Rebreathers on Ebay seem to attract a high number of scam artists.

There are a LOT of fake rebreather ads.  Particularly LAR-V ads.  It seems to me that 90 percent or more of LAR ads are fraudulent

Below are some guidelines that help spot fakes.

If you find these helpful to you, please take half a second to hit the "yes" button at the bottom.  If there is a tip here that I forgot, please email me, and I will add it to this article.  If you are a scam artist, by all means, hit "No" at the bottom of this page, because you and I are natural enemies, and I don't want any charity from you.

If you have a question about a specific ad, I will answer your email, but I will NOT give you my opinion as to whether or not an individual ad is bogus, just some factors about it that may help you make up your own mind. If I said an ad was fake, I could be suspended from Ebay, even if it is a total scam.  I also will not be posting which ads are suspect on this guide, there are just too many of them now.

Ebay has been doing a better job recently of policing this subject, and they have a staff to look into it, so if you believe an ad is fake, click the 'report item' link at the bottom and report it to them.

The classic tactics used by these sellers are fairly easy to spot for anyone who cares to look:

* Hiding bidders identity- this prevents other ebayers from warning victims

*Requiring buyers to be pre-qualified.- Once you contact them, they offer you such a deal Any attempt to have you email them should be suspect. Go ahead, email them.  If they offer you an off line deal, report them, they are scammers.

* Short auction, 1-5 days- harder for Ebay to find and kick out.

*Zero or low feedback-as with all auctions. Not necessarily the case, though, see below.

*Re-used photo/text- seen it before? only has stock photos?

*Odd payment- only accepts untracable methods of payment.

*Wrong category- lazy scammer check his other listings. Does he have a lot of high end stuff with similar listing characteristics?  

*Really, really good deal- Even on ebay, if it seems too good...

Recently, scammers have been hijacking the accounts of honest ebayers.  Typically, they use an account that has not been active for some time.  In general, if you see such an account,  check what the person normally sells.  If the data is too old, click on some of the other merchants they deal with. Do they sell stuff similar to what a YBOD diver might buy or sell? 

Rarely does a single sign mean the ad is a scam, but the more signs you see, the more sure you can be.  If in the end, you cannot be sure, don't bid more than paypal will cover, or more than you can afford to throw away.  

Remember, you do not have to get this one. On Ebay, no matter how unique it seems, there will be another one along sooner or later.