eBay of the Day: Buchla Modular, just £500

If you're stupid, there are amazing bargains to be had on Chinese Ebay. Item #320009394191 purports to be a 'RARE!!' Buchla 100 Modular Synth. The auction ended recently, perhaps because the 'Buy it Now' price was 8,000 Chinese Yuan, or £542. Yes, the seller has zero feedback (and the last picture is the back end of some home A/V amp). If your tastes are more modern, how about #320009813151 - a Clavia Nord Stage with a 'buy it now' of £94.
Now, in case anyone has missed the subtext of this post: If you try to buy crazy cheap classic synths from Chinese eBay sellers with zero feedback, you will most likely be ripped off. (Thanks, Angstrom)

Posted by Tom Whitwell.

Comments:

I wonder how long eBay will tolerate this kind of rip off situations. I mailed them more than once to communicate a fake auction, but never got any reaction.

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:36 am

I'm willing to bet my Moog Tauras II Bass Pedals would bring $800,000 (USD) in china these days tho I think shipping would kill me...

# posted by

Keith : 12:29 pm

They truly are one of the laziest indifferent companies in the world today. Never once had an email reply or any action from them. They're too busy raking in money. Problem is, even if the buyer gets ripped of (as in here) they still get a piece of the action so where's the motivation to fix the problem? And don't say "customer service."

# posted by

Anonymous : 1:30 pm

I've not found this to be true. If you use the 'report this item' link at the bottom of the auction ebay will take action. I've done it several times and every item was removed within a few hours. Report them when you see them.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:02 pm

Best is to ask the seller to send other pics. In this case i get no reply :o)

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:17 pm

I'd have agree with "lazy and indifferent" as far as my dealings have gone.

I reported an item which was a CD leaked from a studio, an album that the artist didn't even have to sell. Obiously it falls under numerous violations, but eBay said that the copyright holder had to contact them.

???

JK Rowling has been continually frustrated by their response to her concerns about fake Harry Potter stuff..

# posted by

Anonymous : 9:20 pm

if you read the entire page it says available to china only. how does that play?

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:37 am

"the fully functioning Buchla was just delivered at my doorstep..."

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:01 am

but eBay said that the copyright holder had to contact them.

Well, yes, the copyright holder is the only one who can make claims of copyright violation. Third-party claims are unverifiable because the seller need only tell eBay that they have permission to sell the recording.

(Specifically, I'm about 99.9% sure that eBay requires a DMCA notification for copyright claims, and those must come from the copyright holder or his agent.)

# posted by

Anonymous : 7:00 pm

I bid on a fake auction for some expensive recording gear but clued in before I sent the money. I reported it to ebay and 2 hours later the seller was suspended.

# posted by

Anonymous : 2:42 am