Ebay - 1/2 price Qantas/Jetstar fares auction????

[Mal]

Business and Economy Qantas & JetStar tickets half$ - eBay Australia, Short Breaks, Travel, Tickets, Travel. (end time 07-Oct-07 15:30:22 AEST)

Anyone know what's with this auction?

Someone using their Corporate discount to buy tickets for others?
Something more nefarious?

Just looks unusually suspicious...

 

[littl_flier]

Mmm, does look a little unusual/dodgy. One quoted example is HBA-PER on 18 Oct. QF prices is $371, quoted price is $310. Another example is MEL-SYD-MEL on SuperSaver for $199. Bit of a bargain for that one.

Wonder what the price of the J class fares are.

 

[Mal]

The other thing too is that in most (all) states, you are required to hold a Travel Agent's license or similar to sell travel arrangements.

I'm not sure the seller could meet that need as an individual - but no ideas who they are or who backs them.

Very weird all up. I presume Qantas wouldn't like this happening and will take steps to identify and cease the activity. Will they chase those who have bought tickets from this source?

 

[straitman]

The add also states that you are protected by Pay Pal Buyer Protection Policy,
however the following is from the Pay Pal page:

5. Eligibility Requirements. In order for your transaction to be eligible under the PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy or the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy, all of the following requirements must be met:

A. In order for your transaction to be eligible under the PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy or the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy, all of the following requirements must be met: Purchase a Qualifying Item. Your purchase must be for a tangible, physical good that can be shipped. The following items are not eligible under either the PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy or the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy: intangibles, services, licences and other access to digital content, live auctions, vehicles, airline flight tickets, and items prohibited in the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy.

There is more of course :!:

 

[fortymilliondaggers]

Read the policy a bit more closely

 

[straitman]

Read the policy a bit more closely

:?: :?: :?: :?:

Not good at cryptic comments.

For another reason I read the whole policy yesterday :!:

 

[fortymilliondaggers]

"The following items are not eligible under either the PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy or the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy...airline flight tickets."

 

[bambbbam2]

I notice that taxes don't seem to rate a mention....

Also I checked a couple of their "questions" and you can find better deals by going to the Qantas website on some of them..

 

[straitman]

"The following items are not eligible under either the PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy or the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy...airline flight tickets."

That's what I said, didn't I :?:

Now that I've reread my post I see that what I've posted is as clear as mud. The intent was that items are not eligible :!:

 

[Skoogle]

Also I checked a couple of their "questions"

With the answers on seat numbers and use of terminology, surely that person would be a member of this forum.

Maybe it is an attempt to turn credit into cash + points. It is a business account, then maybe they could claim back the GST as well.

 

[littl_flier]

And look at the huge surge in questions being asked today. Skoogle, you didn't ask about SYD-CBR-SYD did you?

Some of the discounts are quite reasonable, but mainly on the Full whY and J flights. (ie. SYD-PER-SYD in J class)

 

[Mal]

Some of the discounts are quite reasonable, but mainly on the Full whY and J flights. (ie. SYD-PER-SYD in J class)

This is what makes me think it's a Corporate Account's discount being used to buy the tix.

It's a good deal, but has too high a level of risk for my liking to participate.

 

[Reggie]

This is what makes me think it's a Corporate Account's discount being used to buy the tix.

It's a good deal, but has too high a level of risk for my liking to participate.

What is the saying - if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

At checkin, sorry Mr and Mrs Reggie, you do not have any seats on this flight. I understand you have electronic tickets issued, but Qantas is not honouring them, and you can expect a call form the police.

Anyone watch Soprano's - they had an intersting story line on a corporate tickets scam.

 

[littl_flier]

I agree completely. It would be a sucker to have the flights not honoured at the last minute. And note its not International flights beacuse these are normally remitted back to the Company at the end of the month rather than as an upfront discount.

Turns out the discount isn't quite as large as our Corp discount anyway so if anybody needs anything, give me a yell...................

 

[JohnK]

I agree that it looks very suspicious.

This person has not had activity on ebay for almost a year and has recently sold a laptop and now selling questionable airfares. Would be interested in feedback from any of the people who have already purchased.

 

[Skoogle]

you didn't ask about SYD-CBR-SYD did you?

Nope. Too risky for me.

 

[Mal]

Turns out the discount isn't quite as large as our Corp discount anyway

Someone has to pay the Ebay'er their overheads (time responding to all the messages, doing the research, Ebay positioning and listing fees etc etc etc).

My best guess is that the auctions will be removed by end of Wednesday. Just enough time for Qantas to consult with their legal advisors and for them to 'convince' Ebay that the sales aren't appropriate.

This is the sort of Ebay Loophole Qantas will use:

eBay has special rules limiting who can sell travel-related items on eBay, and what can be sold. Sellers who want to list travel-related items must adhere to all rules outlined in the Examples section below.

* Travel agents, and other businesses selling travel services: Businesses and individuals, who sell, advertise or arrange travel services (but do not directly provide the travel service themselves) may list travel services on eBay provided that they are licenced to provide such services in Australia. The listing will clearly indicate their licence number as well as any other affiliation such as AFTA membership. They may not, however list any travel service prohibited by eBay as set out below. Sellers are required to include the following disclaimer in all listings for travel exactly as it appears below and in a text size and color that can easily be seen and read by all bidders:

"By listing this auction I verify that I am the actual travel agent or travel provider and not a third party affiliate. The travel/accommodations in this auction will be booked directly through me and not an outside agency. I also verify that, other than the government taxes and related government fees stated within the listing description itself, there will be absolutely no additional fees, charges or after auction purchases associated with booking the travel within this listing."

* Individuals: The Travel Agents Act of 1986 (NSW) prohibits a person from carrying on business as a travel agent unless licenced. However, in most jurisdictions persons are exempt from travel agent licencing if the total value of travel arrangements made does not exceed $30,000.00 in any one financial year. Accordingly individual travelers or small operators such as sporting or social clubs can list on eBay, but may not list more then one trip per month. In this instance the seller can play no role other than delivering the listed item.

 

[Travel Guru]

The only thing I can think of is perhaps it's an employee of one of the travel agencies abusing the inhouse 20% off all Qantas fares offer for employees and immediate families thats running this month?

I'll see if I can confirm thats the case, either way it looks extremely dodgy.

TG

 

[Travel Guru]

This is the reply to my question requesting their agency name and licence no.

I can't work out what he/she is on about, perhaps someone can shed some light?


"I understand your concern, however I am not registered as a travel agent. I book the flights through an interface that allow me to have discounted airfares with a PIN registered with Qantas as a wholesaler. Because I'm not yet registered as an agent, I can't sell or distribute international tickets. However, all local tickets I sell are produced directly by Qantas and a tax invoice is provided as well. All the tickets are legit and can be confirmed with Qantas anytime at their customer services number or at any Qantas counter. Cheers."

TG

 

[Dave Noble]

This is the reply to my question requesting their agency name and licence no.

I can't work out what he/she is on about, perhaps someone can shed some light?

I think that what it is saying is that the person is not issuing the ticket nor taking payment for the booking but is just making the booking through a discount location. It would seem that QF would issue the ticket and that the intermediary is just making the booking on your behalf

Dave