I've been using Ebay since around 1998 and I've been in the market to get a used GPU but I have not been pleased with what I've been seeing. Years back, there was an absolute flood of fake GPUs. They were obviously fake because the coolers they used were clearly not legitimate. (I've also given up on getting the tennis racquet I want, the Wilson KPS 88, because of all of the fakes.) Scammers are probably becoming more clever because most of the advice threads for Ebay buyers warn people about "too good to be true" pricing. Very low pricing is an obvious symptom of shady selling but there is nothing to guarantee a normal or higher-than-normal price is legitimate. The smartest scammers will sell for a high price and choose a product that has low availability, to maximize niche demand.
Take the Fury X. It was never a great seller but the very low pricing for new cards when it was EOLed, coupled with the mining craze, makes it rare to find a new or like-new card. If there are new cards they're listed for absurdly high prices. So, if a scammer wants to make more money, the scam would be to sell a new one, or open box, for a high price (but one that's low enough to get a bite).
Ebay lacks an adequate system for reporting fraudulent auctions. For example, there is no direct way to report an auction for having a deceptive 'shopped image. I've seen plant auctions, for example, where a flower from one species is pasted onto a different plant. The same seller also pasted butterflies onto the Frankenflowers. It's unbelievable that people can't even report deceptive images.
Here is an example of something that doesn't look legitimate to me. Compare these two auctions:
Russian nesting doll, Ebay auction style
1) No feedback from the first auction's sale.
2) Exact same thing (including same pictures) being sold by another seller. Description from other seller is extremely minimal.
3) Other seller is selling pairs of jeans and a purse, plus this graphics card. It seems to be an odd combination.
4) The other seller has a surprising amount of very poor feedback and yet a 100% rating.
5) The other seller has no feedback newer than "more than a year ago" — a hacked dormant account?
Another problem with Ebay and used sales in general is that lots of sellers show GPUs, motherboards, and other static-sensitive equipment on carpets. It's almost like some of the zero feedback accounts are being created just to troll people. I've noticed that a good number of Fury-related auctions (X and Nano) show them on carpets and the sellers have under 5 feedback, often zero. Is someone really so bored? Do they think that someone who will buy a piece of sensitive electronics that's shown on a carpet deserves to be scammed?
Since the pricing is absolutely no guarantee of legitimacy, the product could have been massively abused (massive overvolting, static electricity damage), and seemingly legitimate accounts can apparently be readily hacked — is it just a bad idea to try to get a GPU via Ebay these days?
Take the Fury X. It was never a great seller but the very low pricing for new cards when it was EOLed, coupled with the mining craze, makes it rare to find a new or like-new card. If there are new cards they're listed for absurdly high prices. So, if a scammer wants to make more money, the scam would be to sell a new one, or open box, for a high price (but one that's low enough to get a bite).
Ebay lacks an adequate system for reporting fraudulent auctions. For example, there is no direct way to report an auction for having a deceptive 'shopped image. I've seen plant auctions, for example, where a flower from one species is pasted onto a different plant. The same seller also pasted butterflies onto the Frankenflowers. It's unbelievable that people can't even report deceptive images.
Here is an example of something that doesn't look legitimate to me. Compare these two auctions:
XFX Radeon R9 Fury X 1.05GHz 4GB HBM PCI Express 3.0 Graphic Card for sale online | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for XFX Radeon R9 Fury X 1.05GHz 4GB HBM PCI Express 3.0 Graphic Card at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
XFX Radeon R9 Fury X 1.05GHz 4GB HBM PCI Express 3.0 Graphic Card for sale online | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for XFX Radeon R9 Fury X 1.05GHz 4GB HBM PCI Express 3.0 Graphic Card at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Russian nesting doll, Ebay auction style
1) No feedback from the first auction's sale.
2) Exact same thing (including same pictures) being sold by another seller. Description from other seller is extremely minimal.
3) Other seller is selling pairs of jeans and a purse, plus this graphics card. It seems to be an odd combination.
4) The other seller has a surprising amount of very poor feedback and yet a 100% rating.
5) The other seller has no feedback newer than "more than a year ago" — a hacked dormant account?
Another problem with Ebay and used sales in general is that lots of sellers show GPUs, motherboards, and other static-sensitive equipment on carpets. It's almost like some of the zero feedback accounts are being created just to troll people. I've noticed that a good number of Fury-related auctions (X and Nano) show them on carpets and the sellers have under 5 feedback, often zero. Is someone really so bored? Do they think that someone who will buy a piece of sensitive electronics that's shown on a carpet deserves to be scammed?
Since the pricing is absolutely no guarantee of legitimacy, the product could have been massively abused (massive overvolting, static electricity damage), and seemingly legitimate accounts can apparently be readily hacked — is it just a bad idea to try to get a GPU via Ebay these days?