caveat emptor

If "awkward or uneven grammatical phrasing" is supposed to be a clue, then 30% of the ads on this site would be suspect. Many of those who list, including retailers, are unable to spell, or write a coherent sentence.
One example would be your post. What exactly do you mean by "rather esoteric to understand"? If there is an ad that you know of that you think is a scam, please let us all know what it is.

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/cd-sacd-players-esoteric-dv-60-universal-sacd-cd-dvd-player-2013-08-02-digital-97814-medical-springs-or

Esoteric DV-60 listed on 8/2/2013. The pictures in the ad hase been used several times before. I sent him / her an email stating I am ready to buy if they post a picture of the back of the unit along with a 3" x 5" card with today's (yesterday's) date. Funny, no response yet.
I will happily eat crow if I a wrong and the ad is legit, but I know for certain the pictures have been used several times before.
And the feedback? $5 purchases get you feedback. Means nothing to me.
I hate thieves.

Thanks for the heads-up Tgyeti. Roxy54 you owe Tgyeti an apology, he/she
was simply trying to be helpful. Caveat emptor indeed!

Marcus

"Roxy54 you owe Tgyeti an apology, he/she
was simply trying to be helpful. Caveat emptor indeed!"

No, I don't think that I owe him an apology. His concern is valid, and it may indeed be a fraudulent ad, but his cryptic post was not helpful. Now that he has identified the poster, it is helpful, and I give him full credit.

I also have noticed adds with recycled pictures. One idea, which I have not tried, is to ask a public question that raises your suspicion. That way everyone visiting the ad is alerted to your suspicion. If the seller is legitimate they will want to clarify or address the issue. Has any one tried this?

I don't think an apology is owed either. If you have something to say, say it, no need to be cute and cryptic.

Snofun - agreed. I was being "cute and cryptic" to try and save a little face if the ad happened to be legit.
Mcloughlin - I did ask a public question in the ad, though "he" deleted the question.

..... and now the ad is gone. Yep, fraud.

I stand by my position. Are you the buyer? If so I will believe it when the item arrives at your door. For the record, they absolutely were recycled pictures, each and every one.

To be clear ..... The reason why this is so upsetting to me is the fact that I fell victim to a scam HERE at Audiogon by a seller using the very same pictures. I was trying not to reveal that as it is embarrassing for me, but Audiogon admin has records of all my emails & communications with Chase Visa. I paid through Paypal using a credit card, and item was never shipped. Seller was a fraud. Thankfully I have protection through Chase and I wasn't held liable for the purchases. Their ad used the very same pictures.

oh my. go take a peak at chill_out's feedback now.
hmmmm, truth is a b*tch

thuhaile (87 - 100.00%) left feedback on August 5, 2013 7:21pm

A scam artist, so buyer beware. I never receive the pre-amp that he told me that he shipped. Promised me he would refund my money if he can not locate the item but never heard from him again.
-4
rockthepoint (363 - 100.00%) left feedback on May 3, 2013 6:25pm

A trouble-free transaction. Thank you!
+3
gulfportjack (15 - 100.00%) left feedback on May 3, 2013 10:56am

If enough people write to the staff at Audiogon requesting they do a little more research, scammers like this could be avoided!
One simple solution would be to make sure the IP address of the person posting the ad is in or at least near the claimed "ships from" address.

"chill_out" (the fraud artist) claimed to be shipping from Medical Springs, Oregon 97814.
LMAO, really?!?!

To be clear ..... The reason why this is so upsetting to me is the fact that I fell victim to a scam HERE at Audiogon by a seller using the very same pictures. I was trying not to reveal that as it is embarrassing for me, but Audiogon admin has records of all my emails & communications with Chase Visa. I paid through Paypal using a credit card, and item was never shipped. Seller was a fraud. Thankfully I have protection through Chase and I wasn't held liable for the purchases. Their ad used the very same pictures.
08-05-13: Tgyeti

You should have told us all the facts up front in your original post. Your message would have carried a hell of a lot more weight if you had.

What response did you get back from Agon when you told them that the ad by chill_out was more than likely bogus?
That chill_out was more than likely the same scumbag, under a different username, that screwed you before?

If enough people write to the staff at Audiogon requesting they do a little more research, scammers like this could be avoided!
One simple solution would be to make sure the IP address of the person posting the ad is in or at least near the claimed "ships from" address.
8-10-13: Tgyeti

Just a guess it would be a waste of time. Apparently Agon doesn't read the emails.

Checking chill_out feedback another Agon member has been screwed.

nghiabm (42 - 100.00%) left feedback on August 8, 2013 3:20pm
beware, he is a scammer, I paid for his AMP but never ship. Can not contact. Very very bad guy.
-4

And more than likely another Agon member has been screwed by chill_out from the bogus Esoteric DV-60 ad.

Latest victim of chill_out.

Feedback for chill_out (-2 - 50.00%)Summary
Positive Feedback+2Neutral Feedback+0Negative Feedback-2How this works
Feedback left on orders impacts a member's rating.

•Positives count +3
•Neutrals count +1
•Negatives count -4
All feedback
ShowAll feedback Positive feedback Neutral feedback Negative feedback

nghiabm (42 - 100.00%) left feedback on August 8, 2013 3:20pm
beware, he is a scammer, I paid for his AMP but never ship. Can not contact. Very very bad guy.
-4

thuhaile (87 - 100.00%) left feedback on August 5, 2013 7:21pm
A scam artist, so buyer beware. I never receive the pre-amp that he told me that he shipped. Promised me he would refund my money if he can not locate the item but never heard from him again.
-4

rockthepoint (363 - 100.00%) left feedback on May 3, 2013 6:25pm
A trouble-free transaction. Thank you!
+3

gulfportjack (15 - 100.00%) left feedback on May 3, 2013 10:56am

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/cd-sacd-players-esoteric-dv-60-universal-sacd-cd-dvd-player-2013-08-02-digital-97814-medical-springs-or

Under the old Agon system a user could use the member lookup feature and see if the member had an ad listed. No more! Who knows how many more Agon listed ads
chill_out has listed on Agon.

Last time I checked chill-out is still an active Agon member.
.

It is beneficial to see if a seller has a history of being an active participant in the forums.

I am less worried about sellers with a few obvious clues and more worried about the ones that have a good number of 100% feedback...

I was recently looking at a pair of cables from a seller. these cables were not the typical counterfeited Nordost or whoever else. They were from a small, but very well respected, boutique if you will, US cable maker. The seller refused to supply an in focus picture of the serial number or even tell me what the serial number was (s/n pic was the only one listed that was blurry in the ad). He also said he did not have the certificate of authenticity and that that was just a marketing ploy anyway. He downplayed and lied throughout our PM's.
There is more to the story now that involves the cable maker but I obviously will not talk about that...

The trouble is, this member has a high 100% feedback number but is obviously unscrupulous. These types of members that are harder to notice are the worrisome ones!

"You should have told us all the facts up front in your original post. Your message would have carried a hell of a lot more weight if you had."

I've done what I could do in helping. Seams like I'm damned either way with you. I encourage you, Jea48, to become proactive as well.

I posted as soon as I saw the ad, but at the snails pace in which this forum system updates, well ....

Thank you, Tgyeti