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SUMMARY: This GUIDE will give you seven (7) hints about how to buy Baltimore Ravens PSLs and Season Tickets safely: (1) NEVER buy PSLs or season tickets from anybody outside the USA, (2) NEVER pay by Western Union, (3) ALWAYS try to meet the seller in person, if possible, (4) ALWAYS verify the seller's PSL ownership with the Ravens, (5) ALWAYS ask the seller questions if you have any, (6) NEVER click on an embedded email link from a prospective seller EVEN if the email looks like it was sent through eBay, and (7) ALWAYS be skeptical of any Second Chance Offers that you receive.

GUIDE TO BUYING RAVENS SEASON TICKETS AND PSLS SAFELY: We've been using eBay to deal in Baltimore Ravens Permanent Seat Licenses (PSLs) since 1998.  Unfortunately, as time passes and these licenses become more valuable, we've noticed an unusually high number of scammers out there who CLAIM that they have PSLs or season tickets to sell but in reality just want to take your money.  If you are in the market for Baltimore Ravens PSLs or season tickets, here are some tips to keep in mind BEFORE you cast your bid on a PSL/season ticket auction:

1.  LOOK AT THE ITEM LOCATION!  AND NEVER ATTEMPT TO BUY PSLS (OR SEASON TICKETS) FROM ANYBODY WHO CLAIMS TO BE LOCATED OUT OF THE U.S.A.  The vast majority of scammers claim to be located in either England or Italy, although a rare few also claim to be located elsewhere.  Here is the reality: while it may be theoretically possible for a European to own Ravens PSLs or season tickets, I monitor the PSL/ticket market closely and I have NEVER personally seen even one situation where such a sale proved to be legitimate.  You'd best avoid such sellers like the plague.

2.  NEVER DEAL WITH ANY SELLER WHO REQUIRES YOU TO PAY FOR PSLS OR SEASON TICKETS USING WESTERN UNION.  Virtually every scammer I've seen insists on payment by Western Union ONLY.  Why?  Because Western Union transactions are virtually untraceable.  This means that once the scammer gets your Western Union payment, you're likely never going to see the scammer or your money again.  Which leads me to . . .

3.  THE SAFEST WAY TO BUY PSLS (OR SEASON TICKETS) IS FOR YOU (the Buyer) TO INSIST ON MEETING THE SELLER IN PERSON AT M&T BANK STADIUM (in BALTIMORE) TO CONDUCT THE TRANSACTION IN PERSON AS A CASH-IN-HAND DEAL.  BEFORE you bid on any season ticket/PSL auction, ALWAYS ask the Seller if he is willing to meet with you in person (preferably, at the stadium) to do the deal as a cash transaction.  The Ravens even have a notary on staff at the stadium offices who can notarize the seller's PSL transfer form AND personally verify that the seller actually owns the PSLs BEFORE you hand over your cash to the seller.  I recognize that sometimes meeting in person is difficult, especially if the seller is legitimately located out of town.  Nevertheless, if YOU can get down to the stadium, then such an arrangement should be your goal.  If the seller says he cannot meet you down there, ask him if he can send his notarized PSL transfer form to one of his friends or family members who live in Baltimore, and perhaps have that individual meet you down at the stadium to accept your cash.  If the Seller refuses to meet with you in person, and also claims he has no friends/family members he trusts in Baltimore, be VERY wary of completing the deal.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't do the deal; I'm only saying that you should proceed very carefully, which leads me to . . .

4.  ALWAYS CONTACT THE RAVENS OFFICES TO VERIFY THE SELLER'S OWNERSHIP OF THE SEATS BEFORE YOU GIVE THE SELLER EVEN ONE CENT (AND PREFERABLY BEFORE YOU EVEN BID)! If the Seller has agreed to meet with you at the stadium if you win his auction, then verifying his ownership of the seats is a very easy thing to do; the Ravens' on-staff notary will do this for you while you wait.  But if the Seller refuses or cannot meet you at the stadium, then you should ALWAYS require the Seller to provide you with his contact information BEFORE you pay ANYTHING (and, preferably, before you even bid!).  At a BARE minimum, the Seller ought to provide you with the Section and Row location for the seats, the full name on the Ravens PSL account, his contact telephone number (NOT a pager number!), and the city and state where he is located.  (You should also ask the Seller for the precise seat numbers, the complete street address for the account, and an actual land-line telephone number, although some Sellers are understandably hesitant to give out this information to strangers, even their high bidders.)  Once you have the section/row locations, and Seller's name and city/state in hand, you can call the Ravens offices and they will verfiy ownership for you:  410-261-RAVE (7283).  (Because they are concerned about fraud also, on occasion the Ravens front offices have even agreed to privately contact the registered owner of the seats to make sure that they are really for sale.) 

5.  ALWAYS ASK THE SELLER WHY THEY ARE SELLING THEIR PSLS/SEASON TICKETS; AND IF THEIR STORY SOUNDS SUSPICIOUS, IT PROBABLY IS A SCAM.  Most scammers are not very creative and -- since most of them are located out of the country -- they tend to know nothing about American football.  If the Seller says he moved to Europe (or wherever), don't be afraid to ask him a question or two about the team.  (Isn't Kyle Boller having a great year?, is one of my favorites to ask.  If the Seller says yes, then I know he's a scammer!)  If the Seller says he's selling the tickets for somebody else who is incapacitated, ask for a copy of the Power of Attorney papers.  In other words, if something seems unusual about the Seller's story, then ASK QUESTIONS before you buy.

6.  NEVER CLICK ON AN EMBEDDED LINK IN AN EMAIL, EVEN IF THAT EMAIL LOOKS LIKE IT CAME FROM EBAY!   This is not really a PSL tip; it is more like an eBay tip.  Sometimes scammers send out fake emails that LOOK like they came from eBay, but really didn't.  Instead of clicking on the 'yellow (reply) button' embedded in the email, INSTEAD ALWAYS log on your eBay account DIRECTLY by going to eBay's homepage first.  If the email was really sent through eBay, a copy of it will be in your eBay mailbox (which you will find on your My eBay page).

7.  BE VERY SKEPTICAL OF SECOND CHANCE OFFERS THAT YOU RECEIVE.  Some of these are legitimate, of course, but some are not -- and a number of PSL scammers send out fake Second Chance Offers.  Here is how this scam usually works: The scammer looks at the bid history of SOMEBODY ELSE'S PSL/season ticket auction, and makes note of the under-bidders' eBay usernames.  The scammer then FABRICATES a fraudulent email to make it LOOK like a legitimate Second Chance Offer and send it via email to you.  As above, if you receive a Second Chance Offer and want to respond to it, the ONLY safe way to do so is by first logging on to eBay DIRECTLY (www.ebay.com), then finding the offer on your My eBay page.  If you can't find it there, it was very possibly a scam.

As they used to say on Hill Street Blues, BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.  And if you have any info to add to this Guide, please email us and let us know.  Our goal is to make eBay a safer environment for everybody.  Thanks.