ImaGonnaGetYou said:
Wow, that description of the auction is so vague it could be anything.
That's pretty much the way to know it's a recast. If you put in auction a 200$ worth item, you usually spend time getting quality pictures, and an accurate description with clear indications about shipping and returns.
If you see an auction with 50 words as a description, it's clearly too good to be true.
And for this whole recaster problem, it will never be solved. But as buyers, we need to be careful. And as sellers, we need to be even more careful.
Don't sell on eBay. Don't buy props on eBay. (craiglist and all these listing/auction-based websites).
Don't sell to new members. Don't sell to people outside the Classifieds. Use only Paypal for payments. For both protecting the buyer and the seller.
And please, inform yourself about any potential buyer. Ask for his name and adress for shipping, but also phone number. If you are scammed, there's nothing better than calling your buyer's local police department and filling a report.
Keep records of your buyers. Number your item also. If you see your item #2 being sold in Paris for example. If you see that this seller is selling more than one copy, you know something is wrong. If you have some records of your buyers, you'll know who bought your item #2 in Paris. And you'll have his phone number. And name. And adress.
And please. Please please please. If you receive a check, e-check, or anything that is not instant, wait for it to clear! E-checks can take up to 10 days to clear. Wait for it. Call your bank and ask if the payment was cleared and accepted. Then ship the item. That's the error Rube did. Ship an item before receiving the money. No good.
Not asking questions, is like running blindfolded. You'll hit that wall. And then, you'll start accusing everyone when it's more likely to be your fault.
Don't get me wrong. Recasting is bad. It's killing this hobby. Just like Warez are costing millions to the film/music/video game industry.
</rant>
