Okay, people, this is NOT difficult.

Almost every scam I have seen and REPORTED (yes you should report them too!!!) says "E-mail me first, do not bid" or "E-mail me for a Buy It Now" for 300.00 or whatever the price. Many actually come right out and say "DO NOT BID on this item" until you have e-mailed some e-mail in the text.

It is ALWAYS a SCAM, the reason that we KNOW that is because eBay does not ALLOW sellers to do Buy It Now without listing on the actual auction, okay???  And they DON'T allow people to sell their items OFF e-Bay for a stated price, DUHH.

Let's try to use some common sense, when a $1,000.00 item is offered through e-mail ONLY at 400.00 Buy It Now, do YOU THINK it is for real??

The reason they do it is because they KNOW that two or three people will send them the money direct through Pay-Pal, or through Western Union, without thinking clearly, because greed runs amok!

So when it says do not bid, e-mail me first, what is it?  A SCAM. What seller in their right MIND would tell you not to bid on their item?? (the seller who has hijacked an account, and cannot collect the money if you pay through e-bay, that's who! Why else would they never list a Buy It Now price, because pay-pal and e-Bay have VERY strict requirements for that option, and because the account is probably registered to someone else, and they cannot get to the money if you bid and then pay!!! )

I have been selling on e-bay for YEARS and NO seller would EVER EVER tell you straight out not to bid.

Use your common sense, and don't get scammed, I don't care what the item is, if they say DO NOT BID, or please e-mail me for a BUY IT NOW, you are going to buy an item that DOES NOT EXIST!!

If you INSIST that you are going to look at this type of auction, you are going to get ripped off. The other tells are:

1. Listed in wrong category
2. Seller lives in US and is asking for payment in Euros, etc.. or vice-versa
3. Claims to have Buy It Now for a ridiculous price
4. No Buy It Now price in the actual auction.
5. Idiotically long descriptions
6. Tons of pictures (they cost money!)
7. Feedback from the seller's previous sales shows they haven't sold in months, or years, and when they did, they sold clothing items, or books.
8. Words like "send me your informations" and other reasonably obvious signs that this is a foreigner ("biding", "e-mal", "loking", bad grammar, etc)
9. Check their other items, they almost always have a Canon EOS, several laptops, and other high-end electronics, again, look at the sellers completed items, note they are a BOOK seller.
10. Remember, these are nearly always 1 day auctions, sometimes 3, but never 5, 7 or 10 days, which any NORMAL seller will tell you gives more people more time to find and bid on their items!!
11. If you are still unsure, ask seller a question, through the correct E-BAY link on the top right of the listing, when you don't hear back, or get a totally confused sounding response, that should help you decide.
12. Check through site map/find members to see where the person registered, and compare it to where they say the item is located.
13. WHATEVER YOU DO, do not write to the e-mail in the text, you will at minimum get spammed by every pornographer around, and may get taken because all e-mails give out the IP address of the person who sent it.

Please do not let GREED make you another victim!