Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: evilgus on August 07, 2005, 04:01:32 AM
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Hey guys, I've seen this bass mentioned various times before on the forum, but is it really up for sale?
ALEMBIC Series II Custom 5 String Bass Guitar Coco Bolo
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7341831460&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7341831460&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT)
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Justin; your hunch is correct; see .
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I warned the current bidder and invited him to visit the Alembic Club.
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Have you also noticed that there is no reserve price? Would the real owner authorize such a risky venture on such an incredible and expensive bass?
If someone knows the real owner, could they please have him notify eBay of this scam, before vulnerable bidders overseas get taken for an ugly ride?
Thanks. It's good to have such support for Alembic's good name and product.
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Hi Bill, I also sent Ross a heads up for which he replied thanks to all who have emailed him. Hats off to the members who provide the info to expose these miscreants. I also emailed the seller a little KMA love note.
Stay Low,
Gary
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if you go back to the original thread from the initial offering of this bass, you'll find the alleged seller, jeff, is listed on his forum profile as a deputy attorney general in new jersey. the seller in this latest ad, as in the orginal ad which i think we all believe is fraudulent, is a zero seller/buyer named clara in florida. also, am i the only one who can see the bidding is in australian dollars? ladies and gentlemen, in the midwest i believe this is known as a missouri boat ride.
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I'm confused. Are you doubtful that Jeff, a long-time club member did not sell this bass in the first place? My understanding is that copycats have repeatedly hijacked the images, etc from Jeff's ad to list bogus auctions for the instrument. But not that the initial sale was anything other than Jeff presented to us in his original post on June 30 ().
I totally agree that the most recent auction is not even a good attempt to flim flam. Australian $ auction for goods held in Miami (I used to be in banking in Miami. It is the fraud capital of the universe.). All that with a -0- feedback seller? I can't believe anyone is actually foolish or naive enough to bid on this auction. Both bids are by the same Australian party with only 6 feedbacks (and an Ebay member only since February '05). Sounds like it could be a compatriate.
Bill
(Message edited by bassman10096 on August 07, 2005)
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Hey Pat, I love the sound of a Missouri boat ride. Is that where they hit you in the head with a paddle? I hear Clara has a slightly used Russian sub for sale as well. I'm gonna bid with Confederate dollars. Maybe then I can meet her in Missouri and take her,him, it, whatever, for a ride. Man,these maroons really get my panties in a bunch. OOPS! did I print that out loud? OK, I'm gonna go carry an SVT up and down the stairs a couple times. That's how annoying this stuff is. Keep up the good work.
Mad in Michigan,
Gary
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The Conquerer is supposedly available worldwide. Since the only current bidder is in Australia, could it be that eBay's system in Australia is assigning Australian currency demoninations to that bidder?
What's sad is that unsuspecting bidders could be giving this bogus seller their prequalifying financial information. Could this be more about identity or account theft than scamming for the actual bid money? Maybe both.
This seller appears to be representing her/himself as the agent for the sale, using a legitimate eBay trading assistant logo. Auction Cafe is located in New Jersey, not Miami. Also, the auction was conveniently started just after LA's weekend started, giving the pseudo-seller a head start before businesses open Monday morning.
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Bill;
I think Patrick was only pointing out that while Jeff is from New Jersey, Clara is from Florida.
Also, I received an email from the bidder, that I posted to the original thread at his request, which indicates that he is an innocent victim.
Finally, I'm thinking the reason the bid is shown in Australian dollars is that perhaps the listing was made to Ebay Australia. If you go to ebay.com.au and search for Alembic, this listing is the only one that comes up. This would also explain why someone from Australia might bid on it. If you live in Australia, you are more likely to search ebay.com.au, and Alembics are a bit rare on ebay.com.au; this bass is the only current listing.
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Dave: Thanks for the clarification. And I suspect you are right about the seller selecting ebay.au as a good place to shop for victims. If Ross is interested in an Alembic, it's a shame he got sucked into this mess. If he cancels his bid using any of the reasons Ebay lets you give - I think he is reasonably assured the seller will not bother him about it. Here's hoping he can find a legit Alembic for himself (Mr. Burgess: Is this your cue?).
Patrick: Sorry I jumped you on this. I hadn't read the two threads as carefully as I thought. As someone who relies on Ebay as a trading forum, this continuing trainwreck is frustrating to see. Missouri boat ride puts it both colorfully and very well. I just hope nobody winds up getting mugged before this is over.
I wish Ebay could do something to stop the continued listing of items that have proven to be questionable until a seller gives an adequate and verifiable account of their ownership.
Bill
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Bill, thanks - Ross has withdrawn his bid. I have offered assistance to find a legit Alembic.
David B.
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Just got an email back from the real Auction Cafe, who confirmed that this is indeed hijacked. He had already informed eBay, and was surprised that it has taken eBay so long to pull the listing. As of a few minutes ago, the Conqueror was still active on the US eBay site.
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Just looked at the listing and all of the pictures now have SCAM written all over them.
Keith
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Wow! Now that's interesting!
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Yeah! wonder who did that, and how.
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I'm sure the scammer just used links to the pics stored at auction-cafe. So auction-cafe edited the pics...
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I don't know about anyone else, but I really like the way the ad looks right now...
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I just got another email from Auction Cafe. He told me that he was able to access the listing, since it was his account that was hijacked. Actually, the scammer lifted the entire listing description and photos, which is why it sounded and looked so good and professional. He was able to alter the photos to warn potential bidders...hope the scammer sees them, too.
He thanked us for the heads up. He was discouraged that eBay still hasn't removed the listing, fairly long after being notified. Scary that eBay is so ineffective about this serious violation.
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I also thought the listing was dodgy for such a high ranking bass. I had sent 2 emails to the seller asking for information and got no response so I decided not to bother.
However I am still looking for a 6string alembic, series or signature electronics preferably. Although I did hear an elan and I was amazed how great it sounded. If you are UK based and selling let me know. I'm a bit wary of purchasing abroad and having it shipped over.
Bass-ic
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appreciate the apologies. i merely referred to jeff as the alleged seller and no further implications could be drawn from my carefully worded statements. there were clear indicators, if you went back to jeff's original post and reasons for selling, that whether or not jeff was the seller behind this auction, something was fishy about a clara offering it for sale in florida and w/o no reserve. even though i only own 2 alembics and they are not particularly expensive ( a spoiler and a persuader vector), and being far from an expert, this is not the way you would sell a bass of this remarkable character. btw, as i've mentioned before, i was an assistant criminal district attorney here in san antonio for 5 years. that and 20 years of practicing criminal defense (25 years of criminal law practice, total)gives me a pretty good nose for b.s. and fraud when i smell it. as we criminal lawyers often say to our clients, you can't bullshit a bullshitter.
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sorry. my post should have read, w/o reserve. how embarrassing!
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The Roman Conqueror almost seems to have taken on a life of its own. As I said before, this bass already has a compelling story; and it grows by the week. Oh, does anyone know if it ever actually sold?
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Hey guys I eventually got a reply to my emai.
I've included the contents here for your analysis :-)
My original question to the buyer was
Do you accept payment via paypal and also what is the
shipping cost to UK ?
Cheers
Reply is :
'+++++
Hello and sory for the delay,
I received your email regarding my ALEMBIC Series II Custom 5 String Bass Guitar Coco Bolo.
The bass guitar is in perfect condition.The price with shipping included, is $4,200.00 AUS.?
Shipping will be done with UPS and will take no more then 2-3 days.
All the history of my guitar is in english.
The product is in Europe,Greece and it will be shipped from here on my expense.
The most important thing in all my activity here is that I am affiliated at Ebay Square Trade.
And if you are agree,please reply with your name and shipping adress in your next mail for send them your personal dates necessary for the purchase.
I will wait for your email to let me know if you are interested in knowing more details about the purchase.
Thank you
Clara Lyons
?
?
?
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Regarding the auction not being cancelled, it is possible that ebay will let the auction end and have a law enforcement agency be the top bidder in order to identify and prosecute the individual.
(Message edited by son_of_magni on August 08, 2005)
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It's baaack. This time without the altered pictures.
I know: let's all sign this person up to as many spam/scam e-mail sites as we can in the next several days! The seller's email address is clara29red@inbox.com (mailto:clara29red@inbox.com). Let's have some fun! :-)
Dr. J
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i keep reading all the postings and i'm confused. i am constantly viewing the auction, and it's still going on. also, on my browser at least, the pics of the bass do not have scam written over them. how is it possible i'm seeing unedited pics and others are seeing scam printed over the pics?
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Her e-mail to Jazzyvee says the bass is in Greece but the e-bay listing says it's in Miami. She can't even keep straight a simple thing like what continent it's in. Sheesh.
Rich
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Patrick,
Looks like someone re-altered the pictures. Earlier today they had been modified to say SCAM all over them. I assume it was the Auction Cafe since their account had been hijacked by the perpatrator.
Keith
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Hi every one, I'm new here. I do not own an Alembic, but I've been dreaming of owning a Series Bass for a very long time.
I have been druling over the ALEMBIC Series II Custom on Ebay, it's killer!! BTW the listing is still active as of 7:25 P.M. c.s.t. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7341831460&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7341831460&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT) The listing looks very strange to me, a bass worth over $30k (new) with no reserve, owner is in Flordia yet they ask for Aus. currency hmmmmm I'm sure it's a scam, if it looks to good to be true.........................
As the listing on Ebay said, contact the owner to be added to the authorized bidding list, so I did. All the owner has of mine is my email addy. After a couple of days, the supposed owner of the bass emailed me. This is what they said.
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Hello and sory for the delay,
I received your email regarding my ALEMBIC Series II Custom 5 String Bass Guitar Coco Bolo.
The bass guitar is in perfect condition.The price with shipping included, is $4,200.00 AUS.
Shipping will be done with UPS and will take no more then 2-3 days.
All the history of my guitar is in english.
The product is in Europe,Greece and it will be shipped from here on my expense.
The most important thing in all my activity here is that I am affiliated at Ebay Square Trade.
And if you are agree,please reply with your name and shipping adress in your next mail for send them your personal dates necessary for the purchase.
I will wait for your email to let me know if you are interested in knowing more details about the purchase.
Thank you
Clara Lyons
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I've emailed Clara Lyons back and asked for more details about purchasing the bass.........IF........ I hear back I will post the reply here for all to see.
on another note (no pun intended :-), I have a few questions about the Series I & Series II Basses. Unfortunately all I can afford is a used one at this time. Where should I post my questions?
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I like Karl's suggestion. Interpol no doubt has a team en route as we type.
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Hi Brian; welcome to the group! You can post general questions about Series basses in the Alembic Basses & Guitars section. Also, check out the FAQ and Must Reads section too.
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someone needs to get a hold of Jeff and have him contact ebay about the fraudulent listing of his bass,before someone gets ripped off big time! I send a message to ebay listing the item # 7341831460
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Brian, welcome to the club and good luck to you in your search for an Alembic.
This thread and the related ones are a good example of why you should investigate things here on the club. The person doing this listing of the Roman Conquerer is making a pretty clumsy attempt at it. However, some people are fairly clever. Not much gets by the collective membership here.
Good to see someone from Wpg on here. I have many good memories of the few months I spent there in the early '70s.
Rich
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Thanks for the warm welcome!!
davehouck thanks, I'll post my questions tomorrow
richbass939 glad you liked Winnipeg when you were here, you must have been here in the summer, winters are brutal here.
Well it didn't take long to hear back from Clara Lyons. This is the reply I received.
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From: Clara Lyons
Hello,
As i told you before this guitar will come from Greece on my expense!
Also, I have to let you know that I want the payment priori shipping since I will ship it in the same day or next day the payment is complete .
For the moment I can only accept a wire transfer as a payment method and the fastest is Western Union.Also,you have nothing to worry about because this deal will be done in a secure way if you prefer.
The most important thing in all my activity here is that I am affiliated at Ebay Square Trade , I have a purchase protection account for 10,000$ and I assume you know what this means.
How you are protected by Square Trade,in case we have a deal:
1) If you will not receive the guitar as i described to you,although this is not the case,Square Trade will refund you with 100% from the whole amount which you paid me.Even in case you will not receive the guitar,they will refund you the money.
2) You can send the money to my name and address but you will not give me the details from the payment.You will give the details to Square Trade.They will verify the payment and if is OK,if the money exist and are available under my name they will notify me to proceeder with the shipping.After you receive and see that the guitar is the one you want,you just notify Square Trade to forward me the payment details in order for me to pick up my money.
Let me know if this is OK with you,so that we can move forward with this deal! To let Square Trade know about our deal i need your full name,full shipping address and your ebay user id and they will contact you shortly!
To not make a confusion please send me your details in this mode:
Ebay USER ID:.............
Full name:............
Address:..............
Zip code:...........
City:.............
State:...........
Country:...........
I'm waiting for your reply asap
Thank you
Clara Lyons
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If she where in the Square Trade program, it would be indicated on her profile page; and unless I overlooked it, that doesn't appear to be the case. And short of sending cash in the mail, Western Union is probably the riskiest method of closing an Ebay transaction. As someone else mentioned earlier, this person appears sloppy, and probably has jail time in her future, if not for Ebay fraud, then for some other activity in the tragedy that must be her life.
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i think you're absolutely on the mark, dave. however, i think you're wrong about one thing. i'd give 20 to 1 odds that this clara isn't even a woman. probably a guy posing as a woman to make id even more difficult---another layer of deception to throw people off the track of the real attempted thief.
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I wonder if clara reads the Alembic posts.
Since the Conqueror is still listed, I hope that Karl is right about tracking down this criminal. What other reason would eBay have for leaving this fraudulent listing active? I sure hope law enforcement of some type is involved here. Has anyone forwarded Clara's replies to eBay's enforcement people, whoever they may be?
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The only way eBay will pull this listing is if Jeff files a complaint about his images being stolen. I noticed the seller changed the picture source so the words SCAM have been removed.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/395/20270.jpg)
(Message edited by longhorncat on August 09, 2005)
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Well, Auction Cafe was the actual seller of Jeff's bass; and they have indeed been making substantial efforts to have Ebay remove the listing, so far with no success, only the we'll look into it response.
Oh and by the way; Mike at Auction Cafe asked that I let everyone here know how much they appreciate our efforts, and he would like to make clear that only the listing was copied and that Auction Cafe's account was not compromised.
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I've just seen this thread. When I saw the bass listed a couple of hours after it was put up, I thought it smelled bad, and emailled the bidder (Ross), and Auction cafe.
Never got to see the hacked pix with 'scam' on them, which would have given me a good chuckle, but I've just looked and the auction has been removed.
If you're going to try to perpetrate a scam on a high end bass, a bit of research will show that Alembic enthusiasts are a small, discriminating community and news of it would spread fast (which it did!) especially for such an expensive and unique instrument.
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Hooray!
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It always amazes me that people will choose such unique and instantly recognizable instruments to perpetrate these schemes. There must be a million identical looking strats out there that people would pay gobs for, and they choose a triple Omega S-2 Alembic with custom inlays and upgrades. Sure, go for the big score, but come on, use some brains.
Hey, I got the Mona Lisa for sale, really . . .
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I apologize for being so late to respond to this thread as this is the first time I have seen it! First, the bass has been sold for over two weeks now and it should have shipped on Friday, August 12. Second, I simply can't believe the number of brazen attmepts to scam unsuspecting buyers with hijacked images of my former bass. Third, Mike at Auction Cafe has been fantastic in terms of his handling these repeated scam attempts, but ebay has been too slow to deal with them. Fourth, I would like to thank you club members for your unrelenting pursuit of the truth with all things Alembic. You guys (and ladies) are truly an awesome bunch and quite the power block. Keep it up!