Legitimate Mb?

[fountainpenloversg]

Hi All,

 

I am a new user and this is my first post! (have been a lurker for a long time). I've been thinking about getting a used MB for some time now, and this is a real bargain. I've read up, but I'm no expert, so could somebody please chime in about the authenticity of these pens? Thank you!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MontbIanc-Boheme-Black-Gold-cap-Fountain-Pen-Retractable-Nib-/151894757277?hash=item235da20f9d:g:gygAAOSwt6ZWVPoP

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MontbIanc-75th-146-Fountain-pen-new-Fine-nib-/151894808272?hash=item235da2d6d0:g:sZcAAOSwxN5WVQ1M

 

Regards,

fountainpenloversg

[Glenn Atkins]

I am no expert on Montblanc (the experts will be along shortly), but with only 29 feedbacks and from Bangkok, I wouldn't touch them.

 

Glenn

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

 

Personally I would run away from that seller as fast and far as possible.

 

Note the Feedback.

 

Bad signs:

 

almost all transactions small value but not disclosed. All under $20.00.

 

Small total number of transactions.

 

almost all buyers have a small number of transactions.

 

The only other fountain pen sale never got delivered.

 

Seller is from Thailand.

 

Conclusion, run don't walk away.

[Cordovian]

I saw those listings as well. The pictures are of authentic Montblanc pens. However, the winning bidders will most likely never see a pen at all or will get a cheap fake pen.

 

If you look at the sellers feed back it's almost all from within 30 days and for sales of the same item. When you look at the item it's a girls hair bow with all 20 selling in a 3 day period and on a make an offer format for less than the list price. Everything else is over a year old. So this seller went from selling hair bows to listing 25 high end pens in under a month? I doubt it.

 

The most likely scenario is that all of the recent sales are fake as well as the feedback. Each sale was probably for less than ten cents to keep the PayPal fees low. These false sales and feedback give bidders the impression that the seller is legitimate and also allows the seller to list higher end items.

 

So how does the scam work? Once the listing on these pens ends the just seller waits for the funds to become available which is about two weeks. The seller then transfers the money to a checking account that was created with fake ID or by a chump who got scammed. The funds are then withdrawn from the checking account. The seller disappears and Ebay buyer protection is left holding the bag for each claim filed. Let's say the listings end at $200 each. The seller just pocketed $4,750 ($5000 - 5% in PayPal fees).

 

While you may not lose any money if you bid and win, your funds can get tied up for quite a while.

[fountainpenloversg]

thank you all! you just saved a student's precious savings.

[meiers]

check out the classifieds here on FPN.

[Cordovian]

Ebay just shut that seller down. Good for them!

[jar]

Ebay just shut that seller down. Good for them!

It helps when several of us report such folk but it is only temporary. He will be back under a new name but the pattern will be the same; a series of shill purchases of low buck items sold to friends or phantom accounts and then post a herd of high buck accounts. It only take one sale to make it worthwhile.

[jkingrph]

Watch your seller, where he is located, number and value of sales ect. I recently put together a set consisting of a 146 Silver Solitaire Doue with matching ballpoint for just over $500. Fountain pen is like new, ballpoint has one very tiny scratch on cap and you have to look for it, and seller notified me of it before the purchase. The pen and ballpoint were from different sources, one here in the states, the other from overseas, but both were established sellers with numerous sales, some relatively high dollar and numerous, high count good feedback.