Bob's Glass Eye!

Gotta' love Ebay.

[AnAmericanMother]

I can go one better.

My mom (married to lawyer dad) got tired of semi-intoxicated lawyers trying to look down the front of her cleavage at Lawyers Club cocktail parties. So she went over to Estes Surgical Supply and bought a glass eye, and next time she went to the Lawyers Club she stuck it down in the bottom of her cleavage with spirit gum. Next guy who looked down her dress dropped his drink!

[wimpycat]

I think only an idiot would try to buy a plasma TV, sight unseen, from some guy on the internet.

[Mr. Lucky]

Why would anyone want to double the size of their anus?

[adaven]

Must... not... post... bathtub girl! ;-)

[Flyer]

Constipation relief?

[Scenic Sounds]

ROFL!

Keep an eye on this kid, will ya? ;-)

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

My favorite one was the guy who would run a ad in the paper saying, "Last day to send in your dollar!" with a po box number. People would send in dollars and he would never send them so much as a thank you note.

They finally did manage to shut him down but I can't remember how.

[Joe Hadenuf]

T-Bone.. $1.50

With meat.... $11.95

[Calamari]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2353198634&category=20757

Want to buy a rock?

[Cultural Jihad]

Just goes to show that there are a lot of perfectly legal things which are also clearly immoral to do. The law is not a religion. The law is not the highest arbiter of right and wrong. We need much more than mere human laws in order to have a healthy society. But even so the law has an important role to play in society's proper functioning.

[giotto]

mojo-man seems to be doing a brisk business selling off crusty old Uncle Bob's artifacts. Check out some of his other auctions. It gives me an idea for how to sell old junk on eBay--just conjure up a colorful story to go with it, and you can sell anything.

[Born Conservative]

A budding young entrepreneur criminal went on eBay in March, promising savvy television shoppers a bundle in savings on a large-screen "plasma high definition picture,"

[blam]

"How about this one: When I was a kid there was an advertisement for a guaranteed cock roach killer. The price was something like $5.00. The killer? Two pieces of 2 by 4. One piece had, "Place cock roach here. And then hit it with the other block of wood." The FTC shut him down. I always thought it was kind of ingenious."

That was in Farm And Ranch Magazine back in the 50's, my dad told me about it.

[roadcat]

"If it's too good to be true, it probably is"

Not everyone bidding via eBay is shopping for bargains. For some, it's like a gambling addiction where they get caught up in the excitement of throwing their money away.

I buy and sell a lot of car parts, many on eBay. There are bidders who bid up the price of old used car parts to over $100, when the same NEW part can be purchased over the counter from automobile dealers or car parts stores for $10 or less. And when I or others inform the "winner" of the auction as to the wide availability of the parts, he will sheepishly admit he never thought to call a vendor. Some people are plain stupid.

[banjo joe]

I heard about a scam in the '70s, before the www, of course, back when the back pages of mags were crammed w/ ads. (Remember the woemen's mags, even the tame ones had "increase your bust size" gimmicks galore.

Anyway, some joker had an ad "last chance to send your dollar!". Promised nothing... and he made a few grand.

[flying Elvis]

People were upping the bid to $35 on books I was selling on ebay. The same books cost $9.99 at abe.com Go figure?

[flying Elvis]

I had a friend who made several grand like that, he promised 10 tips to better health for a dollar. They sent him a dollar and he sent them a flyer with ten health tips.

[Dajjal]

I liked the Ghost In A Jar auction better.

[weegee]

I think that this may be a misreporting of the situation. I saw some auctions like this on eBay a year or two ago.

The seller I saw was getting several hundred dollar bids for $10k+ televisions.

He said in his listing that he was not selling a tv, he was selling contact information for someone who was offerring the tvs for thousands less than that $11k retail price.

If this is the same seller, then I chalk it up to those loons who believe their "You may have won $25,000,000!" letters to mean that they HAVE won $25million.

[weegee]

Maybe that seller needs to buy what another eBayer was selling one time... "I'll kick your @ss" was auctioned. the bidding went to several dollars (I don't think that auction got shut down, either).

I know that I saw someone pay $0.12 for a blank sheet of paper one time. I have to wonder if some of these "gag" auctions are really a front so that a buyer/seller team can "win" some auctions and get positive feedback (for a later scam). After a few months, all that is seen is the feedback and auction number; the item itself and price paid are unknown to other eBayers.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

bathtub girl?

Okay, I'll bite, what are you talking about?

[FreedomCalls]

All time best:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3627872872

[areeves79]

This guy is at it again. GHOST IN A JAR MEDALLION

[eastforker]

I happen to know where you or anyone else can buy for 20 cents on the dollar.I have been doing so for a while and resell at a local auction and sometimes double or triple my investment.There are other power sellers on ebay that do the same.I will never pay retail again .

[Stone Mountain]

I believe what the article is missing is how this guy phrased his ad to deceive people. Basically, he said something to the effect of, "You are bidding on the 52" Plasma Screen Television picture below," and of course there was a picture under it. By saying "picture" instead of "pictured" he thought he could get away with it...

[Stone Mountain]

I happen to know where you or anyone else can buy for 20 cents on the dollar.

Wanna share? : )

[eastforker]

I buy in bulk.For instance I'm fixin to spend 3K on about 14K worth of merchandise.There will be about 10% spoilage after I test everything.I also have to give up 10% sellers fee.I will still double my money but it is alot of work.As far as sharing my info?If I told ya I'd have to kill ya,ha ha.

[eastforker]

any and all freepers ,FRepmail me if you need anything,lurkers:sign up amd contribute and I'll deal with you also.JIM:I pledge 10% of anything gained.You need it,I got it.

[eastforker]

Please don't be mad at me but this could be a way to the end of the FReepathons.