HELP! Trying to stear a co-worker away ebay auction ( $59 round-trip to Hawaii)
May 20, 2003, 12:52 pm
#1
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Location: Sioux Falls, SD
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HELP! Trying to stear a co-worker away ebay auction ( $59 round-trip to Hawaii)
Anyone know what the catch is? I'm guessing it's tied into a package with pricy hotel stays, but the ebay site doesn't say that.
Anyone have any dealings with company?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2175483090
Anyone have any dealings with company?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2175483090
May 20, 2003, 1:19 pm
#2
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Just curious ... is this the same coworker that gets antibiodics for herself at the feedshop?
You might point your colleague to the complaints onthe feedback that say you have to book a hotel through them and that they sell your email to anyone and everyone.
[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 05-20-2003).]
You might point your colleague to the complaints onthe feedback that say you have to book a hotel through them and that they sell your email to anyone and everyone.
[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 05-20-2003).]
May 20, 2003, 2:09 pm
#4
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Just curious ... is this the same coworker that gets antibiodics for herself at the feedshop?
You might point your colleague to the complaints onthe feedback that say you have to book a hotel through them and that they sell your email to anyone and everyone.</font>
You might point your colleague to the complaints onthe feedback that say you have to book a hotel through them and that they sell your email to anyone and everyone.</font>
Are you talking about complaints on the feedback of this particular acution? All I could find were a bunch of one-sentence reviews that said "Fast service" and "excellent buy" and other (possibly manufactured) type statements. Are there other comments I'm missing?
May 20, 2003, 3:07 pm
#5
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If you ever visit the ebay travel board (and very few people do), you'll see most of the posts are from folks who have bought similar items and been dissatisfied.
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jsp?forum=89
Typically, these require you to buy some number of nights at a hotel of their choosing at less than ideal rates.
The May 15 feedback includes "Follow-up by cgillis-3 - THey don't tell you that you have to book a hotel Ripoff"
Questions to ask the seller before bidding:
- Although there are no blackout dates, are dates subject to availability?
- Is there a fee to cash the certificate in for the airline tickets?
- What extra purchase is required (hotel nights, etc)?
Additional issues here:
- They offer a 30 day money back guarantee, but require 60 days notice to book the trip. Does the agency give you immediate confirmation of you dates? Often, you mail the request in, and might not hear back one way or the other until the 30 days has passed.
- The auction says that each ticket has a "maximum value of $400". Does that mean that if a flight from Tulsa runs $800 R/T, you still pay the extra $400?
- He's only been selling these for about two weeks. The feedback is good so far, but have others actually gotten their tickets? Or actually travelled?
Perhaps ask the seller if they could fax a sample of the certificate (front & back) so you can see all the small print.
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jsp?forum=89
Typically, these require you to buy some number of nights at a hotel of their choosing at less than ideal rates.
The May 15 feedback includes "Follow-up by cgillis-3 - THey don't tell you that you have to book a hotel Ripoff"
Questions to ask the seller before bidding:
- Although there are no blackout dates, are dates subject to availability?
- Is there a fee to cash the certificate in for the airline tickets?
- What extra purchase is required (hotel nights, etc)?
Additional issues here:
- They offer a 30 day money back guarantee, but require 60 days notice to book the trip. Does the agency give you immediate confirmation of you dates? Often, you mail the request in, and might not hear back one way or the other until the 30 days has passed.
- The auction says that each ticket has a "maximum value of $400". Does that mean that if a flight from Tulsa runs $800 R/T, you still pay the extra $400?
- He's only been selling these for about two weeks. The feedback is good so far, but have others actually gotten their tickets? Or actually travelled?
Perhaps ask the seller if they could fax a sample of the certificate (front & back) so you can see all the small print.
May 20, 2003, 3:10 pm
#6
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Are you talking about complaints on the feedback of this particular acution? All I could find were a bunch of one-sentence reviews that said "Fast service" and "excellent buy" and other (possibly manufactured) type statements. Are there other comments I'm missing?</font>
The other interesting thing is that all these happy buyers in the last few days appear to have not purchased much on eBay before. Gotta wonder if they're not friends of the seller just putting in a good word.
[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 05-20-2003).]
May 20, 2003, 3:30 pm
#7
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My Goodness, what helpful responses from Swag and letiole! Exactly what I was looking for!
I'd heard of the pay-the-difference-in-airfare catch but completely forgot about that one until someone mentioned it above. And the other suggestions are just great advice for anyone who may be considering one of these offers.
I already passed on the advice and helpful questions to ask to Nellie the medical writer - she's smart, so I'm sure she will steer clear of this deal. Hopefully, she will not even bother to ask all those questions because all the hidden catches in these types of offers are reason enough to look somewhere else for low fares. Thanks again!
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I'm only here trying to shed light on DL issues brought up on FlyerTalk. I do work for a subsidiary of the New York Times Co., but I don't represent their final word when answering a question because they prefer to fabricate their own answers from phony sources and package this fiction as news. Please e-mail Customer Care with your questions.
[This message has been edited by jmartin (edited 05-20-2003).]
I'd heard of the pay-the-difference-in-airfare catch but completely forgot about that one until someone mentioned it above. And the other suggestions are just great advice for anyone who may be considering one of these offers.
I already passed on the advice and helpful questions to ask to Nellie the medical writer - she's smart, so I'm sure she will steer clear of this deal. Hopefully, she will not even bother to ask all those questions because all the hidden catches in these types of offers are reason enough to look somewhere else for low fares. Thanks again!
--------------
I'm only here trying to shed light on DL issues brought up on FlyerTalk. I do work for a subsidiary of the New York Times Co., but I don't represent their final word when answering a question because they prefer to fabricate their own answers from phony sources and package this fiction as news. Please e-mail Customer Care with your questions.
[This message has been edited by jmartin (edited 05-20-2003).]
May 21, 2003, 9:18 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Beacon Falls, CT, USA
Posts: 1,609
I have a friend that fell for just this type of thing.
There is a company called JA Marketing that sells companies these ticket vouchers (don't know if its the same one your friend was going to deal with)... probably blocks bought. The airline tickets ARE real.
However:
The ebay item you buy is a voucher, good for $20 to get these tickets... you send in the voucher and get the registration for the tickets in about 2 months.
Then you pick your dates and send in the registration. The dates are subject to availability.
They DO require a minimum stay in a hotel at 'rack rates' (very high), etc.
I have no idea what airline they use (cropduster airlines?) or what quality hotels are used. My friend was unable to get a list out of them until she sent in her registration (which she hasn't done, might never do).
As a note, she paid $45 for the ebay item, and then when she complained that she couldn't find the company in the BBB or on the net anywhere, they instantly refunded her money... and still sent her the voucher.
I would say that the actual plane tickets are real, but there is so much required that unless you were ALREADY going to do a trip like this, you wouldn't save any money based on the hotel prices.
There is a company called JA Marketing that sells companies these ticket vouchers (don't know if its the same one your friend was going to deal with)... probably blocks bought. The airline tickets ARE real.
However:
The ebay item you buy is a voucher, good for $20 to get these tickets... you send in the voucher and get the registration for the tickets in about 2 months.
Then you pick your dates and send in the registration. The dates are subject to availability.
They DO require a minimum stay in a hotel at 'rack rates' (very high), etc.
I have no idea what airline they use (cropduster airlines?) or what quality hotels are used. My friend was unable to get a list out of them until she sent in her registration (which she hasn't done, might never do).
As a note, she paid $45 for the ebay item, and then when she complained that she couldn't find the company in the BBB or on the net anywhere, they instantly refunded her money... and still sent her the voucher.
I would say that the actual plane tickets are real, but there is so much required that unless you were ALREADY going to do a trip like this, you wouldn't save any money based on the hotel prices.