I tend to be too honest for my own good. (You wouldn't believe how old I was before I even realized that was possible.) I still, to this day, at the ripe old age of 66 years, tend to default to believing in the best of others.

So somebody's got this thing listed on eBay. It's listed as "new," which eBay defines as "A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging...". It's not in its original packaging. No packaging is even shown in the photos. Plus, looking at the photos, it doesn't look brand new.

Secondly: Even if used, much less "new other" ("A new, unused item in the original packaging but not sealed."), it should be attracting higher bidding. I suspect it's not because part of its description is misspelled (I found it be accident) and the item specifics has the wrong brand name.

So...

Question:
Contact the seller, questioning the accuracy of their advert, and inform them of the clear mistakes in it; go ahead and take advantage of the seller's mistakes, relying on eBay's guarantee should it not really be what it's claimed to be, or just walk away?

Choices:
Honesty is the best policy. Contact the seller.
It's dog eat dog. Steal it if you can.
Simply walk away.
Mmmm... donuts...

Question:
And, out of curiosity...

Choices:
I've bought on eBay
I've sold on eBay
I've both bought and sold on eBay
I've neither bought nor sold on eBay
Mmmm... donuts...

 

I've bought a fair bit of stuff on ebay but only at the "buy it now" price if I like it. Can't be bothered to fool around with bidding and sniping and all that horseshit.

I've sold a couple of small items.

I'm a big believer in honesty, but the only honesty I can control is mine. I won't sell anything without full disclosure, and I won't buy things I feel are seriously under-priced without at least talking to the owner about it. Most all say thanks, I've lost one or two deals because I priced myself out of it by being honest about it, and I've had several folks say "That's what I wanted for it and I'm happy."

I'll never get rich, but I sleep well.

If it is a one of a kind, (serial numbered, art), or a hard to find, collectable and so forth, I might take time to contact the seller.

If it is anything I can get elsewhere, and near similar price, then I'm gone like the wind.

Sounds to me like either way - seller misunderstood what they had and thus priced too low, or seller posted incorrect photos - some clarification would be in order.

Also, if your conscience is telling you not to purchase without clarifying, nothing we say here will likely make that feeling go away.

It's also possible that it's a scam post and other buyers are staying away because it's suspicious.

quote:

Originally posted by CD228:
It's also possible that it's a scam post and other buyers are staying away because it's suspicious.

Should have noted: Seller has 100% positive feedback rating with 900+ eBay buying/selling transactions.

I sell way more than I buy on ebay

I have bought similar stuff in the past as you describe (miss spell, etc ) and had not an issue as far as getting what I needed or wanted at a fair price,

I also know some (and I have done it myself) that surf misspelled words,

like freland vs freeland, or hig standard etc,

not that you get any really good deals that way, but there is rarely a bidding war,,


one the flip

I have had folks message me to correct me with an error, some are nice about it, others can be a dick, or smartass,
either way it helps, since we all misspell or have errors in listings sometimes,


I've also had people that buy an item, and let me know it was an error in the feedback,

one dude decided to tell me a product I sold (used light for a rifle) supposedly had a bad pressure switch, in feedback not by going the system,,

others have posted that they are appreciative for the mis labeled item and how much they saved due to it,

You don't have an obligation to inform the seller that they made a mistake in the description. You may want to ask about it if you have concerns about the item.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
If it is a one of a kind, (serial numbered, art), or a hard to find, collectable and so forth, I might take time to contact the seller.

If it is anything I can get elsewhere, and near similar price, then I'm gone like the wind.

This. I don't eBay unless I need a used part for cheap for an appliance or car. Everything else I can buy on Amazon.

Years ago, I bought TONS of stuff that was NIB or NOS from e-bay, mostly electronics.

Apparently NIB means that someone had the box in their attic and could place the old piece of used crap in it such that it appeared new.

I bought a very expensive Astatic Golden Eagle microphone which was clearly advertised as NIB. I'd always wanted one. When I got it, one side of the box was missing, and the microphone smelled like a combo of old beer and tobacco.

Then the guy was all put out when he got one star.

That was my LAST ebay purchase.

I had this happen, just last night.
I was looking at Shun Higo Nokami personal steak knives. It turns out that there are 3 varieties: Made in Japan, made in USA, and made in China.
The knife was described as "Made in Japan" but I could see it marked "Made in USA" in the pictures. I contacted the seller and informed him of the mistake. He thanked me and promptly *lowered* the Buy it Now price. I guess some people value the Japanese ones more?
I made him an offer and he took it, without a counteroffer.

I'm happy with how I handled that.

Bruce

I used to sell for a living on ebay. Almost always used items that ranged from like new to beat to hell. I always included accurate pictures and was upfront about condition erring towards probably costing myself money because I disclosed everything. I can't tell you how many times some dipshit bought something that was described and pictured as clearly used yet whined about condition. It was part of the reason I quit. I made sure I knew what I was selling and what it was worth. If I screwed up the listing it was on me.

As a buyer I have zero qualms about taking a deal. If the rule is buyer beware and it's on me to do my due diligence then isn't it on the seller to know what they're selling? We're not talking about taking advantage of some little old lady who has no idea how much some collectible is worth. It's a seller using the internet to sell an item. Pricing info and past sales are at the seller's fingertips. Not your fault that they can't figure it out.

If you want to be a nice guy and do the seller's research for him and let him know in a gentle way that he's a moron then go for it but it certainly isn't required. I fail to see the ethical quandary in buying an item for what a seller is willing to take.

It wouldn't hurt to contact the seller but you'll need to be diplomatic in how you phrase the question. Something like - It appears from the picture the box has been open but this is listed as new. Ebay defines New as xxxxxx. I'm trying to decide how much I'll bid. Does it meet ebay's definition? Thanks in advance for your response"


If you don't get a response, only bid if you want the item as is based on the price you'll pay. I don't think you'll be comfortable telling ebay it's not what you expected when you can see it's mistrusted.

I have seen things listed wrong due to the spelling so the item was exposed to a lesser number of people.

I once got an old Browning BLR magazine for $25 ?? when they usually go for $100 to $150.

I would just let sleeping dogs lie.

EDIT:
Here is one now up to $202. Some time ago, there was a BLR for sale but no magazine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vinta...4:g:Cp8AAOSwrslaU801

What are you going to feel good about? If you feel that you should contact the seller and correct his errors, do. If you feel like he’s been doing eBay a while and ought know what he has, then do whatever seems appropriate.

It isn’t worth “stealing it” and feeling guilty about it later. If you’re not going to feel guilty about it, then that isn’t an issue.

Thanks for the feedback and votes, y'all!

The majority of respondents have both buying and selling experience, and the vast majority say either contact the seller or walk away.

Those were my two most likely courses of action. I think I'm going to do both. This item doesn't look right, to me.

"it should be attracting higher bidding" is where it sounds like the item is far from ending. Many things won't see action until the last day or hours.

I read the description of your quandary and don't see that it is described wrong, you just think it's not going to sell for enough? You won't know that until the last 10 seconds.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
I read the description of your quandary and don't see that it is described wrong, you just think it's not going to sell for enough?

Nope. It does contain two fairly critical misspellings and it does incorrectly list the brand.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
You won't know that until the last 10 seconds.

There is another of them, correctly listed as "used," that has more time to go and has attracted higher offers.

The last one that sold ramped-up slowly, then saw a burst of increased bidding just before the auction ended.

Of course it could be savvy buyers have observed the same inconsistencies as I and decided to give it a pass. <Looks...>

Hmmm... that could very well be. All the bidders have very low transaction numbers. The most active of them obviously doesn't grok the automatic bidding mechanism, for he bid 24 times in a row before he triumphed, then lost, and has since bid four more times

Still: While not raised in a strictly religious home, I was raised to "Do unto others," so I've pinged the seller wrt to the inconsistencies.

Unless you're interested in the item itself, I would walk away, it's none of my business.

Otherwise, it's a buyer beware and seller be aware. If something is way off, it could also be a scam designed to snag the greedy.

When I have sold on Ebay or on some of the collector car forums full disclosure is made of any and all defects and whether the part is new, used, whatever.

Last item I bought on Ebay was slightly misrepresented, it was a part for an antique pay telephone that I am going to restore this year. As the damaged part (wiring) on the one I bought could be swapped with one from the one I had, no big deal. Finding a coin chute for a 236G pay that mechanically functioned was a plus to me. But still, the seller should have disclosed this in the description.