Came across this when I googled “X505”..$1300 :shock:

http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y02Y1785164Y3171901/002-6920836-0320052

Looks like a scam to me. But Amazon has reputable sales.

What do you guys think?  :?

Why would it be $2399 here?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00030NSVU/qid=1098412618/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1_etk-pc/102-9671037-0114502?v=glance&s=pc&n=541966

Both of those links are private sellers…almost like ebay…even though Amazon is the site it’s still a risk.

Erik

Yeah, I checked it out further. He is also a new seller. Only accepts bank transfer and money orders. Looks like a scam….....

Wow, you can buy a new T150 for only 1290.00 too from brt_dvd through Amazon.  I wonder how they do this with the supposed safe buying guarantee using Amazon payments.  You can just about type in any Sony notebook on Amazon and find one of these crooks “selling” it 1000$ below retail. Do they even check on these things?  Must not have too many safeguards in place to keep anyone from setting up one of these shops.  I will bet when they realize their brand name is taking a hit because they allow anyone to set one of these fraud front (IMHO) shops, then they will police it better.  But then again Ebay is posting record profits and I have seen personally how little they police their accounts, particulary stolen ones.  I email them about these, but they seem to pop up faster than the “neighborhood watch” can report them.  It seems like a systemic problem to me.  2cents now spent.  I step down.

There’s a $4900 video camera I’ve been waiting for the price to drop on and there are clowns offering it supposedly brand new for $970 or $1500 on Amazon.  All new sellers with yahoo or aol email addresses that say contact them before placing the order.  I should contact one to see what they say.

It’s obviously a scam…that person has ZERO feedback. I don’t deal with those kind of people on any service. I also always refuse bids from people who don’t have any feedback.

Okay.  I did my own consumer protection investigation.  I emailed the guy offering the Canon XL2 on Amazon.  I receive a reply rather quickly:

***
Dear Sir

Thank you for your email.I am glad that you are interested in my Canon XL2 Digital Camcorder Kit .It is brand new and it was never used.I kept it in the box.I am selling it because i dont need it.It was a gift from a relative,but since i never had a chance to use it,i would really want to sell it.Also,i travel a lot with my job,and it is unnecessary for me.As i have been told, it is a very good camcorder,and i think the price i intend to sell it for is really good. I intend to sell it asap, since i am leaving to Europe soon,and i would like to sell and ship it before my departure.

Here are some specs that might be usefull:
.
.
.
Unfortunatelly, i dont accept amazon payment.The amazon fees are much too high,so i suggest we close the deal using an escrow service that i am very familiar with:www.escrowstd.com,a very trustable and professional service. Please visit http://www.escrowstd.com/how_it_works.php.
You will be able to inspect the product up to 2(two) weeks before this service will release the funds to me. You can check my rating with them, using my e-mail address.
Please go to http://www.escrowstd.com and open a new account
with them. Then INITIATE the transaction.or,let me know when you are registered and i will start it.
I’m already a member and I’m waiting for you to let me know when we can begin the process.
For inspection period I think 21 days (from the day you receive the
package) is enough but if you want more please tell me.I will cover the escrow fees and also the shipping costs.I will ship it via UPS worldwide express and ship it immediatelly.

Best Regards,David Morreti
***
So I go to this http://www.escrowstd.com and it looks reasonable enough, although there are some grammar errors on it which lead me to believe a non-native speaker came up with the copy.  I did a search on Google for escrowstd and found out that this site is a fraud—big surprise!  Here is an interesting link:  http://www.carbuyingtips.com/fraud.htm

Bottom line:  STAY AWAY!!!!

Hope this helps someone!

I think the term “escrow service” should tip you right off.

[quote author=“richtrader”]
(snip)
  Here is an interesting link:  http://www.carbuyingtips.com/fraud.htm

(snip)

In my nearly 20 years of being on the internet, I think that page is one of the finest I’ve ever seen in clearly and plainly exposing the truth of the many ways you can get defrauded over our beloved internet.

Very nice find.  That link is getting emailed to many of my close friends. Thanks for it.

—Neil

I still don’t know why Amazon allows this…they are only ruining their name…people think it’s being sold by or through Amazon, but in reality they have no part in it.

Dumb business move if you ask me…

Erik

ooyeah! that is juicy stuff.

My god a lot of people are getting ripped off. It almost makes your head spin.

The used car scam is unbelievable. And i thought that salesmen on used car lots were bad!

It breaks your heart to think of the loss and terrible embarrassment that good trusting people have to suffer to criminals.