Original Message:
Re: Help! The Timeshare User Group, am I being scammed? (by KC):
orvillef2 reports: >> I just won a timeshare on E-Bay, I was the only bidder and the seller, Tachoa25, aka The Timeshare Group has not responded to my request for an address to send in my cashiers check or money order within the required 5 days. It has now been 2 days and they have re-listed my timeshare. I have not had dealings with these people before and would appreciate any information (phone number) etc. That anyone might have. They do not take Paypal, regular checks, VISA etc. And I'm wondering if this company is legit. I don't even know how to contact E-Bay to get more information.
Can anyone help, Please? =======================================
For what it's worth, I know this much:
1. Tachoa brothers Doug and Thomas routinely sell a lot of timeshares on Ebay -- that's what they do. They are a "legitimate" business in that respect. 2. A number of people on various "other" timeshare sites in which I participate report having successfully purchased timeshares from the Tachoa brothers. When problems have arisen, buyers have generally reported achieving successful resolution --- eventually.
While the above two observations of fact may provide you at least a little bit of reassurance, I must also make it very clear that I myself have never personally dealt with either of the brothers at any time.
However....... you also indicate now seeing the same timeshare now relisted on Ebay. If it is, in fact, the very same timeshare relisted, this certainly suggests that you may NOT actually have "won" the previous auction. Was there a reserve price listed on the previous auction? Did your bid meet the reserve amount? If not, despite your being the only and/or highest bidder, they are NOT obligated to complete the sale with you if their reserve price was not actually met at auction's end.
If there WAS a reserve amount listed and you met it and you won the auction, then eBay would have promptly confirmed that fact to you directly in an email message, specifically indicating the auction listing number and details. Did you ever GET any such confirmation message from eBay? I'm guessing maybe not if, as you've stated, you "don't even know how to contact eBay". If you really won the auction and met the listed reserve price, you would already have heard from eBay directly via prompt email confirmation.
Absent knowing all the underlying facts here, it certainly sounds at first glance like you may NOT have actually won the previous auction --- perhaps because of an unmet reserve. If you believe otherwise, I'd suggest that you go to eBay.com, specifiy the auction listing number and state your case asap.
On the other hand, you might also ask yourself at this time if this was/is really a prudent purchase anyhow, if you were the one and only bidder interested. A whole lot of knowledgeable timeshare people routinely scout eBay for good deals on good timeshares. If I was in your shoes, I might be asking myself why I was the only person on the planet interested in this particular timeshare. eBay timeshare sellers have a lot of "cute" ways to not fully and/or accurately reveal features like points value, maintenance fee status, etc. eBay is definitely a Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) world when it comes to timeshare, at least in my own observation and personal opinion.
In any case, that's what I know, that's what I think and I hope some of it is of help and/or interest to you.
Good luck. I'd be interested to learn of your outcome.
Ken