The eBay Scambuster Topic

Buy, sell, trade, or discuss prices of Super Soakers and water guns here. (For members only)
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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:33 pm

UK:

6011466438: Fake Monster (2001)
6011467219: Fake CPS 2700

No-one with any sense should be fooled, but nonetheless they claim to be super soakers. I don't have an ebay account. Someone else will need to report this.

For the americans:

6039417247: 2 obviously fake CPS 1500s, being sold as such.
Last edited by joannaardway on Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:01 am

This is not a water gun claiming to be a super soaker, but I once had one of these and the claims made about it are completely false.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LARGE-WATER-BLA ... dZViewItem

It does not shoot 50 feet - barely 20-25 feet on a good day.
It does not have a twist-off cap - the reservior twists off.
And it is not strong and durable.

Also, any one outside of australia will be paying a huge amount for postage.

I'm assuming that no one is actually going to buy it, I'm just warding off the unwary - anyway, it should be reported for false information.

This appears to be selling a Max D secret strike fake as a CPS 2500. I seriously doubt that it is CPS.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SUPER-CPS-2500-SOAK ... dZViewItem
Last edited by joannaardway on Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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Crashdummy
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Post by Crashdummy » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:36 am


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RecklessAssault2
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Yet Another Fake 1500

Post by RecklessAssault2 » Mon Jun 12, 2006 3:47 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/L-K-New-WATER-Soake ... dZViewItem

They don't claim it's an actual Super Soaker, but it's a fake 1500, and I'm sure the claim of shooting 10 meters is fallacious.

Here are a couple sellers that seem to be selling a lot of fake Super Soakers:

Gr8elite1: Some of the water guns he's selling are fake soakers, some aren't. While he's not calling any of them Super Soakers, they're all listed in his auctions as CPS xxxx (some of the numbers he's using are also model numbers of actual Super Soakers, some aren't). He claims they all have a constant pressure system (which they don't), and his claims about the shot time, distance, and retail price are obviously very inflated. A couple people have given him negative feedback for selling water guns which don't meet any of his claims, and he's responded back with negative feedback of his own and some rather rude messages.

Funfactory7: This seller sells fake CPS1500's. Unlike gr8elite1's auctions, these ARE listed as real Super Soakers, and again, I'm sure the 35-foot shot distance claim is exaggerated.
Last edited by RecklessAssault2 on Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Anthony
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what is this?

Post by Anthony » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:22 pm

I was surfing ebay and i saw what looked like a messed up version of a cps 2100 and a cps 135

http://cgi.ebay.com/SUPER-SOAKER-26-INC ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/SUPER-SOAKER-26-INC ... dZViewItem

JoannaArdway: I split your links onto two lines, rather than having them running into each other.
Last edited by joannaardway on Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Cyrax9
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by Cyrax9 » Fri Jul 11, 2008 4:25 am

Not quite a "fake gun" notice, but this is definitely worthy of the "Scambuster" thread. A few days ago I had one "question" regarding my Want-it-Now for a Super Soaker CPS 3200. It turns out that the "question" the prospective seller was asking was pretty much this: "How can I steal your identity?"

Aside from the fact that said scammer's use of the English language was abysmal (I've seen second graders with better grammar skills,) the bozo had a link to a fake eBay site based out of Russia--which FireFox was kind enough to flag for me. I've since reported said "phisherman" (seems like a good term for someone whose phishing) to eBay and they're now handling the matter.

Honestly; this is disgusting--it's bad enough when someone is selling a clearly fake Super Soaker (I've seen a few of those imitation-CPS 1500s floating around,) but it's even more annoying when the only response to a Want-it-Now is someone trying to steal a person's ID. Most sellers are kind and honest, but it's people like this that really annoy me. I'll be honest, I don't even mind if someone is selling a fake soaker, as long as they list it as such--it's when a person purposely distorts what they're selling that I get annoyed.

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Silence
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by Silence » Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:32 pm

Good points, and thanks for reporting the seller.

I'm wondering how many people fall for these scams. I'm guessing more fall for the fake soakers than for identity theft though, at least if the spelling is as bad as you say it is.

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cantab
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by cantab » Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:43 pm

Here's a possible fake Monster XL on UK EBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/American-Super-So ... 0268766369

I'm honestly not sure if it's real or fake. Described as a 'Super Soaker 3040', it looks exactly like a Monster XL to me. Possible red flag in the claim it has all stickers when clearly it doesn't.

I suppose one way to tell is to ask the seller to take a shot photo, or at least for a measured range figure.

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SSCBen
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by SSCBen » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:12 am

Seems shady to me. At first I thought this guy might be going by some number reported on the blaster itself (possibly a product number) but I checked iSoaker.com and the product number isn't 3040. It also clearly doesn't have the stickers. He only has two feedbacks too, which is essentially meaningless. If I wanted it I'd ask the guy some questions for confirmation but I'd still be wary.

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cantab
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by cantab » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:23 am

Hmm...the isoaker item numbers perhaps aren't the only numbers on the gun. For the CPS 2000, they give 9797-0, but I found another website mentioning numbers in the 3000's (google super soaker serial numbers) that were different on the two examples he has.

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Drenchenator
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by Drenchenator » Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:49 pm

It could be that the stickers just faded off and he's identifying it by the serial number. But we can't prove that, so I guess people should avoid it unless they are certain of what they're paying for. Perhaps someone with a Monster XL could post their serial numbers?
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Spinner
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by Spinner » Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:50 pm

My gut feeling is that it's genuine. If it's a fake, they've done an excellent job of imitating the MXL, which I haven't ever seen before. I'd ask for close-ups - you might be able to read whether it actually says "Super Soaker" on the strap.
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cantab
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by cantab » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:18 pm

I asked him and he said it shoots 12-15 metres, which is about right (and more to the point, if it turns out to shoot nothing like that far, that's grounds for returning it).
In any case, with 2 hours left, the price has climbed above what I can afford. I can't be spending 60 quid on one soaker.

Cyrax9
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by Cyrax9 » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:16 am

SilentGuy wrote:I'm wondering how many people fall for these scams. I'm guessing more fall for the fake soakers than for identity theft though, at least if the spelling is as bad as you say it is.
SilentGuy, the sad thing is that apparently these scams still work, or A)people wouldn't still be using them, and B)CNET wouldn't have recently put up a reminder on how to avoiding them. Sadly, there are so many people in high school and college today (not to mention graduates) that--to quote a family friend, "couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted them the 'a' and the 't'," so the laughably poor spelling/grammar is overlooked by many potential ID theft victims. Sadly, I know plenty of college students (and even some professors) who have abysmal spelling/grammar skills, and I admittedly cannot stand working with these people because I have to constantly try and decipher what they were trying to write. I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating such a task can become.

I wouldn't even mind people selling the fake soakers if they made it clear that they were fake. Some people might want the fake to compare to the real deal just to see how different they are, and some might just want any water gun that they can find. My problem is with people who knowingly list a fake soaker hoping someone will buy it as a "real" soaker. This is the type of deception that drives me insane. If I pay a ridiculous amount of money and I'm expecting a real soaker, it had better be the real deal.

Granted, if I was buying a soaker I'd never owned before, I'd want to see pictures of the real deal specifically to avoid this type of scam.

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Goldfish4209
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Re: The eBay Scambuster Topic

Post by Goldfish4209 » Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:39 pm

eBayers who sell fake soakers come in at least two kinds: 1: the kind that sells a fake made to look like the real thing, and 2: the kind that sells a fake that anyone can tell is fake, but they still claim it is the real deal. To me, the 2nd type is more annoying, although the 1st type is more dangerous as you have to look closer to know it's a fake.

obviously, there have been plenty of scams concerning soakers that are hoaxes, or aren't in advertised condition, etc. Has anyone heard of a scam in which the seller didn't send the gun at all, or something else like that?

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