Almost Scammed: When it looks too good to be true

[bianka]

Thought I might share my newbie near-miss with the board:

I've been look for a set of anniversary rings and came across a great one on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95029889/art-deco-3ct-euro-diamond-platinum

2.12 carat center stone. Warm L color diamond that I like. Beautiful and uncommon art deco setting. Yes, yes and yes.
And the price: $1200. Could it be that I was the luckiest person in the universe?

So I grabbed my credit card and got ready to check out.
Then ... I noticed the seller had no feedback, no store policies. And should a 3 ct ring be $1200? Hm.
I hesitated and was crushed when someone else purchased it.

Then today, I did some Googling and found that the listing had been copied from Mel's Antique Jewelry too, who's selling it from $18,000+.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-ART-DECO-3-02ctw-EUROPEAN-DIAMOND-PLATINUM-ENGAGEMENT-RING-1930-/160733734612?_trksid=m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6951256938625495776

The etsy seller turns out to be a UK-based person who is still willing to sell me the ring if I just go to Western Union and wire them the funds. This makes me angry for the person who did purchase this clearly non-existent ring and more cautious than ever.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Well, I am glad you wised up! There were more red flags in the listing it seems than you see at a bull fight, so I hope in future you continue to spot them!

Another red flag is the high quality photography combined with the too-low-to-be real price. Most of the time when you find deals the photos suck.

Also, $1200 for a 3ct diamond is too low to be even remotely realistic. A pawn shop would offer more than that, and usually people only sell privately to try and get more than they could at pawn.

Did you report the listing to etsy?

 

[lindacat]

Wow, that is scary! I usually buy on another auction site; have passed up deals that look wonderful BUT the seller has bad feedback or does not allow returns. Just too risky unless it is a low price item. The other poster was correct; when you do get a bargain, the photos are usually not the best for whatever reason. I always make sure I can return for any reason; no "restocking" fees; and longstanding, good feedback ratings, too. Otherwise it IS too easy to be scammed - unfortunately!
I hope that you DO report this to the website - that seller has NO business on there!

 

[ericad]

I've just sent the seller a message giving her a chance to remove the listing immediately or I'll report her to Etsy for stolen photos. As soon as I saw the pics I knew they were Mel's. I've sent Mel an email as well, to let her know that this person has stolen her photos. This sort of thing happens on ebay a lot. I've seen our pics on ebay (as well as other sellers we know) many times and had them removed. Sellers are getting clever and even photoshopping stolen pics onto different colored backgrounds so that it's less apparent. Despicable.

 

[bianka]

@Dreamer_D Here's the thing: I really had no idea about the pricing of diamonds. Oh I know... How silly could I be? But I've not bought jewelry in a long time and thought for a second, "Oh maybe low colored diamonds are almost worthless????" When we bought my engagement ring, it was a D colored diamond so I wasn't sure. And let's be honest, I had on "greed goggles" and I really, really wanted it to be true so I decided it could be legitimate.

You are right about photos vs. price. What didn't make any sense to me was that the photos were great, the listing was so precise and well informed AND the price was low. That just does not happen. I've gotten a number of good deals on things --heck, I bought an art deco platinum Tiffany wedding band with diamond accents for $125 awhile ago-- but the seller was almost always clueless and uninterested in what the item was. In the case of the Tiffany band, it was also a size 3.25 with very poor photos, listed by a pawnshop.

@LindaCat I have reported this to etsy and I also reached out to Mel, who has reported it to eBay.

@EricaD I would encourage you to also report this to etsy. Since the item "sold" it's at least likely that some person has been conned already and really needs to get their funds back. I think that the photo theft is probably the least egregious part of it; it's the actual theft that is so galling. Yuck.