Ebay Scam

In fairness, there's a difference between the type of ebay scammers mentioned in the original article that the thread started about, and those sellers that cover rust with filler and paint and tell you it's fully restored when it's not. Both are shysters, but in different ways.

The ebay scammers will get photos (most likely copied and pasted from previous genuine listings and adverts), put the van up for auction, and rely on bidders being too far away to come for a viewing. The listing will probably have a very short running time to compound the problem of getting to see it, and anyone who appears to be local probably won't get their messages answered.
The idea of buying a VW Camper and driving off into the sunset with a surf board on the roof and one of those nasty lei things dangling from the rear view mirror, is a dream that a lot of folks will buy in to - especially at the start of the summer - and with good enough photos and a heartfelt description, bids will get placed. There's normally some sort of wording that a 10% deposit must be paid as soon as the auction closes - and it's easy to see how people could get conned if they start to deal outside of ebay to 'get a better deal'. I can't imagine it would be that hard to knock up a genuine looking paypal payment request to send to the winning bidder, and even if the scammer only gets away with the 10% deposit money, it's still a good return if you do it every week.

The sellers who just sell lemons whilst telling you it's a peach are a different story, and like you all say - there's recourse that can be taken if necessary; but much better to go viewing with your eyes open after doing your research, and with someone who knows what they're talking about and looking for.

A popular scam I came across when looking to buy was an advert in a paper, cracking photos, great description (no doubt 'borrowed' from a genuine advert); on replying to the email contact details, I was told the story of a dead husband and his beloved campervan, a widow who was now too lonely and too afraid to deal with potential buyers, and who would (being lonely and afraid and apparently very generous) cover the costs to get the van shipped to me from London after I'd paid for it. All this could be done through paypal - she would get a money request sent to me - and of course I would be protected by paypal should I decide that it wasn't what I wanted once it had been delivered.
Yeah, right.

Buyer Beware. And well informed.
Luckily there are a load more genuine sellers out there than scammers and shysters. It just helps to see the difference.