Recently I considered the purchase of an entry level older Airstream trailer. To my suprise a VERY high percentage were scam ads. Some days EVERY new ad in my interest range was a scam. I have noticed what I feel to be a common trend on these scam ads and would like to share my thoughts. Almost all were three day ads..less time for the scammers to be exposed. They had low starting bids with no reserve or buy it now features. The meat of the ad is copied and will look great. Go straight to the bottom of the ad.  You will be told not to bid. If you do you will be reported to ebay and given a negative. You can only buy the item with a buy in now. ALL of the above are violations of ebay policy. Many are hi-jacked accounts from ebayers with a good feedback rating. The ads will use the private bidder feature to prevent bidders from being told the ad is a scam. Research the seller feedback. If on hundreds of auctions the seller never used a private bidders feature and only changed on this auction it is a scam. What has the seller sold. If the seller has sold 500 beanie babies and is now offering Corvettes and Airstreams it is a scam. Look at the other items offered by the seller. If there are many underpriced expensive items..usually free shipping..and stories how the contact the seller feature of ebay is not functioning and to only contact them by email..it is a scam. Often times they will run the same item a number of times under different accounts. Go to completed sales. Often you will find the original proper sale they copied or will find the same ad under a different seller name that is simply marked item no longer available. That means they got busted and ebay pulled the ad, but there is a good chance it will be running again shortly. What can you do. Never contact them. At the bottom of the ad is a report the item to ebay feature. A scam buyer tried to take advantage of a friend by buying a $1,000 item and offering to send a cashiers check for $2,000. My friend was to return $1,000 by wire. My friend played him along for weeks...got the phoney money orders and all the guys contact info and went to the FBI. The Feds told him they would do nothing. Said they lacked the manpower and that foreign governments were not cooperating. Do not look for much help from ebay or your local authorities. The scammers are being given a free ride and know it. All the law and ebay will say is Buyer Beware. When in doubt DO NOT BID OR CONTACT!!!!!

Always report suspicious ads to ebay thru the report this item feature. I also report their email address to their internet provider and identify them as scammers. Write a guide. Call Giff. Do something. Ebay and the law are reactive. Be proactive before these cads destroy the internet.