Scam or our mistake?

RHemmings

Elvisia wrote: »

There was a case of this on Judge Judy! There was an American woman who had sold I think it was a camera phone online and hidden in the text it said it was just a photo. Judge Judy went ballistic and made the woman pay all sorts of charges and called her a scammer. This woman had a husband at home who seemed to think this was an amazing idea, I think Judy thought she was being rather controlled by her husband but what was so infuriating was this woman was just smirking throughout the whole thing, saying she was so clever for ripping this woman off. I thought Judge Judy was going to have a seizure at one point.

So it's very common! Another scam is to offer up the chance to enter a competition to win an ipad, so there's no ipad there at all.

I've seen that on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzVls6spI8

Judge Judy noted that the listing gave the weight of the item, not the weight of the picture, and this was one of her reasons for finding for the defendant. The seller is smirking both during the trial and after the trial. Remember also that by going on Judge Judy the original case is abandoned, which I believe means that the seller got to keep the money, and the buyer was paid by the television production company or their backers.

I did not get the impression that the seller was being controlled by anyone, she looked to me to be an out and out crook who knew what she was doing was wrong and didn't care. Judge Judy was blaming the husband, but I don't agree from the evidence I see.

challengedavid

any updates on this?

RFW

I think the title of this thread is interesting "scam or our mistake", it's actually both. I'd assume the law would cover the fact that no one would be selling a picture of an Ipad for £125.

In the auction business, Ebay or otherwise, it's amazing how many buyers can con themselves by thinking they are buying something that the item really isn't. A genuine auctioneer will do their best to ensure that doesn't happen, the dodgy ones will do the opposite, feeding on people's greed and love of a bargain.

Unfortunately buyers don't read descriptions too often, I think the cushion of protection that the law and Ebay provide regarding returns/changing mind, etc can lull people into a false sense of security that could quite easily see them lose out.

Crowqueen

I think that people who write descriptions to mislead though are not concerned about clarity and play on people's psychological reactions.

We do have an ASA which regulates misleading TV/radio/print advertising, so the same standards should apply to eBay.

prowla

It is plainly a scam, and the seller must think that pennies have fallen from heaven!

The description says:

"Put together your laptop, iPod and iPhone – you get the dynamic Apple iPad. Weighing a mere 1.5 lbs, the32GB iPad can store up to 8000 songs or 32 hours of video. Enjoy the fastest Wi-Fi networks with the Apple Wi-Fi iPad as it automatically locates the available networks; while the Bluetooth connectivity cuts the clutter with Bluetooth headphones and wireless Apple keypads. The 1024-by-768 pixel resolution displays crystal clear images on the 9.7-inch screen of the Apple iPad – watch your movies, videos, and TV shows crisper than before. The actual iPad in the the photo does not come with the item, you are bidding on a picture. The reengineered Multi-Touch screen of the 32 GB iPad makes the operation more precise than your iPhone or iPod. Customize your Apple Wi-Fi iPad with nearly 140,000 applications - be it for social networking, games, music or even serious business. The Apple iPad, with a perfect blend of looks and performance is probably the only gadget you will ever need again – except of course, to make calls.

NEXT DAY DELIVERY."

And yes, it does say that it is a picture in there, but it is deliberately hidden in the text.

The description also gives it as new: "New: A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item." - does the delivered photo meet that description?

I would not damage the picture, as (a) that could be fraud on your part, and (b) this is a public forum that the scammers could equally refer back to.

FYI, I have reported the item as a fraudulent listing via the "Contact" button on ebay's Safety Centre; perhaps other readers of this thread might like to do likewise.

RFW

Crowqueen wrote: »

I think that people who write descriptions to mislead though are not concerned about clarity and play on people's psychological reactions.

We do have an ASA which regulates misleading TV/radio/print advertising, so the same standards should apply to eBay.

They do, the law also uses a lot of common sense and I'm sure would find that this is fraud. This is obviously fraudulent as the price was too high for a picture and there isn't any use or collectors for pictures of Ipads.

On the other hand empty boxes for Ipads/Iphone, etc sell on Ebay and if I remember correctly there was someone on here who had sold an Iphone box, fully described as an empty box in the title and description and the buyer had overpaid thinking they were getting an Iphone and a bargain.

Crowqueen

Yes I agree.

The boxes are always started at 99p. What was a problem with this one was that it was started way above the ordinary price for a photo, which makes it calculated to deceive rather than just a canny seller.

soolin

Crowqueen wrote: »

Yes I agree.

The boxes are always started at 99p. What was a problem with this one was that it was started way above the ordinary price for a photo, which makes it calculated to deceive rather than just a canny seller.

It still doesn't really explain though why someone would spend several hundred pounds and not bother reading 5 lines of text.

starrybee

Although it could be argued buyer already knows what an ipad is and doesn't need to read a technical description of one - seller has clearly put the photo line in the middle knowing that no one will read it because the paragraph starts off looking like something she's copied and pasted off the apple website.

Crowqueen

I think this is why I completely bypass eBay when buying this sort of stuff and buy from a reputable shop, preferably in person (no entrusting the item to the postal service).

eBay listings are a minefield - there are people who make a living selling decent electronics stuff, undoubtedly, but I never seem to buy from them so I eventually gave up. Other sites give less leeway to sellers to produce creative and misleading listings - sometimes it helps to have the extra space than you might get anywhere, but sometimes it is a license to people to try every trick in the book.

That's the way I take responsibility for things, but I do expect the seller to act honourably too. The only seriously misdescribed item I've had it was obvious that it was the condensed version of a book, but by simply not mentioning that it was the condensed version of the book, the seller could get the price of a full version for what turned out to be the condensed version. That is not on (and it is obvious that it is condensed, in this case, not that the seller didn't realise that there might also be a full version). Either list honourably or be prepared to be challenged on it.