Hello....kind of new to ebay and this board so I have a question. If I go on ebay and bid on the tickets they are auctioning "Two tickets anywhere in the world". These tickets go for like $40-$50 for both of them. How legit are they? Thanks for any assistance.....

Not very!

Brandi,

I hope all the information you need is available to you.Consider looking up that person seller's rating and feedback of other ebay users.If this is the seller's first time, then consider looking up in ticketmaster.com (if it's a big time concert or event) or another ticket agent to determine if the prices are somewhat similar to the tickets being sold. Maybe this person desperately wants to sell them at any price. Also, some people can get access to cheap tickets abroad, specially in Latin America.
There's a possibility it could be legit.. Hope this info helps..

[This message has been edited by eperaltaotero (edited 05-31-2001).]

The "tickets" are a scam.

The way it works is in order to get free tickets, you have to also book a long stay at a hotel at that destination, at very inflated rates. And by long stay, I mean like two weeks. So you're paying say $179/night for the Comfort Inn for two weeks, and you end up spending a lot more than you would have had you just bought tickets the "regular" way. The hotel booking requirement is now always disclosed on an FAQ on the auction. It used to be that they didn't disclose it, but I think they got into trouble with Ebay or something.

But there's a faster way to know that this is a scam. The value of two rt coach tickets anywhere in the world is, depending on restrictions etc, probably at least $4,000. If that's really what was being offered, that's the range in which you'd expect bidding. Since no one bids more than about $50, you know this can't be legit.

If it sounds to good to be true...well you know the rest. I wouldn't buy them under any circumstances.

Since you're new to eBay, here's a common method of deception to beware of...Some scam artists will run many legitimate auctions in order to build up a positive feedback record. Then they will auction off stuff with no intentions of delivering anything and you lose your money.

I saw someone auctioning off "confirmable north american upgrades" on United for practically nothing. The guy had numerous negative feedbacks. Apparently, what he actually was sending out were the 500 mile upgrades. There's a big difference between the two. But even so, people were bidding on his upgrades like lemmings jumping off a cliff. Go figure!

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 05-31-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 05-31-2001).]

Often the other catch is that you have to book the tickets 60 days in advance, and you cannot change for any reason. If you mother dies, too bad.

Also, many of those "auctions" are for coupons you can get for free.

Buyer beware.

------------------
He who dies with the most miles ... is dead.

[This message has been edited by ontheroad (edited 06-03-2001).]

Often these 'tickets' are not really tickets, but are promotional offers ... for your $40 you may only get a brochure that lets you 'register' (for an additional fee to a separate travel agent) for the hotel stays deal mentioned by pynchonesque above.

The eBay seller is legitimate - he/she is acting as a promotional agent for the travel agency, much like the timeshare sharks at resorts. Legal - yes, ethical - ??

So, feedback ratings are not always a perfect way to monitor whether the deal is good (although I would recommend being very suspicious of sellers with more than 1% negative ratings).

Strictly speaking, lemmings swim into the ocean and drown. I have known no lemmings who have jumped off a cliff.

Wideman

I'm a frequent flyer not a zoologist!!


[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 06-01-2001).]