A passionate car guy with a generous heart, my friend Bob never can seem capable of saying “no” when a friend needs a hand. Though he may not admit to it, I feel comfortable saying that Bob brings a wealth of knowledge and savvy to the table thanks to decades in automotive public relations, marketing and wrenching as well as years as a respected concours judge. Recently a friend reached out to Bob for help in creating an online listing for a vintage Jaguar. Being comfortable with the process as Bob had listed other cars before, he dove right in. Within 4 weeks of posting the ad on Hemmings Auctions the Jaguar had sold…but on eBay. Unfortunately Bob had never listed the car on eBay.

Bob’s distressing experience provides a painful cautionary tale for online sellers and buyers alike.

 

When Car Rustlers Stalk eBay, What Does eBay Do?

Striking in its subtle two-tone grey livery, this 1950 Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupe did not project the conventional vintage Jaguar image of the lithe 2-seat English sports car proudly boasting seductive feminine curves that cloaked the power and speed of a jungle cat. Not so this Jaguar. Stately and elegant with seating for five, this finely finished Mark V screamed (Assuming one can scream with quiet dignity) high end motoring luxury ideally suited for cruising along country lanes in transit from the townhouse to the country manor. Powered by a 6-cylinder engine of pre-WWII design delivering 126 horsepower, its performance, though not spirited, could be described as adequate.

The Mark V’s handsome upright stature draped with voluptuous fender lines and rear fender spats would fit easily among spirits of ecstasy and flying Bs of the period. Its handsome presence would attract more than a few admiring glances.

Its three-position drophead convertible design allowed the car  to be driven with the top fully erect, fully stowed or partially retracted to expose the front seats like a sedanca. A lavishly trimmed interior featured a full gauge array set in a highly polished burled walnut dash. As well, burled walnut trim adorned a warm and inviting interior bedecked in rich Connolly leather and deep wool Wilton carpet.

Treasured for many years, the time had come for the Mark V to change hands.

Charged with the responsibility of its disposition, Bryan who had serviced the car had been called upon by the Mark V’s octogenarian owner to arrange its sale. Bryan, with decades of Jaguar experience operated of one of the most respected Jaguar restoration and repair shops in the country  While gifted with exceptional restoration and technical skills, Bryan did not claim the same mastery with the writing and photography skills necessary to properly market the vintage Jaguar. He wisely reached out to his long time friend and fellow car enthusiast Bob. With Bob’s extensive experience in photography, copy writing and sales, he gave Bryan a high level of comfort and rightfully so. October 2023 witnessed Bob enthusiastically embark on the requisite preparation to list the Jaguar.

Having enjoyed prior success with Hemmings Auctions, both felt comfortable in trusting the sale of the Jaguar to the online arm of America’s car bible, Hemmings Motor News. While a later entry in the online marketplace Hemmings with its legions of trusting followers built over decades quickly gained momentum and market share. With the car being shipped to Florida for its owner’s use over the winter, Bob and Bryan acted quickly to prep the Jaguar for creating a full battery of images to provide a comprehensive photo profile detailing all features of the Jaguar.

Bob says, “We selected carefully from the wealth of images taken.” He continues on saying, “Buying decisions are often made based on the high quality and comprehensive nature of the photography. A buyer may never see in person the car on which he is bidding.” As well as capturing the beauty and craftsmanship evident in the car, Bob made a great effort to highlight the sound nature of certain features under the car that serious prospects would want to see, would need to see, if they harbored intentions to buy this vehicle. Bob also points out that showing everything ranks high on the must do list. He says, “As well, showing deficiencies goes a long way towards ensuring a seamless sale.” Little did Bob suspect what lay ahead. How could he? Confidently he moved forward.

Bob says, “We wrote up all of the car’s critical specifications.” He actually wrote all the necessary copy right up to the ad itself.” By November everything needed to launch sat ready. Being pre-holiday November Bob decided to go live on Hemmings Auctions after the coming seasons collector car winter kick-off with the big auctions in Kissimmee, Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona. Bob’s ad would go live on March 1, 2024. With a time frame set they reached out to the good folks at Hemmings.

Impressed with Hemmings professionalism Bob moved deliberately through the listing process. With an established reserve agreeable to both parties and a document confirming the agreed upon reserve signed, Hemmings accepted the photography and copy. With materials in hand the Hemmings staff selected images, edited Bob’s copy and created the ad that would appear on the auction site. Bob felt comfortable thanks to their thoroughness. He said, “Hemmings even asked to see a copy of the title, both the front and the back to confirm it was clean

and to corroborate the name of the owner.” What could possibly go wrong? Indeed. March 1 the ad went live on Hemmings Auctions.

One of the benefits when listing with Hemmings Auctions comes with the provision that if your vehicle does not meet the reserve in the two weeks of bidding the seller can, at no cost, switch to the Hemmings “Make Offer” site. Over the two week auction listing the bidding got close but did not meet the reserve. Bob, then chose to list it on the “Make offer” site. After about a week or so with offers closing in on the reserve Bob heard from a Hemmings’ Auctions bidder.

In a private email a party interested in the Jaguar stated the following,

“I see your Hemmings ad and I think you have a lovely car. I could be interested in it. But I have a question for you. And the question is I saw a car that looked exactly like yours and had exactly the same photography on eBay. It was on eBay for like three days in March after your ad (in Hemmings)turned from an auction to a “make offer” around March 23rd. Now, I see that that car was sold on eBay. Is that your car? Was that your car? Is your car still for sale? And what’s the story on that eBay ad?”

Gobsmacked by the message, Bob knew nothing of an ad placed on eBay. He never placed it. But when he checked eBay he found his car, his photos and his copy and the car listed as “sold” for $35,677, a fraction of its legitimate Hemmings reserve. Something had gone wrong. Very wrong and potentially very damaging to the market value of the Mark V.

Very damaging because though no one had taken possession of the Jaguar Mark V, this bogus transaction with its false lowball sales price had been archived by eBay. This false data point presently stood as part of the Mark V sales history and would corrupt value estimates forever if it could not be removed.

Bob says, “At this point the next time anybody looks up the value of a 1950 Mark V Jaguar in the way people do when considering purchasing a similar car, this false data point will put downward pressure on the Mark V’s perceived value.” Equally disruptive for professional collectible car publications and sites that track pricing trends, this false data point corrupts the accuracy of their reporting.

Bob found it infuriatingly distressing that, unlike Hemmings, eBay posted the ad without any ownership paper work or authorization to sell the car. He now set about to contact eBay. A daunting task as Bob would soon find out.

In discussing his effort to contact eBay Bob says, “First of all, it’s not that easy. In trying to communicate to eBay that you have a problem realize that eBay avoids human contact at all costs. eBay has a system that basically connects you to a computer.” Completing the online form requires the transaction number, the ad number and so on. Bob says, “On the form you describe your problem. When you have finished, you hit submit.” Shortly thereafter a cheery computer message thanks you for submitting your claim. I found it less than comforting when receiving a quick response stating, “’We will review this and we will get back to you.”’ Not exactly a confidence building interaction. But Bob had faith and gave them time to respond. Two months to be exact.

When asked as to what Bob has heard after two months, Bob responds, “Crickets.” He has heard absolutely nothing. To say Bob calls eBay’s response, or lack thereof, disturbing does not scratch the surface. Bob says, “Due to their lack of due diligence there is now a documented history for a fraudulent transaction that can have a negative effect on the value not just of the car that I am trying to sell but of essentially all 1950 Mark V Jaguars because it shows that one sold for $35,677. Which it did not. But that uncorrected error will compromise the average value of everyone’s Jaguar Mark V. I find it personally shocking that eBay has such little regard for the people who trust it as a worthy means for offering large ticket items for sale.” That eBay clearly does not care became evident to Bob while subsequently teaching a class on collectible automobiles.

Bob says, “After this all came down my first assumption was how could I possibly be the only person in the world to be so unlucky and have a problem like this on eBay. I figured there could be no arguing considering eBay’s success. Then during a class that I teach on collectible automobiles I shared my eBay experience. Most people in attendance sat there slack-jawed, completely stunned by what had happened. Then one guy raised his hand and said the same thing happened to him.” The possibility that the only two guys in the world victimized by this eBay-based scam would be sitting in the same classroom stretches credulity beyond the breaking point. It seems clear eBay has a big problem that it refuses to address.

How does the scam work when the scammer has no car to sell? It seems hard to believe that a buyer would fork over $35,677 without proof of ownership, but you never know. For some trusting people being instructed to ship twenty pounds of CVS gift cards to Bucharest may not raise concerns. More likely a buyer may have responded to a request for a deposit or maybe the scam facilitates money laundering.  No matter, there clearly exists some scam-worthy payoff to be had.

Sadly eBay refused to respond to complaints much less do basic due diligence, such as confirming ownership by a seller. Apparently as eBay suffers no loss, it could not care less. eBay did not even respond when Hemmings reached out.

For now, the octogenarian Jaguar owner still wishes to sell the car. To this day Bob and Bryan have never heard from eBay. Interestingly though, while no follow-up response has ever come forth, the latest check of eBay “Sold Items” reveals that the record of the fictitious sale has disappeared. So in a quasi happy ending, Bob and Bryan have gotten what they wanted with removal of the scam eBay ad. However, eBay has done nothing to demonstrate that they have tightened up their listing requirements. Happily Bob will be relisting the Mark V on Hemmings Auctions this month. The striking British beauty will return to the marketplace unsullied by a false history.

In reflecting on his experience with eBay Bob says, “Will I ever do business with eBay? Probably, but you can be sure that I will limit it to low dollar items. I am changed forever as a result of this incident.” For Bob, when it comes to high ticket items eBay has poisoned its own well.