People, people, people. The phone's not shipping yet. It's not out yet. It's not even approved by the FCC! So why -- why on earth -- would anyone with the slightest degree of common sense bid almost one thousand dollars on eBay just for the privilege of getting ripped off? Wow. Thanks to reader David Miller, who took time off from his Mac mini car integration project to give us the heads-up on the sad state of iPhone auctions over eBay way. As the expression goes here in Brooklyn: "Oy."
Update 9am EDT: The original auction has closed, with a winning bid of $1125... *sigh*.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-20-2007 @ 10:11PM
Daniel D said...
Anyone who buys one of these and then pays for one of these deserves to lose their money imo.
Reply
3-20-2007 @ 10:21PM
thomas Malley said...
One should ask him for the unboxing pictures;)
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3-20-2007 @ 10:27PM
Michael Rose said...
Or redacted copies of the included 2-year Cingular service agreements...
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3-20-2007 @ 10:32PM
Rob Gomes said...
Rather than be cynical, I reported the auction to eBay as fraudulent. Hopefully this will spare some naive buyers from losing out on money, and will have eBay tighten up iPhone auctions like they did for the PS3 and Wii.
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3-20-2007 @ 10:37PM
punkassjim said...
Nearly as bad, myspace has had banner ads for "get your free iphone" promotions since the day after the announcement.
"Supplies are limited!"
No kidding? Huh!
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3-20-2007 @ 10:41PM
Rubbinz said...
Shame on him? Nah. If someone is retarded enough to actually bid on this, they get what they deserve.
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3-20-2007 @ 11:43PM
nllx said...
Item location: La Quinta, CA, United States
Holy crap, I can actually go to that person's house and kick their ass, if I find the exact address.
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3-20-2007 @ 11:49PM
mettmann said...
also reported to eBay as fraudulent...
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3-21-2007 @ 12:10AM
LC said...
Can someone bid it up to a few thousand bucks and yank that guys chain. Ask him to send something of value before you pay?
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3-21-2007 @ 3:26AM
Neuromancer said...
There were a same scam on a hungarian auction site too, i pointed out it yesterday, and it's gone today :)
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3-21-2007 @ 5:09AM
Jason said...
Another one Item number: 250096401244
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3-21-2007 @ 5:15AM
Chris said...
I believe cisco released a sort of IP telephony device called the iPhone, so the scammer might be trying to pawn one of those off on you for a sweet chunk of change. If you bid on these anyway, you deserve to be shot with a cannon at point blank range.
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3-21-2007 @ 6:18AM
heimtommy said...
Hey,
I found some iPhones as well on eBay, and I wrote to the guy, who promised to ship an ORIGINAL iPhone for $250, saying he got a lot of them as promotion - sure thing.
Here is his reply:
The price for one unit is 200 Euro including the shipping fees and
insurance. The phones is brand new, UNLOCKED, with all accesories
(Adapter, Cable, Battery, Car Charger, Case, Holder, Faceplate,
Housing, Headset, Memory, Software, Wall Charger). With standard
global warranty (2 years).
Let me know if you agree my prices..if you don`t..let me know your
best offert..we have a PROMOTIONAL offert: you buy 3 phones + 1 free
for only 550 Euro you will receive one phone gift (you can also
combine the models and the price remains the same). I will lock
business only under my conditions.
Thank you...
P.S.
The price for 10 phones is 1400 Euro including all shipping taxes.
I hope no one falls for these mo'fos...
Wait until June...
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3-21-2007 @ 6:48AM
lee said...
you really have to be a complete ass to fall for that...
similar subject - being "get rich off the iphone" check this guy out
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mac-iPhone-Domain-URL-for-Sale-www-used-iphones-com_W0QQitemZ120098709122QQcategoryZ102333QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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3-21-2007 @ 9:02AM
Sam G. said...
Michael, as a born-and-rasied, Brooklynite, I applaud your use of Yiddish; however, a more appropriate phrase might be "oy, gevalt!"
Though based on the accompanying picture, "rubble rubble" could also work.
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3-21-2007 @ 9:16AM
justflie said...
I reported those listings for the iPhone as fraudulent also. That's so ridiculous!
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3-21-2007 @ 9:30AM
GadgetGav said...
I reported this one to ebay which has now been ended early because of "an error in the listing"
http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-iPHONE-4GB-BNIB-THIS-IS-NOT-A-PREORDER-AUCTION_W0QQitemZ170093231449QQcategoryZ102333QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Do you like the fake box and instructions the guy went to the bother of making..!?!!!
I tend to agree that it's really buyer beware on ebay. If you buy something that is not available from someone with zero feedback that costs hundreds of dollars, you probably need a full time nanny to protect you from the big bad world. That said, the good ebay users should report these scams, but they'll never go away.
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3-21-2007 @ 9:41AM
Mark said...
Some of the iPhone auctions are absolutely pitiful - blatant ripoffs aside, some of the "hot new iPhone domain addresses!!!!" and "hot rare GET IT NOW!!!" iPhone related email addresses up for auction are a joke.
Anyone stupid enough to fall for the iPhone auctions is a few french fries short of a happy meal.
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3-21-2007 @ 9:44AM
Mark said...
Ok, auction 180098963510 is a riot.
A cardboard box with an iPhone sticker on it.
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3-21-2007 @ 2:27PM
GadgetGav said...
The one that I reported, the guy is now claiming that he's been told he can't sell them until they get FCC clearance...
Yeah, like people selling unreleased hardware on ebay really care about what the FCC says...
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