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Bad case of ebay misrepresentation

3.4K views 13 replies 14 participants last post by  Walt447  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm sharing this because I think it is both interesting and disgusting. Someone may learn something.

Based on the picture, it looks like the item for sale is an trim shop attachment for the Festool Df 500 (retail $50 new). Now read the narrative. Nowhere does it say "trim stop attachment". Everything is written such that one might assume that the item for sale is the actual DF 500 (retail $775).

The wording is done so carefully. Consider the last line, "Auction is for Domino DF 500 part only". One could easily interpret that as saying that the auction is for the DF 500 only with no attachments or extras. Another interpretation would be that the auction is for a part for the DF 500. The first interpretation is what comes to mind first.

A smart and knowledgeable person would catch this, but there are a lot of suckers out there.

This strikes me as a very bad case of misrepresentation (criminal?).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160476970266&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1154
 
#2 ·
Some people are always trying to work the angles I guess. Thats why I like to touch the stuff I but….I don't buy a lot of stuff off the 'net.
 
#3 ·
I recently purchased a Nikon DSLR on eBay. Not until after I finalized the purchase did I find, buried way down at the bottom of a lengthy description, the information that the camera was a factory refurb. This was not a huge deal for me, as I actually like purchasing factory fefurb items. But what I had thought was a great price on a new camera turned out to be just an okay price on a refurb.

FWIW, the camera arrived in perfect condition, indistinguishable from brand new. But it was obvious that the seller was playing games with the truth by burying the info that he was selling refurb merchandise.
 
#4 ·
Just below his "Part only" statement, some one asked if it was the complete tool. He replied that it was not.
But, his description would sure lead one to believe it was the complete Domino set up. Sneaky!
 
#5 ·
Charlie- The same thing happened to me. I bought a camera off ebay and no where in the description did I see it was refurbished. Once I got it I noticed it was so I went back and after a closer read I found some small print on the page that said item was refurbished. I am not upset because the camera works fine but I have since then always read everything very careful before bidding on anything. Especially if the item seems like too good of a deal.
 
#8 ·
I've heard of worse, about 8-10 years ago there was a guy selling boxes for lcd tv's for half the price of the actual tv, he would ship them with bricks in them. He was using some unreadable and tiny font to list that you were paying for a box with bricks in it. The guy made several thousand dollars before getting busted. I believe that particular case led to Ebay revamping their policies. But as always, if it's too good to be true, waste your money and learn the hard way.
 
#9 ·
it's only at the last line that you can understand it's not the whole tool, i think the seller uses "festool domino" in the title to draw in more people as it makes you believe the wole thing is sold for a small price.

but fortunately the contrary happens aswell, i have bought stuff that was grossly "undersold" like a used bosch 900w router with some bits for €170, wich turned out to be a fully accesorised router with 30 plus bosch carbide bits, retail value €1000
 
#10 ·
rich,

i am quite skeptical of both prices and representation descriptions on ebay. i have seen items priced equal to or more than new on ebay. the descriptions range from good honest descriptions, to purposefully deceptive. sounds like yours falls into the latter. i have heard of way too many stories of scammed buyers on ebay, even from "reputable" sellers. i dont buy "sight unseen" any more, unless its from a store that will back its product (Amazon, Grizzly, Delta, PM, JET etc.)
 
#11 ·
I build custom fishing rods and know of a few reputable people that sell rod blanks on eBay. The word regarding a good or bad eBay dealer travels fast among the building community. Me, I have only bought off eBay a couple of times. I like to see and touch what I am buying. Rich, thanks for the info.
 
#12 ·
I restore old cars for a living. At least 25% of my work comes from people that get screwed on the internet, especially eBay. It never ceases to amaze me how many people spend thousands of dollars for a 40+ year old car without going and looking at it first. A fool and his money…
 
#14 ·
Knothead 62 you are so right. See it an Touch it is the best policy. I look at all E-Bay sales with one thing in mind "If is seems to good to be true it most likely is" Caveat Emptor