It is the most popular handheld music system in the world, the iPod. So it should come as no surprise to know that the scam artists are creatively at work trying to hatch schemes for duping people out of their money on eBay. Here is a short guide as to what to look out for.

The Pyramids Are Not Just in Eygpt
A search for 'ipod' on eBay currently yields about 87,000 results - now that's a lot of sales and auctions to weed through to get to what you are looking for. You must be very careful of the pyramid-style schemes still very much alive and well on eBay. eBay is still currently swamped with "matrix"  schemes which claim to offer drastic discounts like $20-$40 for an iPod is you participate in buyers club. Remember to look for a disclaimer stating they are not selling the actual iPod. The bidder is told not to bid on the item to are directed to external sites which offer iPods as free gifts for buying such items as CD's, eBooks, etc - Do not for a second have anything to do with these scams. You will never qualify for the free merchandise because the structure of the scam does not allow you to. Part of what is asked of you is to recruit new member, and makes mandatory a certain number of new recruits to qualify for free merchandise.

The 'Ipod' is in the Mail...

KSDK News out of St. Louis reported that a couple made over $40,000 selling iPods that never shipped. $40,000, now that's a lot of iPods. The moral of the story - look for SOLID feedback and do not buy from a new of fledging seller - now this might seem like common sense advice, but common sense, and I am guity of this as well, goes out the window when one becomes drunk on the idea of getting something very sought after, for a very low price. The seller feedback is everything. If you see neutral feedback, or even POSITIVE Feedback that is less than favorable (some people are afraid to leave true negative feedback out of fear of retaliation). Look for the negative feedback nestled in a positive feedback - a few extra minutes analyzing feedback can make all the difference.

Reconditioned Condition
The very first thing to look for in an iPod auction is the word "Reconditioned" - generally you will find it in the small print in the very last sentence or paragraph of an auction. Best thing to do is soon as the page loads go up to the top of your browser - click on Edit, then click on 'Find on the Page' and then type in "Recondition" - if it is there, you will find it in an instant. If Recondition is not your cup of tea, this is a quick way to move on to the new stuff. If you are thinking about buying reconditioned, be careful about your purchase. Make sure it comes with a MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY. Also remember that refurbished means that someone possessed this item, and returned it for one reason or another. Though many are factory refurbished, some are just "refurbished" at the point of sale. Make sure that the refurbished item is FACTORY sealed...and with refurbished iPods make sure to watch the SHIPPING COSTS - if it is calculated shipping costs, always run your zip code through it - you'd be surprised how much it can cost to ship a 13 ounce product when sellers pack on extra costs.

I hope these few tips assist you in making an informed purchase on eBay. Good deals are abound, but so are the scammers.

Safe Bidding Everyone,

MSRS_ONLINE