Many months have passed since I wrote the first guide on this subject back in May, and these thieves, scammers, and con artists, are still out there in force selling like crazy. Several other very good guides have recently been written on these crooks, so I’ll try not to ramble too much. Unfortunately, not enough buyers are aware of the situation and they are still buying from these sleaze balls. Ebay is sitting back, fat dumb and happy, collecting their fees and doing little to stop them. They don’t seem to understand that these guys hurt everyone including buyers, sellers, and ultimately Ebay itself.

These guys are not difficult to spot. I cannot overemphasize how important it is to LOOK AT FEEDBACK before buying. If someone, in the past, has only bought ladies shoes, designer jeans, etc. and is suddenly listing 35+ brand new Shure mics, wake up! Go shopping somewhere else. With the situation as it is, I would recommend only buying from an authorized Shure dealer. There are also little pet phrases you can watch for from these overseas crooks that are hijacking US accounts. Here are a few:

“to worldwide: 3-5 days (I can afford tracking number).“

“You will never have to worry about the authenticity of products . Be assured that all of the photos you're looking are representative of what you will receive.”

“All items are sent By EMS Special Delivery, which offers next working day delivery, Tracking number will be sent once item has shipped. Please allow 5-7 business days for tracking number.”

Huh? Is he saying you will get your package the next day, but you have to wait a week after that to get the tracking number? This next one is my favorite:

“And the "buy it now "buyer who had better to pay it fastly ,when the item was ended .please send the payment to my paypal account ! !”

Ok, so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. Just stay away from anything suspicious. If you don’t want to spring for the dealers price for a Shure mic, buy one of the legitimate Shure knockoffs that are out there. They are cheap, they are honest enough to admit what they are, and some of them are pretty good.

I understand these scammers are also selling fake brand name designer handbags, sunglasses, and who knows what else. Don’t get me started. I waste too much time playing Ebay cop on the mics. Since Ebay has little interest in stopping these guys, it may be time for some vigilante action. Several people are doing this now. Set up an Ebay account for the sole purpose to bid on or use buy it now for these fake auctions. Use a name that is an obvious tip off. Bid and buy like crazy but, of course, don’t pay. There is nothing they can do. They are using hijacked accounts. Let’s all work together to put these crooks out of business.