3D Audio Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3746809619&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1 I believe the above auction to be fraudulent for several reasons. -Seller has no transaction history -Seller joined Ebay the day the auction started -Seller wants Western Union payment only -Seller is using MY picture to advertise the unit -Seller has claimed in a email to a purchaser to be ME (Lynn Fuston) -Seller has hotmail address -Short (3-day) auction -No reserve or starting bid listed on a $9000 piece of gear -The serial number advertised does not exist EveAnna Manley concurs that it appears to be totally fraudulent. I have contacted ebay about having it pulled. Lynn Fuston 3D Audio Inc Home of 3dB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techristian Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 I've never seen an animal like that ! VACCUUM TUBES IN A DAC/ADC ???? DAN http://drumlessonvideos.com TEACHMEDRUMS.COM My Music Videos RED PILL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GY Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 I applaud your actions, Lynn. There are some real parasites out there in eBay land. GY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Good job, Lynn. I'm sure EveAnna is happy you noted this. And yes, Dan, the SLAM! is a kick-ass box, but the DAC/ADC capability is only a small peripheral to what it really does. Which is make things REALLY FREAKING LOUD. In a good way. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Maybe it's just me... ...but I would hesitate doing any overseas transaction that exceeded a couple of hundred dollars... ...never mind an item that is in the $10K range... ...even if it turns out to be an honest item. So far...I've done over 50 eBay transactions...and nock on wood...have never been really burned by any... ...though there were a couple where I felt I was gouged on the Shipping charges just a bit. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Originally posted by 3D Audio: I believe the above auction to be fraudulent for several reasons. -Seller is using MY picture to advertise the unit -Seller has claimed in a email to a purchaser to be ME (Lynn Fuston) -The serial number advertised does not exist So you are being sarcastic, right? That guy deserves no other than jail. That's fraud. Músico, Productor, Ingeniero, Tecnólogo Senior Product Manager, América Latina y Caribe - PreSonus at Fender Musical Instruments Company Instagram: guslozada Facebook: Lozada - Música y Tecnología www.guslozada.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Well...there are now a couple of new bidders that have joined the auction: bogus_manley_dont_bid and audio_buster ...and they have already driven the price to over $2K!!! This will be amusing to watch. Go get 'em, Lynn!!! miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Lynn: I have forwarded this thread to the General Manager for the Musical Instrument division at Ebay. Thanks, DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calfee Jones Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 That's a picture of you Lynn!! - Calfee Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Yeah, it has to be a fraud. Before noticed who started this threa, I looked at the Ebay link - and my first thought was "hmmm... I wonder if Lynn knows this guy is using his picture - I'll bet if he did, he'd be ticked off! Then I came back to the thread and noticed who started it... Sorry to hear the guy is doing something so underhanded. I hope he gets nailed for identity theft and fraud. Good luck Lynn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Lynn: Giles Cassells, GM of Musical Instruments at Ebay personally e-mailed me that he has walked this over to the Trust and Fraud division at Ebay. Hope that helps. Thanks, DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3D Audio Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Thanks for your effort Dendy. EA and I have been corresponding all day. It is unfortunate that people deal in this way, but just know that the two high bidders are EveAnna and Brad Blackwood, Audio_Buster, who has since retracted his bid. I contacted most of the sellers and sent them to my site for further details. 3D Summary of events Lynn Fuston 3D Audio Inc Home of 3dB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EveAnna Manley Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 More info here on Manley Labs eBay Fraud warning page Beware of.... http://www.manleylabs.com/eBaypages/BOGUS_SLAM_files/bogusebay.gif P.S. Why is that auction still up after nearly 12 hours after three or four complaints to eBay have been filed? I even faxed a VeRo complaint in this morning! And what happened to the Ranger-VeRo program? As a registered VeRo member, it used to be easy to make these things get yanked? EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs manleylabs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 I don't get it... even if it is a legitimate sale (Right! ), is the picture of you copyrighted? If it is only officially on your website, Lynn, I would think they would at least have yanked the picture right away after your complaint. Anyway... I'm willing to fly to London and inspect this SLAM! Of course, I'll need to take a close look at yours, for verification purposes only, Lynn. You understand, right? (BTW - I can be there in 20 minutes from work. ) It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave The Rave Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 What I don't understand is, when I go to the bids page, I can see all the bid amounts!? This isn't normal at all. Usually, all the bids are "sealed" until the end of the auction, and even then can only be seen by bidders and the seller. The more of these despicable crimes we uncover and expose, the better. Keep your eyes and ears open folks. :DTR Cambrian Guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Thanks for posting that, Lynn. Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EveAnna Manley Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 You can look on any auction live or completed with some or many bids and see all the amounts... Dave, pull up any auction on ebay and look again???? EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs manleylabs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3747208748 Original auction has been cancelled, but the guy relisted it - sans Lynn's picture. No reserve, bidding starting at GBP 299 (about $500). Yeah right - everyone sells thousands of dollars worth of gear with no reserve and starts the bidding at a few hundred bucks. EveAnna, they say in the "new" auction that they spoke Manley and that the warranty will apply to the winning bidder. He also lists a S/N. You might want to check on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EveAnna Manley Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Yeah Mr. Slammer-Scammer makes up EVERYTHING in his auction, even his non-existant contact address, his photos, serial number, EVERYTHING. Warranty? I cannot warranty a piece of gear that does not exist, namely serial number MMSLAM009A. Nor can I warrant a piece of $10,000 gear that someone *promised* to sell you for 299 GBP... on ebay... with bogus serial number, from England, after you paid by Western Union Money Order, and sent it to a non-existing postal address, to a non-existing person... who signed up for eBay the day he listed the auction... and claimed to be Lynn Fuston... and how many other reasons do we need here? That issue, (about the warranty claims) and all the other issues, are already addressed on Manley\'s eBay Fraud Warning Page which gallant bidder "BOGUS_Manley_DONT_BID"'s eBay "About Me" page takes you to.... plus I used that as a basis to write *several* letters to eBay and eBay's VeRo program about today (not that they did anything about it...) Anyway, Lynn, Brad Blackwood, and I have done all we can to prevent someone from being taken on this particular scammer today. Writing letters, posting to all these forums... answering emails... And hopefully raised the awareness about this type of thing a bit to our fellow recording gear pals. It seems some people are a little slow to spot these frauds, and all I can say is learn what goes on and wise up folks! There's tons of this stuff going on out there. Every Day! and NIGHT! With all gear! Be careful! And don't get taken by... http://www.manleylabs.com/eBaypages/BOGUS_SLAM_files/bogusebay.gif EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs manleylabs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoeditor1 Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Good detective work all around, and smart, prompt responses from EM. Are there designs in the works to make Ebay accounts more resilient to hacks? NYC Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 I'm pretty sure that this IS a scam/bogus auction... ...but I just don't see where the seller is specifically asking ONLY for payment via Western Union...??? I've looked at both the first listing and now at the re-listing...and I cant find ANY mention of specific payment...anywhere. Am I blind...??? Also...is there any one in/near London that could ask to meet the seller to inspect the unit before purchase or before payment??? I would think that the seller HAS to answer some of the emails...someone should try and see if this person is willing to meet. I just don't get it why he/she would knowingly continue to advertise an item with fake serial number and warranty AFTER he/she has been notified that people are questioning the validity. That's pretty stupid...IMO... "I know it's bogus...you know it's bogus...everyone knows its bogus... ...but I'll try and sell it anyway just so I can be caught." ..DUH???!!! miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Given that the seller relisted that the warranty card has not been sent in, it shouldn't be difficult for him to provide the buyer with the original receipt, provided it doesn't have his name on it. "proof" of purchase from an authorized outlet plus the warranty card and Manley would have no way of knowing this has been resold. (Perhaps the fake serial number was included to keep from "outing" the second buyer as the owner of a used piece of gear.) Given that he falsely claimed to be Lynn Fuston, I doubt my hypothesis is correct. He might simply have been trying to hype his sale, figuring he'd never meet the buyer. But I'd like to see him agree to meet a potential buyer before I change my belief that this a scam, plain and simple. EM - If I were the beautiful owner of a highly respected professional audio equipment manufacturer and I ran into this kind of obvious fraud, along with near inaction on the part of Ebay, I'd be writing some emails to whichever newsmagazine did or is currently working on a story about Ebay scams, cc'd to the Ebay fraud section of course. In the larger world Manley may be a tiny blip on the screen, but in the professional audio equipment manufacturing niche market I think it's fair to say you're.. well respected? Is that fair? There are two kinds of voices news magazines love to hear from on stories such as Ebay scams. The scammed innocents who have a juicy (if depressing) story to tell about the subject and people of integrity who try, inside and outside of the entity they're investigating, to keep those innocents from being taken in. Maybe then Ebay would show some diligence in their response. Sad it should work this way, but the point of all the above is that they can't dismiss this as a he said/she said and keep their noses out of it. Your assertation that the serial number does not exist suggests that Ebay should at least have demanded a picture of the actual serial number as proof. That would hardly be perfect, but at least it would show a desire to get to the truth. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techristian Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Yeah right - everyone sells thousands of dollars worth of gear with no reserve and starts the bidding at a few hundred bucks. I have seen this done sucessfully before. They will start the bidding at 1 cent for a BIGSCREEN TV and within a few days it quickly gets up to $1000. However a BIG SCREEN TV is a popular item. The Manley SLAM! is a specialty item. Dan http://drumlessonvideos.com TEACHMEDRUMS.COM My Music Videos RED PILL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3D Audio Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Originally posted by fantasticsound: EM - If I were the beautiful owner of a highly respected professional audio equipment manufacturer and I ran into this kind of obvious fraud, along with near inaction on the part of Ebay, I'd be writing some emails to whichever newsmagazine did or is currently working on a story about Ebay scams, cc'd to the Ebay fraud section of course. I have notified both EQ and ProSound News and there may be good reason for non-internet savvy people to be notified of this type of auction in print. I consider how small the percentage of studio owners/customers are active in these forums compared to the recording community at large. Maybe Mitch would be interested in running the story, I'll check. And Dendy, we're not getting very far with action on Ebay's part. The other auction ran until the owner cancelled it, in part to eliminate the bidding history I suspect. Since you have contacts, maybe you could "shake that tree" again for us. Lynn Fuston 3D Audio Inc Home of 3dB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EveAnna Manley Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Guys, You really cannot even try to believe that there is a glimmer of hope that that auction is legit. You just can't. THIS LEGIT AUCTION by a known customer in LA ended Monday 9/6. Photos are of HIS unit. Read the text. It says: "This is a two month old Manley SLAM. It is the Mastering Version....[edit]...The serial number is:MMSLAM006A. The warranty card hasn't even been filled out. I talked to Manley and the full 5 year warranty is valid for the new buyer. Comes with power supply, original shipping boxes, and manuel." (And YES I spoke with Moon, and NO he doesn't know how to spell "manual" as in "Owner's Manual".) Then magically as if all "several" (hint: we know where they all are) Mastering SLAM! owners around the world converged and agreed to sell their Mastering SLAM!s all at once, Monday 9/6 we get Mr. Fraudster's FIRST listing (archived on my website for your enjoyment) and then his relist auction here which also happens to be "This is a five month old Manley SLAM. It is the Mastering Version.The serial number is:MMSLAM009A. The warranty card hasn't even been filled out. I talked to Manley and the full 5 year warranty is valid for the new buyer. Comes with power supply, original shipping boxes, and manuel." So now it is three months OLDER with a non-existing three-serial-numbers-later serial number, using pictures of a regular SLAM!, and not just any one but the first proto unit that was sent to Lynn Fuston, using pictures from Lynn's site, his first auction using pictures of Lynn Fuston, and then in emails back to wondering bidders, he wrote this: "hello, Send me your full name and address for shipping and today i send the package via Ups Express.I max 36 hours you can to pick up the package only if you pay Euro 1800 via Western Union-money transfer.I close my auction for this price Euro 1800.Yes, i am in picture.I am very hurry ,because i want to buy a car and i need a money.My address is: JASON TRITT 56 ST ALBANS E166HQ, LONDON, UK" So he is claiming to be Lynn Fuston, and there is his claimed address. And isn't it amazing that a LONDON ZIP CODE would have these results on yahoo and google?: "We didn't find any Web pages matching the following criteria: Containing this query term: E166HQ" That's really something. And here is the info from the automated eBay contact member info address: User ID: seller_one28 Name: jason tritt Company: City: london State: London Country: United Kingdom Phone: 7335523658 Registered Since: Monday, Sep 06, 2004 02:25:42 PST You guys are *still* wondering about this guy? I think he has a bridge to sell you too! EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs manleylabs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Originally posted by EveAnna Manley: Guys, You really cannot even try to believe that there is a glimmer of hope that that auction is legit. You just can't. ....... You guys are *still* wondering about this guy? I think he has a bridge to sell you too!NOit's not the belief that there's any glimmer of hope that this guys is legit... ...but the disbelief... that with ALL that proof...he is still conducting business... ...why??? Shit...the hell with eBay...contact London police and have them investigate!!! You have enough proof and contact info. I just find it odd...probably stupid... ...that this guy would STILL be selling the unit...after it's been proven and pointed out to him...quite clearly...that EVERYONE knows about his scam. You would think that he would "lay low" instead of continuing with the auction...??? miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EveAnna Manley Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Well it is only because he am very hurry ,because he want to buy a car and he need a money. EveAnna Manley, Manley Labs manleylabs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Originally posted by EveAnna Manley: Guys, You really cannot even try to believe that there is a glimmer of hope that that auction is legit. You just can't...Until you posted the information in the rest of the above quoted post, I had no idea how he claimed to be Lynn. Only that you and others said that was the case. Without that information I could only fathom that you were probably right, EM. I'm not disputing what you've said. And Lynn, contacting Pro Sound News, etc. is futile. Only those who know better would ever read it. Contacting 60 Minutes or 20/20, etc... whichever has done or is doing a story on Ebay scams will give the best hope of reaching the general public in a meaningful way.. at least within the U.S. Even so, they only reach a small cross-section of people in the U.S., but it's a heck of a lot more effective than only hitting the trades with this info. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duddits Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 I recall that a year or so ago some bobo got his hands on an empty SLAM chassis and was selling it. He wasn't representing that you would get a real SLAM, but that you would get just the chassis and could rackmount it and thus impress people who would think you owned the real McCoy: "oh, yeah, we have a SLAM, although it's currently not working...." Of course, one possibly no one has considered is that Lynn has developed some sort of Sybil-esque Victor/Victoria-esque schizophrenic condition (an inevitable consequence of comparing hundreds of mic pres, converters, and other audio doo-dads over the years) and is actually selling these things as someone else pretending that he is himself. Dooby Dooby Doo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Originally posted by EveAnna Manley: Well it is only because he am very hurry ,because he want to buy a car and he need a money.Ha! I also need a money. Maybe I sell Les Paul. real one, with logo that fell off under accident. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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