Additional Info On Stolen Msi Barebones And Completed Notebooks

When did this thread turn into a debate on morality?

 

IF you have trouble getting with Becky tomorrow you might try x224 that is Sam's phone in tech support... He has a list of serial #'s but if the list is "floating around" he WILL either transfer you or put you on hold while he gets the list... HINT: In the corporate world when you get put on hold it sometimes is to set up the call recording that we are all familiar with hearing about... Good luck---hope it comes up clean...

It was strongly hinted to me that MSI has ALREADY BEEN PAID by their insurance company---but do not quote me on this as I can't prove this... MSI don't give a rats azz about you and your hot notebook... The insurance company and the cops have all the interest here... The ins co would like to recover all/part of what they have paid out---after all the COO needs a fat annual bonus... The cops will get to strut proud (among other perks) if they crack the case...

I have been with ebay for quite awhile and was one of the few that was invited to "phone chat" with them for whatever reason... It will not help you but to back this up ebays phone # is 800-701-3229 unfortunately you need an ebay issued 6 digit pin # that is attached to your account(s) to get in... Ebay is very much aware of this MSI issue... Why should ebay have to lose revenue and not allow the MSI listings ??? There are many legit and clean MSI products listed on ebay daily...

As for the city of industry cops---yep i called and was given a voice mail at some sargent of property's desk... I left a clear vm with my name and num twice and have yet to get a call back... NUFF SAID !!!


To all that are interested in this thread::: There is lots more to this than what has been discussed to this point... I have been made whole financially to the penny and to the point where I just need to go forward and put this whole fiasco behind me...

To the those that know they have stolen equipment but chose to do nothing watch out for karma...

To those that don't believe this is real---good luck in the future...

Thanks...

NOTAGEEK

 

my question and i am 100% not questioning anyone here is why if ebay knows about this have they decided to basically not do ANYTHING about it. they are not stopping these auctions nor are they pulling peoples accounts who have sold them. just a thought on my end. im sure they know something by now but i think its bad that ebay is basically doing nothing and still allowing these to sell and then people have to be put in this mess to begin with.

 

That is a good question because I work for an eBay business and I know how quick they are in telling us something we are not allowed to sell. Sometimes they take things down before the days end when we listed it. This is never for stolen property however, but for items not allowed like Defibrillators and certain products the manufacturers do not allow you to resell. Which leads me to believe that MSI has not even contacted eBay.

 

yup i have had many items pulled when i owned a car audio shop. manufactures would have stuff pulled all the time on us just because they didnt want it being sold on ebay and nothing more alpine and jl audio were big on this for a while then they pretty much just gave up

 

Well Z, that is a really good question and of course one of the questions on my list when I talked to ebay... They are very well trained at ebay and you do not talk to trainees on the phone with them...

When I asked a very similar question as I was "steaming" from finding out I bought stolen goods they gave me a valid answer... I tried to address this in my last post... Computers are not on any "banned list" and totally fine to list on ebay... Every computer listed for sale means revenue---more revenue if the item sells to both ebay and paypal... Many of the MSI computers sold on ebay are perfectly legal and legit... Why should ebay lose income by not allowing MSI products to be listed when computers are fine to list/sell on ebay ???

After thinking over my "Problem" of buying stolen goods I made a brilliant deduction---well brilliant might be stretching it some !!!

Here is the deal !!! I printed out my paypal receipt after purchasing my msi note book... Is this not a perfectly legal document ??? Can i not give proof of ownership of this item with this document ??? As far as the law is concerned do i posses stolen goods ??? Does the party that sold this item have their fanny in hot water but not me ??? If the seller bought this item with cash and has no receipt then THE SELLER IS likely guilty of possessing/selling stolen property !!! The "poor consumer" with legal proof of ownership that got taken advantage of in this situation is NOT GUILTY OF ANYTHING !!!

I'm not a lawyer, but this whole issue can be looked from many different angles...

Thanks...

NOTAGEEK

 

but my questions stems more to the fact of ... okay say you bought a notebook from that diver7c guy. i know for A FACT ebay and paypal know he sold a stolen system and both have been notified. why then is he allowed to continue listing them. they have not banned him nor have they removed any of his auctions after they were notified and the guy i know who bought from him DID already get a refund for the system. so that still adds to the question.. that is my point notageek

 

Z
Here is a Direct phone number to eBay security.
A person will answer....
866-934-9647

ask away,

 

While there are a few people very concerned about legitimacy, I believe most are focused are preventing a bad warranty or having the fallout from being linked to some stolen cache of hot laptops.

Without a more serious response on MSI (or their insurers?) part, culpability has yet to be transferred to the average buyer. It would be those who are now knowingly selling or seeking to buy questionable goods that carry any sort of blame.

We will see a lot of people unfamiliar with the 1651 or the 1722 who yet have bought one around here soon.

 

Sorry Z but I don't have an answer---perhaps innocent until proven guilty ??? Can this seller possibly produce a document that proves ownership ??? Just way too many variables...

Thanks...

NOTAGEEK

 

Everyone and every case is entitled to due process and it would be very bad business to ban all MSI 1722/1651's along with assuming what would most likely be some misplaced guilt. I mean, yes, we see a massive listing, but it is very poor logic to assume ALL are stolen. It has to be a case by case basis. Like I said before, if the box has the system info cut off and the unit is missing it's SN#, yeah, you can assume it is stolen. Even without that info missing, if you want, follow up on it.

Look at the prices of some fully configured GX720's now on eBay. Less than $1000. Remove the components and OEM license, and they are right around $400-500, which happens to be some of the prices for barebones now. Are we to believe resellers are selling GX720's for less than a grand, but MSI still is selling barebones for $700-800+ Really?

eBay isn't in the business of policing items or making sure serial #'s check out, and why should they? They are a middle man and they want their cut. If an OEM or person comes along with the credentials (and legal department) to make them take notice and take down listings and ban certain items from being sold, they will. The other buyer who said his sale was held up because eBay was insisting on an invoice and serial #s shows someone or some entity put enough pressure on them to dot their i's and cross their t's.

Like Notageek said, this is a win/win for MSI in regards to being able to write off a decent chunk of inventory and be compensated for it. This is more a case for the insurance company to help recover assets they paid for and/or determine if MSI is on the up and up. Don't confuse this with justification; it simply is.

I don't think it is morality bashing on Cyber's part and he has been a good source of information, but I do believe to each his own and I seriously doubt Cyber is sitting back judging people. I also think many are handling their situations privately and quietly in a way they see fit and that's ok. I've seen plenty of things in my life being offered that most likely, "fell off the truck." It's not of my business and frankly, I don't care what people do with those items. I remember a LAN party I attended circa 2004. A guy had a pimped out Dell Inspiron XPS. I mean LOADED, and I asked how much he paid, fully expecting him to say $4k+. He said $500 from a dude in Philly and it was clearly hot as a Death's Valley day. Did I care? No, that's HIS business, not mine. I was raised, by an early age, to not be a snitch and to not mind other people's business.

On the other hand, Cyber got burned (to a nice healthy sum), and has taken on the cause to help inform others. I don't think he is finger pointing or bashing (or I hope he isn't), because that never works. The best you can do is inform and let users make their own decisions.

If someone wants to keep their suspect laptop, that's your business and that's that. It is what it is. If you are having some type of misplaced moral conflict, resolve it in a fashion that works for you.

And yes, while this, like most investigations, are being investigated internally, I would like an official statement from MSI of some sort detailing the theft and what their position is overall instead of "he said/she said."

 

let me make what i meant clear also i did not mean for a minute to ban all sales of these on ebay. but as i said once a seller has been brought to the attention of ebay or paypal that has sold one i feel they should be cut off from msi sales or ebay altogether. i did not at all mean to entitely ban msi from ebay.

 

electrosoft,
Thank you and you are correct.
My only involvement within this thread is for people to understand that this indeed is real, and hopefully help others to avoid or assist in the situation.
I will also add, barebones laptops are NOT the only stolen laptop products.
Fully configured are as well, that is what i have been lead to believe by the local authorities themselves.
That is why it is important to purchase right now from a listed authorized MSI reseller or at least check the SN#

Meanwhile, my view of life, people that take & live the highroad in life,
Usually but not always, are rewarded in many ways of such a lifestyle.
Its a good feeling knowing you have done the right thing.

 

I don't know what the us list is like, but the Canadian official sellers list has as a majority defunct vendors.

Plus, I know on the US list there are those who seem super shady, like crappy websites with no real info, premium prices for no real reason, etc, so there;s no much help there.

 

I picked up a few latin phrases back in when I was in school. One I still remember is "Nemo dat quod non habet." Basically, if the seller didn't own it, he can't sell it to you.

 

Has anyone that purchased from OConBudget actually received thier barebone? I paid for mine a week ago, he said he sent it saturday priority and i dont have it. Just wanted to know if anyone bought from him and if he is legit? Does anyone have a better way to contact him?

 

a lot of people bought from him and got their notebooks but it seems he fell off the map and no one has heard from him since

 

If it helps : I was able to contact him through PM on this site friday evening.

 

i dont care myself. but this may help others that need to maybe get a refund that have not recieved their system or get a refund if they want to due to the issues of possibly being stolen. ive just had other people tell me they have not got any responses from him since he pulled the threads and they already paid him

 

Just got mine today. It is nib. I know he is out of town, he shipped mine from Utah.

 

?
I just searched for the Dirt Cheap and the pre-built sales threads and can't find them?
Maybe my search failed, for those threads to be 100% MIA
Someone with higher powers had to remove them all together.
Now that would be suspect as to why?

Locking the threads is one thing, but going back and eliminating pages of posts and other threads make a person ?

Maybe i will disappear as well in due time

 

ocon said he asked for the threads to be pulled until he could find out for sure what was going on that was the last thing i remember him posting

 

I seriously have doubts about this mass-theft.

This coming from a company that accuses other companies of selling stuff that is "pilfered" because the price was too good. i.e. Woot.

MSI cooks up this giant theft because they are losing money. Maybe some are stolen and some(most) probably arent.

What if they claimed they were stolen but they were actually liquidated by MSI and once they saw the market for them growing...they want them back now.

 

Furthermore...if there was a big theft.

Why hasnt it been made public by MSI, don't they want to recall them?

hmm...sell a computer, claim it is stolen, not pay any service/warranty fees....that sounds a lot like the MSI i know

 

Thank you for responding, if he is out of town I will wait a few days and see if he responds, thanks again

 

Well, I definitely agree there was a case of theft.

It is where the theft ends and valid liquidation/lower prices begins that it gets grey.....

But, as always, you can check your unit's status if it concerns you.

 

I agree. There is no way someone or some group of people could have succeeded in the theft of thousands of these laptops. We're talking about at least 1 full 53' semi trailer worth of laptops being "stolen". I asked the seller that I purchased 2 of the 1651's on Ebay from, and he said the story that he had heard was that MSI sold thousands of these laptops to some company dirt-cheap ($100-$200 each, but with a requirement that they could not be listed on Ebay for less than some such price. This company turned around and sold them for not much more than they paid. MSI got pissed, so this company declared the laptops stolen rather than goint to court against MSI.

 

Now this was a brilliant post.
I wish all luck to all members with which ever direction they decide to go with the information provided within the many threads.

This effort has been nothing but a time-sink

With this post i am out-of-here.... and may stop in to lurk once in awhile.

 

I've been watching this soap opera for a few days now and the one thing that impressed me is that you are the only one who cares. MSI certainly doesn't. Everyone else has adopted Bill Clinton's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Yes, it does appear that you wasted your time.

 

cyber,

If your reading this I want you to know you didn't waste your time. I was lurking and too afraid to post anything for fear of getting nailed. I have no protection. I can't make a paypal claim. I traded for my 1651 barebone. I cant call MSI or the cops because I don't have a way out or a way of getting my "money" back. I also really need this computer or a replacement and I cant wait for a case-by-case review of how to get my "money" back. I want to give it back, because i think it is stolen, its the right thing to do. I just cant. And i don't know what to do.

 

Can you please elaborate for me where the I initial claim of the theft came from? I'm not trying to jerk you around or anything.. It is just that you seem pretty knowledgable.

I just can't understand how there aren't any news stories, or ofiicial statements, or even letters to the msi retailer's to inform customers of the supposed million dollar loss that msi took.

Who knows? But I know that I am not going to waste my time chasing down to fix msi's issues. Because they certainly saved on the support costs with this little manuever...whether legit or not!

 

I am of the position that there is more than meets the eye and it isn't as clean cut as it appears (thousands stolen, then dumped).

I do like the story of a bottom barrel purchase going south as the reseller then dumped the dirt cheap units for a little bit above cost. Quickest way to introduce FUD over questionable sales is to claim theft. Conspiracy theories are fun, heh.

With that being said, XoticPC, a reseller, was the first "trusted" source to validate early postings by someone with a low post count claiming the sheer amount of sudden "cheap" eBay postings were possibly stolen.

There have been a few follow up claims for those who actually used the resources presented to them to validate their purchases and found them to be illegal. Feedback for Diver7c is one that found his unit to be stolen. Notageek!!! and Cyber16 are two who reportedly got hit.

Like everyone else, you have the means to check your unit's status. Either call, register or both with MSI. That is as direct as it gets. No conjecture, no hearsay, no conspiracy theories. Either you check it or you don't. No more; no less.

Like I said before, it's your business what you do. If you are ok with your unit and feel it is legit (which really is the right mentality to take imho....saying some units are hot isn't enough for me to assume a unit is stolen), then rock on. If you have any doubt and want some type of piece of mind, follow up with the resources presented in the various threads.

Personally, I think, in the end, nothing is going to come of this for the most part, but I like to make it a habit as much as possible of being proven wrong.

 

well put, and I agree.

If MSI isnt asking us to check the SN# then why should we?

 

I purchased a MSI GX620-098 off of ebay that was new and sealed. Upon trying to register it I got a message saying that their was no warranty as the product must be purchased from an MSI authorized retailer.

The following day I contacted MSI tech support to inquire about this and was placed on hold and then told that I had purchased one of the units in question. I advised them of my ebay purchase and asked them what I should do. They gave me no advice. I asked them if I should take the laptop to my local police department and all the guy said was " if that's what you feel the need to do."

I contacted the ebay seller who has a good reputation and has been around since 2002 and we have been woking together on this as well as ebay/paypal. However I have not been contacted by ebay/paypal or any law enforcment agency. The seller has been great to work with and offered a full refund plus return shipping on the unit.

I believe MSI needs to release a statement on their website as this forum is the only place I have found any information pertaining to this alleged theft...... Looks like I should have just spent the extra $$$ on nother brand to begin with.

 

if they said "you do what you feel you need to do"

Then there is something wrong here.
There is no way they diddn't give you an advision if it was a big deal... MSI is really confusing me!

 

I am 99.9% certain that when this is 100% resolved I won't ever take another look at an MSI product solely because of their poor handling in regards to this issue.

It's unfortunate because this seems to be a great laptop and it met everything I was looking for in a new notebook. The worst part is upon ordering it I reformatted both my desktop and my laptop and sold them as this was meant to be a desktop replacment for me. Thank goodness I backed up all my files to an external HD.

 

That is why a few pages ago I said " I am not buying MSI ever again". They may produce nice computers for the budget but they are way unprofessional. If Dell lost 20000 laptops you would have learned about it before it drops to the forum as a gossip. don;t care if they put a 4850 or what ever into their computers. If they can not come out and tell what is going on they are worthless.

 

like how the bestbuy in West Palm Beach FL had its computers hacked and credit information was stolen,, its a link in small font on the best buy website... and only says "if you shopped here, whatch out"

 

where in MSI website it informs the customers about the stolen computers?

 

It's funny how that since this thread began, the supply of the MS-1651's and the MS-1722's on Ebay has gone down and the sales prices have gone up. People just can't resist a "hot deal".

 

it isn't, im saying it is being handled even worse (but i think having your credit card and other info stolen is worse than a hot laptop)

 

holy crap this sucks to hear!
i am an ebay seller.... and recently i purchased 10 from a local dealer...
if the info about 1000x laptop stolen from MSI...(which sounds like retarded bS)
and there is no INFO on the news or any ACTUAL proof article besides rumor...

i actually tried to call MSI about this... but they make you wait for sooo Long that my phone died on signal...i dunno what to do... can those people who said this theft/robery thing is true confirm with some actual proof?

anyways... sounds rediculous to me....
i will check my serial numbers and post a reply later and tell you guys~
if they are not stolen then i will publish em on ebay and sell em like mad and you guys can buy from me! otherwise i will remain hidden and sell em like i didn't know they are stolen

 

Barebone laptops don't have warranty....

 

just wanted to add msi wind used to sell for 450...
and suddenly somewhere between the past 2 months it dropped to 300...
dunno if this was the result of the tactic shxx they are playing...

 

Thats nothing, look at the GT627 US models:
According to what MSI told arstechnica the -218US was supposed to MSRP @ $1299 and the -216US @ $1149 (IIRC) meanwhile MSI US site lists them at $1399 and $1249 respectively (IIRC about the -216US model as I never even seriously considered that one).

The other little guys are selling them for the same price as on the MSI US site, while both Amazon and newegg have the price that was given to arstechnica. I'm beginning to wonder if the GT725 was also supposed to have gotten a downwards price bump, but since newegg & Amazon has the same price as everyone else I guess not.

 

Do you think this is one of the stolen ones floating around on eBay, he wont give me a serial # to check and see.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=190294612100

 

If he won't give you the serial numbers then it is probably one of them. It is really up to you if you want to buy/keep it an take the chance. I decided to keep mine. If you email MSI, I don't think they even check the serial numbers, they probably just see the 1651/1722 in the number and automatically say it is stolen.

 

Same thing. I asked about them, and no answer. His prices are all over the map. For $550 barebones ($499+$49.95 S&H lol), you can get one of the GX720 ID2s that are on there with 320gb 7200rpm, 4gb, Wi-Fi and a Vista license, new, warrantied and with the pack ins for $999 (or less). I know Newegg had 'em for $999, which makes sense since the GT725 is here.

 

where is the news source of this thievery?

 

There is none from what I understand. You either call the City of Industry Police or MSI to tell you they are stolen. There is not serial number checker or a news article/statement of the theft.