Beware of late night laptop scams

This guide is meant to be educate newer users and non laptop experts on the different types of late night eBay scams.  Even sellers with high feedback may occasionally indulge in these dubious transactions.   Late night or early morning is usually between 11PM PDT to 5AM PST, especially on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday (meaning from 11PM PST Sunday to 5AM PST Monday).   Many target the bargain hunter with limited resources,  who might be new to Ebay,  or not paying with PayPal, and not technically savvy,  and non-technical.   It upsets me when people target the vulnerable.  The types of scams, or near scams I've observed:

1. One day auctions for ancient hardware that NEVER describe the type of processor or the model number, but only the brand and the fact that a wireless card is included with the "antique" to make it internet ready.  These laptops are often 6-10 years old, e.g. Dell laptops with 266 MHz Pentium II processors. Typical title are "DELL WIRELESS LAPTOP NOTEBOOK WiFi DSL CABLE READY WOW!" - you can search for the title.   Frequently, the description's item specifics are also left blank, and one has to dig through the text to figure out the actual speed and RAM.   Very smart way to scam the poor and non technically savvy.  Even if the person was aware of researching via "Completed Items", it is tough to do so without a readily apparent model number, or one that's hidden under 5000 words of description.

2. Foreign sellers, especially from the UK and Canada with deals that appear to be too good to be true, who make their products available to the US.   Sometimes, the item isn't even a laptop but is listed under laptops rather than accessories, aimed at those who don't bother reading thoroughly.  
Did you know that Ebay's shipping policy  states that:

"For cross border transactions, sellers may not collect tariffs and duties. However, buyers maybe responsible for actual, applicable tariffs, and duties as requested by respective country laws."

Hence do not buy anything for a seller who wants to charge additional fees for customs and tariff.

3. There are probably too many scammers for Ebay to police, so virtually every late night, a $500 laptop goes for over $5000 to a foreign buyer with 0 feedback with a new account.  Usually by the time it shows up in "Completed Items", the buyer is no longer registered.   Typical scam countries are Nigeria, Indonesia, Phillipines, China, and Malaysia.
Try this search for "completed laptops over $5000 sorted by highest price ".  Then check out the so-called winner's feedback.   Possible reasons are:

• Seller is innocent - buyer is out to get the seller's contact information.  Did you know that a valid e-mail address and address can be sold for $25 to $100 to marketing companies and criminals?
• the seller is in cahoots with the buyer, or the same person.  Sellers get to see all the bidders e-mail addresses for 14 days ( will double-check on that duration).
• to prevent a competitor from selling a similar model, by inflating the price so much that other buyers will gravitate towards the competition.
• both sellers and buyers are using a hijacked buyer account, to transfer large sums of money.
  

In summary, be aware of the scams above when buying laptops in the wee hours of the night on eBay.
If you learned something new from this guide, please give a positive vote.  Take care and be happy and safe while shopping.