eBay Tequila Scams

[MrAgave]

A word of advice for any new Tequila collectors and consumers, eBay is filled with non-collectible collectibles. Many bottles labeled as rare, hard to find, discontinued, etc. are most likely still found in a liquor store.

Many consumers have also been scammed with refilled bottles. Many bottles on the market can be refilled and resealed to look new and be resold.

Many sellers don't use a true photo either, they will take a product / marketing photo and your bottle may be the same brand, but will be different from the bottle shown in the auction.

There can be some legitimate deals for those looking for something specific, so don't hesitate to post about an item here in the forum to find out more on the product and the seller.

Here are a list of Ebay members that are known to misrepresent Tequila bottles, by either using false photos, and labeling new Tequila products as RARE - LIMITED - DISCONTINUED:
seeemonkey
rchaptini
raybassil
alcapone-jr

Do your research, don't get scammed.

[Lippy]

Nice posting, Mr. A. For sure - Buyer Beware!

I just bought 2 "treasure bottles" from Al Capone jr., and i made sure he sent me pix of both bottles side x side (they were both the same brand and age) and i asked specifically to see the paper seals on the bottle tops.
The bottles arrived on time, in good shape and filled with the juice I expected.

No problems with "Al", though I HAVE heard some problem tales from others.

[ryan79]

Originally Posted by MrAgave

A word of advice for any new Tequila collectors and consumers, eBay is filled with non-collectible collectibles. Many bottles labeled as rare, hard to find, discontinued, etc. are most likely still found in a liquor store.

Many consumers have also been scammed with refilled bottles. Many bottles on the market can be refilled and resealed to look new and be resold.

Many sellers don't use a true photo either, they will take a product / marketing photo and your bottle may be the same brand, but will be different from the bottle shown in the auction.

There can be some legitimate deals for those looking for something specific, so don't hesitate to post about an item here in the forum to find out more on the product and the seller.

Here are a list of Ebay members that are known to misrepresent Tequila bottles, by either using false photos, and labeling new Tequila products as RARE - LIMITED - DISCONTINUED:
seeemonkey
rchaptini
raybassil
alcapone-jr

Do your research, don't get scammed.

Good post.

I have posted some information over on Ian's forum about buying/selling on eBay and how to avoid being scammed with PayPal; as well as a JCRF bottle buying guide (new or re-issue).

When I get a chance I will post them here as well.

[SeattleJuan]

To the first post I'll add the eBay user "tequilitas", who last year put up a bunch of Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familiia re-issues and for some time insisted that they were original juice re-issues. My issues with him is that he conducts business with absolutely no communication, takes a month to ship and the item while usually as advertised, often looks like it got beat with a hammer at 3 times the actual shipping cost.

I had to laugh at seeemonkey trying to sell a 750ml Solo Blanco for $95, which even in the regressive liquor climate of WA state only sells for $30 or so.

On the other hand alcapone-jr lately has been offering free shipping for most items he is selling, so if you see something worth obtaining you aren't getting jacked for the shipping.

Bottom line is to know what you are buying.

[Rhett]

I just reviewed two of the names listed above and found that they have almost (if not completely) flawless feedback profiles. If they are "known" to misrepresent, shouldn't I see a lot of negative feedback on these guys?

I've never purchased on eBay, but with my new love for tequila, I suspect I will at some point.

[MrAgave]

This is more of a heads up... I think if you know Tequila, know what the bottles are supposed to look like, types of seals, etc. than they might be fine to order from. I get many emails through the site asking about eBay auctions and bottles, and many times when I go to check out the auction I see they are using an image from Tequila.net, or a marketing pic. So with that alone, knowing that they are too lazy to take a REAL photo of the bottle that is being auctioned, that is misleading the consumer.

I see auctions for Tequila brands that just came out a couple of months ago with all of these guys, and they label them as rare, limited edition, etc. The terms from eBay claim that the only way you can sell alcohol is as a collectible that is no longer available in retail stores.

And if you buy a bottle from them and plan on drinking it, unless you know that brand and drink it often, how will you know it is filled with the appropriate juice? Or, if you are buying a collectible, that bottle may have already been emptied and refilled with mixto, re-sealed, and is now available as an auction. So for the normal consumer, there is no way of knowing you are getting what you are paying for... blame this on the CRT for not coming up with a mandatory seal for all bottles, to authenticate the juice inside after bottling.

So watch out for bottles that have a plastic (shrink-wrap) seal around the stopper and cork, at least screw tops have validity and are tough to pass off as new once they've been cracked.

Originally Posted by Rhett

I just reviewed two of the names listed above and found that they have almost (if not completely) flawless feedback profiles. If they are "known" to misrepresent, shouldn't I see a lot of negative feedback on these guys?

I've never purchased on eBay, but with my new love for tequila, I suspect I will at some point.

[DonAnejo]

guess there are scams everywhere - I'm glad someone with more experience than myself put good some good comments around this topic as I was looking to purchase a bottle from one of the names on to watch for list - guess I'll need to rethink that

[yazoo]

Ive bought from him 3 times never with any problem.

[blagave]

Originally Posted by yazoo

Ive bought from him 3 times never with any problem.

What did you buy?
Did you open it and taste it? If not, how do you know what you got.

There are mixed feelings about this particular seller on Ebay.....some like yourself, have had good dealings, while other's say they have been ripped off.

In the past it was noted that some of the bottles being auctioned off, did not appear to have the proper seals around the top of the bottles.....one should be skeptical at that point and question WHY

I guess if you are willing to accept that you are buying a collectors "Bottle" as stated in the auction and not what's inside, then everyone should be happy with there purchase.

[yazoo]

ive bought from alcapone jr:

tapatio anejo - tasted like the real thing. even had the mexican style, slow pour spout, which i believe you cant pour liquid back into the bottle

cazadores huge bottle - same as above

don julio 1942 - same as above only doesnt have the slow pour spout. cork was shrink wrap sealed, apparently from the factory, came in original box. tastes great, if he did the old switcharoo with some hornitos, then its the best hornitos ever.

i just wish alcapone took paypal. and used less crumpled newspaper packaging.