Wilson Totten Posted October 4, 2022 Share #1 Posted October 4, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have encountered what appears to be systematic fraud on eBay by a UK seller "arri888". He has recently sold my silver M9 serial number 3838988, a Summarit M 75/2.5 serial number 4053290 and a complete Canon 5DS outfit, supposedly on commission basis. Now he is not paying up. It seems there is a considerable history here. Does anyone have similar experience ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 4, 2022 Posted October 4, 2022 Hi Wilson Totten, Take a look here Fraudulent Ebay sales by arri888. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
stephan54 Posted October 4, 2022 Share #2 Posted October 4, 2022 (edited) Very sorry to read about your situation. I guess I would not have sent the seller my equipment without doing research on him/her. In fact I am certain that I would never have entrusted this amount of expensive gear to a complete and anonymous person. I hope Ebay will help you out or the seller will send you the money after all. Edited October 4, 2022 by stephan54 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Brown Posted October 4, 2022 Share #3 Posted October 4, 2022 There is a whole thread dedicated to Peter Walnes where you have already asked same questions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 4, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted October 4, 2022 Thanks for the reply. I accept your comment about doing research. Sadly I have been dealing with Peter Walnes for many years as a buyer, without any issues, right back from his days in Fieldgrass and Gale. In that regard he was not anonymous, and in fact has historically been very well regarded. If you look online you will see this change in behaviour is over the last 1-2 years. Yes, you can't assume someone who has been well respected in the past will always be so. That's the point of posting on the Forum - to help others avoid making the same assumptions / mistakes. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted October 4, 2022 Share #5 Posted October 4, 2022 1 hour ago, Wilson Totten said: That's the point of posting on the Forum - to help others avoid making the same assumptions / mistakes. Shame you weren't here earlier or would have been aware. If you had a commission sale agreement, you ought to seek advice on the legal title to the items. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted October 4, 2022 Share #6 Posted October 4, 2022 He is active again after a quiet period. I've been getting emails again asking for equipment as if he never went away, but like Camera Obscura https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/332251-camera-obscura-repairs-uk-problem-😔 he's a con man preying on high end equipment who keeps reinventing himself to dodge the consequences. I think dealing with him as a buyer isn't as risky (but I wouldn't do it), after all he's selling stuff and money is going into his pocket, but how he gets his stock could mean he's selling stolen goods. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 4, 2022 Share #7 Posted October 4, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) 3 minutes ago, 250swb said: He is active again after a quiet period. I've been getting emails again asking for equipment as if he never went away, but like Camera Obscura When the economy takes a dive crime/fraud will be on the increase. I'm looking at a case at work that reeks of company impersonation fraud - we don't have enough info to be certain at this point but I'd put a large bet on it being the case. There's a lot of professional debtors out there, people who know exactly how to play the system and manage to keep themselves if not on just the right side of the law, at least not enough over the line to make it easy to go after them. Even if one does 'win' a legal case, getting the money back is another matter entirely. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted October 4, 2022 Share #8 Posted October 4, 2022 1 hour ago, 250swb said: I think dealing with him as a buyer isn't as risky (but I wouldn't do it), after all he's selling stuff and money is going into his pocket, but how he gets his stock could mean he's selling stolen goods. I noticed one lens on the website of a different, very reliable dealer who is absolutely scrupulous about describing all the issues and defects of everything he offers. It had some problem or other, not a huge issue but something a buyer should be aware of. After it was sold (I hope he was paid!), it reappeared very shortly afterwards on the ebay store in this thread at an inflated price, with no mention of the issue (I was able to check it was the same lens, because the first dealer keeps photos up for a while with the status changed to 'sold'). Perhaps the problem had been remedied before the lens was flipped on ebay, but I wouldn't bet a roll of expired Poundland film on that possibility. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share #9 Posted October 5, 2022 Thanks for the input. I fully intend to pursue this through the Courts, Police, and Cornwall Trading Standards who I understand an open dossier on him. There are three issues - firstly I would like my money back, secondly folks buying from him should be aware they may be purchasing goods which may effectively be stolen (obtained by fraud), and third this practice needs to be stopped. Since bankruptcy and publicity on camera forums (see also on DPR , Talk Photography and others) and letters to Amateur Photographer are not sufficient, further routes for publicity need to be found. With hindsight of course it would have been better to join this Forum and fully research in advance, rather than relying on what I thought I knew over many years to be true. But we are where we are. I guess you are never too old to learn. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share #10 Posted October 5, 2022 One of the items in question, a Summarit M 75 serial no 4053290 has already appeared on eBay for re-sale. I have flagged to the unfortunate seller its still my property, and reported it to eBay Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/338919-fraudulent-ebay-sales-by-arri888/?do=findComment&comment=4525044'>More sharing options...
pedaes Posted October 5, 2022 Share #11 Posted October 5, 2022 4 minutes ago, Wilson Totten said: has already appeared on eBay At least you know where it is. What did the seller pay for it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share #12 Posted October 5, 2022 No confirmation of final price paid via feedback, but the listing price was £825 (GBP) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted October 5, 2022 Share #13 Posted October 5, 2022 4 hours ago, Wilson Totten said: One of the items in question, a Summarit M 75 serial no 4053290 has already appeared on eBay for re-sale. I have flagged to the unfortunate seller its still my property, and reported it to eBay Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Any response from either? The sale is still live. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share #14 Posted October 5, 2022 The current seller is in discussion with Peter Walnes. I have offered to both to take the lens back, and pointed out that re-sale is complicated as technically I still own the lens, as I have not been paid by Peter. Bit of a mess really. I have flagged my opinion that it should not be re-sold at the moment, until this is resolved. Not least as the serial number is logged as part of an ongoing (wider) fraud investigation. Although I have flagged it to eBay, its not my call to de-list. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted October 5, 2022 Share #15 Posted October 5, 2022 17 minutes ago, Wilson Totten said: The current seller is in discussion with Peter Walnes. I have offered to both to take the lens back, and pointed out that re-sale is complicated as technically I still own the lens, as I have not been paid by Peter. Bit of a mess really. I have flagged my opinion that it should not be re-sold at the moment, until this is resolved. Not least as the serial number is logged as part of an ongoing (wider) fraud investigation. Although I have flagged it to eBay, its not my call to de-list. If I were the seller I would de-list immediately until the matter was resolved (because what would I do if someone bought it now?). But of course this is outside your control. I noticed that most of the bad feedback I remember seeing on the arri888 account is no longer visible - either it has been removed, or it is simply more than 12 months old. It looks like there's no obvious way of viewing older bad feedback short of clicking through all the pages, and I don't think it's included in the percentage score either. Perhaps there's a third party tool for this? Without access to these reviews, a buyer who doesn't know the history would naturally think they are dealing with a trusted seller... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share #16 Posted October 5, 2022 I agree with you. I also shoulder responsibility for not double-checking on Peter's feedback online in more recent times, and assuming he was still operating as I remembered. Looking through my old (paper) receipts over the years, there are many nice handwritten good wishes from him. It may be that there are other issues afoot, so the objective as far as I am concerned is to inform / warn in parallel with getting the debt paid. Not my place to have an opinion on what is going on at a personal level. From a business perspective, it looks awful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share #17 Posted October 14, 2022 I can report that Peter has now cleared the debt. Hopefully this will signal his return to more tranquil times, as I have experienced in the past. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted October 15, 2022 Share #18 Posted October 15, 2022 15 hours ago, Wilson Totten said: I can report that Peter has now cleared the debt. Hopefully this will signal his return to more tranquil times, as I have experienced in the past. 'The' debt, this is only the Leica forum and not everybody resorts to a camera forum anyway when confronted with potential fraud. I had another email circular from him the other day asking for a long list of equipment and a link to his sales site. I must say I was tempted, he had a nice cheap Nikon F for sale and I could have protected my purchase by using a credit card if it didn't arrive, but the common denominator still seems to be sellers or consignees being ripped off. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Totten Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share #19 Posted October 15, 2022 Fair point. Perhaps I should have said "this" debt has been cleared. There may be others unknown. All of my prior experience has been as a purchaser, where he has been reliable and often sells interesting / good / hard to find stuff at fair prices. Now having sight of the margins and economics of the consignment / commission aspect, it clearly needs some work. If one is trading on a 20% gross margin, and offer interested eBay watchers an 18% discount, you don't need to be the next Chancellor to understand it is not sustainable as a business model. I also owe a debt of thanks to Leica Forum members for the support and in some cases extremely practical advice. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaidshirts Posted October 20, 2022 Share #20 Posted October 20, 2022 On 10/14/2022 at 8:53 AM, Wilson Totten said: I can report that Peter has now cleared the debt. Hopefully this will signal his return to more tranquil times, as I have experienced in the past. I"m glad it ended well for you. What was his excuse? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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