There are several scams currently running for Garmin 196, 296, 396 and 496 GPS sysems for aircraft and cars.

To begin with, the seller is selling the item well below most retail or

even similar auctions - usually starting at around 60 to 90 Euros

(about $75 to $115 US). The seller asks not to send questions through

Ebay, but rather through email such as a Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL or other

“free” email account.

Sometimes the seller has hijacked a real account with an excellent

profile. BEWARE and don’t send mail directly to the e-mail listed in

the auction. If you have a doubt, send he e-mail directly through Ebay.

One other indication of a fraudulent sale is if the seller doesn’t

provide details of payment for the auction within the auction itself.

For example, the seller may say “See detail”, but not provide any

details of payment until after you’ve won the auction, or state that he

wants a cashier’s check or money order for the merchandise. After the

auction is concluded, he’ll contact you and ask you for a wire transfer

or a Western Union moneygram. If you purchase anything with other than

Paypal, you have no recourse or way of getting your money back. (No, I

don’t work for Paypal or Ebay - but both have stood behind me and

reimbursed me for fraudulent auctions - I highly recommend the extra

“insurance” that you get by using their recommended method of payment.)

These auctions are also (often) 24-hour auctions. They’re designed to

make you react quickly, without thinking about it, and a person’s

natural tendency to look for a “good deal” or a deal that no one else

is getting. Don’t fall for it. Verify that the seller really is who he

says he is.

Finally, be sure to check the seller’s profile. Even if they’ve had an

excellent Ebay record, be sure to check the dates of any purchases made

and the amount of each purchase. On fraudulent seller had made 10

purchases all in one day - for $.01 each, and had a 100% record with

the seller of each auction. This fraudulent seller said that he was an

“Ebay Trusted Seller” - a lie.

Don’t purchase an GPS system (or anything else for that matter) unless

you’ve had a chance to contact them prior to the end of the auction.

Verify that they are who they say they are. Don’t get fooled by

fraudulent sellers.

Countries of origin include: China (Hong Kong, Beijing), England, India.

Good Luck and Don’t Get Fooled!

Ed