Dealers On Ebay To Take Caution With.

Seems the photo of "Mary" for the ebay "ME" was stolen from a Russian Dating site, and "Mary" touched out their logo at base.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/...debyside.jpg

http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...rys-finegems

http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...d=marys-gems

Both accounts still active, but have shill bid on many other now banned handles.

As can be seen - Low feedback and now NARU banned, UK based shill bidders - "estampman1245" and "westontreasure" - had feedback from these 4 "sellers" in 1 month period - being

golden-hoarde (Just NARU)
regency-auctions (Just NARU)
marys-finegems (Not yet NARU)
marys-gems (Not yet NARU)
Lao98_98 (Not yet NARU – current handle for the cartel)

So ebay, if you ever want a direct connection to check on, that the 2 current "Mary" accounts are part of this one operation, and were shill bidding as much as the others, here is the clear proof.

-marys-finegems -
- marys-gems –
- Lao98_98 -

They revert to totally private feedback in order to coerce members to remove negative feedback, and waste ebay staff time on same.

Are clearly part of shill bidding activity along with the others.

ebay will get less and less to be a safe marketplace for anyone to buy or sell stamps whilst they do NOTHING about overt cons like these current accounts -

-marys-finegems -
- marys-gems -
Lao98_98 (their current selling vehicle)

I know the rules.

However, if the buyer sees these "trivial disclaimers" perhaps he should not bid.

The majority of stamps on ebay and other sites are bought and sold by the honour system without registered mail or tracking, as the cost in most countries is more the the value of the stamps.

There would be very few items available on any internet auction site or by mail order dealers if delivery guarantee had to be paid for by the buyer.

That is the first time something of mine was "lost". I was willing to bite the bullet, until I found out the buyer made a claim to a second seller (a member here), and now a third seller. Why did he not ask for registration if he has delivery problems? And he has private feedback of course, and did not respond to emails.

Paypal still has not made a decision yet, but have frozen the amount.

Don't get me wrong, this will not stop me from buying or selling on the internet. The benefits outweigh the risks and it is up to the collectors to report the suspicious sellers and buyers as is happening here.

Three weeks ago I sold a total of 7 items (in two lots) to a US West Coast buyer. He has now claimed non delivery. Paypal has put a hold on the payments and unless I can prove tracking they will refund him. This will be the fifth or sixth time that I have been burned by a buyer in this way. What's really annoying - beyond whether I am getting ripped off or not - is that paypal offers not one iota of protection to me. If I can't prove tracking, they refund. Period.

honestly guys the simplest thing I do is insist on delivery confirmation. It costs about .22 on a parcel post.
I add it into the the postage costs.

SV, I am not in the U.S. and I am not sending parcels.

I sent a standard first class letter with some stamps. The rate for that to China was $1.70 for what the buyer chose. The only way for delivery confirmation here is by registered post, for a total amount of $18.00, which he did not want to pay.

We always hear about unethical sellers but there are big problems with unethical buyers.

BeeSee, I understand now.

At this point I won't ship to anyone outside the US or Canada. Unless, I know them. Some of our members live in Australia, etc.. I will post to them.
But on bidstart, It's US or Canada only.

The tale of Mary's Gems and all the other aliases they use are and have been posted on all the Stamp forums that I have seen, and they really are under the microscope with a big bullseye on their back. I think it is only matter of time until they get so little business that they will either have to shut down or toe the line. Among the Stamp forums, watchdog groups have developed a strong interest in their practice that now they have to be a constantly moving target, and they can run, but they can't hide.