ok, I ran into one scam on Craigslist (as discussed in a few of my recent posts), so maybe I am just paranoid, but do you think this deal I just found on ebay is a scam as well? Perhaps it is a well known scam, like the Craigs List one? The title is "WhIte Roland FP-7F BRAND NEW WITHOUT ORIGINAL BOX SHIPS IN FREE GATOR CASE " and it has a "buy it now" price of $1650 or best offer (not an auction.) This is a good price, but not unbelievably great for a pre-owned, opened item, so at first I didn't suspect anything. I was a bit confused though, because the listing title says "FP-7f" , but the description says "FP-7" and lists the features of the older FP-7, obviously copied from a website somewhere. So I emailed the seller to clarify which one it was, (I can understand it might be easy to confuse the two) and asked why was he selling. Here is his response. See if you think it sounds unbelievable to you, as it does to me:



Bought it to match the furniture only? Of course, I asked him for the copy of the receipt which he offered, as well as for a photo of the actual item in his possession (the listing used a stock photo.) I also asked him if he could open and double check it up to make sure everything was working. If this is a scam, I would like some more evidence to send to ebay. I did a quick google on Piano World for ebay scams, and learned that sometimes ebay sellers can hijack legitimate sellers' names and reputation. I also read how some times the items are stolen, so, as I am writing this, I just now am wondering if that might be the case here. Perhaps that would explain why someone would be so ignorant of why most people buy digital pianos, and come up with his implausable explanation; who would have an expensive piano in their possession for 8 months (as he says) and not play it! (Though perhaps it was bought for a child to play in the future?) Perhaps if the piano was stolen, the receipt just happened to be in the case and that is why he offered to show it?
Here is the rest of his description from the ebay ad- he does encourage local pick up, so I think he must have an actual piano. Maybe it is broken?:

Sounds fishy to me

The seller just sent me another email, offering to set up the piano for me to try before I buy, if I was local (I am not.)
I am wondering: do digital pianos have serial numbers? If so, I couls ask him for it (I would tell him I want to check and make sure of the year and make, etc)Then I could report it to the local police (he says he is in Worcester, MA) in case it is stolen!

correction: the seller is located in Watertown, MA, not Worseter as I previously posted. Has anyone had their white FP-7f stolen from near there?

Yes digital pianos have serial numbers and that is a VERY good idea to ask for it.

Not only will it tell you if they have it... it will also be fairly easy to check if it's stolen.

Before buying, see if you can hire get a piano tech in the sellers area to check it for you.

Good luck!

Well if it IS a scam...at least Ebay offers to mediate the issue through Paypal.

I think that if a deal smells like a rotten fish, it IS a rotten fish.
I'd run from this deal. I'd rather stay away, and leave the investigations to the investigators.
There are always other sellers.

My recommendation: buy a new FP-7F from a reputable store.

For the sake of saving a $100 or so, it's just not worth gambling with suspicious eBay auctions.

James
x

Unless you can see and try the instrument in person I say stick with new. Especially if you're only saving $100 or so. There are probably tons of eBay scams! Note that sometimes they will get you with you agreeing with shipping costs that are outrageous. It's nice to try to right a wrong but you may be at this for a long time.

amen to that. ebay scares me. i've read a lot of ways you can get hosed if you don't know what you are doing, both buying and sellng. trading high tickets items there w/o being in the local market - to me - it ain't worth the potential grief.

just order it online or print out the online price and take it to a local dealer- most of them (GC, Sam Ash) will meet the price.

I've never had any problems but then again I've probably only bought about twenty items on eBay over a period of seven or eight years. Anything available from various online merchants (real merchants, not eBay-only operations) I don't get on eBay unless the price is really attractive. Like 20-30% cheaper than the going rate.

I think the extra risk is minimal if you a) avoid obviously fishy looking deals, b) use the merchants with long, positive feedback histories and most important of all c) always, always, only pay with credit cards so that your credit-card company can reverse the charges in case someone tries to rip you off.

But even a "minimal" extra risk isn't worth it to save a hundred or so bucks on such and expensive and delicate item. I'd either buy used and super-cheap from eBay or buy new from an authorized dealer.

I got scammed trying to buy a "too good to be true" FP-7F on eBay. Turns out it was likely stolen; regardless, the seller rescinded the offer to sell. (No eBay history was one red flag; the sales price was another...) The serial number advice is excellent. It it all checks out and you still want the piano, go for it!

Yes, I will definitely pass on this one. I thought it included the stand at that price anyway. It isn't that good of a deal, and not worth the risk, considering everything. However, the seller did cut and paste info from an invoice from BH photos for the item, including the invoice number. So I called BH and it was a legitimate order for an FP-7f bought back in March. So I told them the situation, and asked them to contact the original seller and ask if it had been stolen. He wouldn't do that, but he did say that if I could ask the seller his name, he could verify if it matched. I asked the seller for the serial number, but haven't heard back yet. I doubt if he would give me his full name.
Boy- these scammers are terrible.
By the way, I did a quick search and found one internet seller (not sure if I can mention the name here or not?) that is having a groundhog day sale with 15% off on any item over $295. I called to ask about bundling a piano with the stand, bench, etc., and they said that if I sent them an email, telling them everything I wanted, they would probably give me 15% off on everything, and maybe even do better. So that sounds pretty good. We will probably try that. thanks everyone.