I would have thought that ebay would pay the refund and then chase the seller for the money, so the seller could manage to keep the money if they refuse to pay it back... I'm not 100% how ebay refunds work though.
That would make sense if you could do it. Presumably they would have the persons details from paypal so ebay could track them down.
The story i read made it sound as though ebay had instructed the seller that he had to provide a full refund. Presumably he would be reported or banned too if they thought he was deliberately scamming someone.
I interpretted it that whatever happened, the seller would have to return the full amount so the scam would only work if one person didnt report it. I thought that seemed highly unlikely so couldnt see where they would profit. But if ebay cant locate them then i guess they are out of pocket.
Yet you have nothing to say about the deliberate scam that went on in the first place.
I see. I fear for your children should you ever have any.
FWIW the problem with some people who use eBay is they fail to read the item description fully. Some cannot comprehend even the simplest of words, such as 'photo' for example.
You need not 'fear for my children' as they are grown adults and successfully use eBay for both buying and selling on the odd occasion. But then they learned to read at a very early age.
It's not a scam when you clearly state what you are selling. The seller listed it very clearly, the guy who bought it even said so himself. It's just stupidity from the buyer, plain and simple. He was always going to get a refund though and the seller probably knew this.
Seems like, at best, all anybody's got to say in the seller's defence is that the buyer should've paid more attention.
In that case, do all those people think it's wrong that the banks are being forced to pay back all that PPI?
I mean, surely everybody who signed up for it "should've paid more attention" too, right?
FWIW the problem with some people who use eBay is they fail to read the item description fully. Some cannot comprehend even the simplest of words, such as 'photo' for example.
You need not 'fear for my children' as they are grown adults and successfully use eBay for both buying and selling on the odd occasion. But then they learned to read at a very early age.
Awesome, so answer me these 3 questions will you?
1. Why would someone sell a photo of a newly released console if not to try and scam people.
2. Why would you list it not as a photograph, but as a Videogame/Console, if not to try and scam people.
3. Why would you let the price of a photo skyrocket to £450, if not to try and scam people.
Yes, the guy should have read the description more carefully but to say he DESERVES to lose £450 into a scammers pocket just before Christmas is moronic. I can't quite believe you don't see this.
It's not a scam when you clearly state what you are selling. The seller listed it very clearly, the guy who bought it even said so himself. It's just stupidity from the buyer, plain and simple. He was always going to get a refund though and the seller probably knew this.
Adding the word "photo" into the description of a games console doesn't make it clear at all.
Again, I'd bet that any description and specifications within the text were of the Xbox, itself, rather than of the photograph.
eBay seems to agree, too, cos they've pulled a whole heap of similar auctions.
Kinda sad that some people seem to think that it should be okay for con-artists to be allowed to try it on and that it's people's own fault if they get suckered.
Adding the word "photo" into the description of a games console doesn't make it clear at all.
Again, I'd bet that any description and specifications within the text were of the Xbox, itself, rather than of the photograph.
eBay seems to agree, too, cos they've pulled a whole heap of similar auctions.
Kinda sad that some people seem to think that it should be okay for con-artists to be allowed to try it on and that it's people's own fault if they get suckered.
BIB: I totally agree, some people on here are absolutely ridiculous in their argument of "he should have paid more attention"..It's not his fault he got scammed is it..
BIB: I totally agree, some people on here are absolutely ridiculous in their argument of "he should have paid more attention"..It's not his fault he got scammed is it..
Well, erm, technically I suppose it is his fault that he got scammed...
Thing is, there's two things at work here.
On the one hand you've got a shister who's deliberately making money by ripping people off.
OTOH, you've got a person who's a bit naive and a bit gullible and possibly a bit desperate for a shiny new toy.
Which of those two people is more worthy of support?
Surely nobody actually believes that the scammer is actually the better of the two people and, that being the case, surely it's got to be the victim who gets the support?
Let's face it, it's all very well slagging off some "dumbass teenager" who's lost £450 to a con-artist but that con-artist could be selling your grannie double-glazing or a stair-lift tomorrow.
Would you still feel the same way then?
Would you still think it's okay to let these people get away with their scams?
Would you still think it's up to the victims to "pay more attention"?
I simply have no idea why anybody would tolerate having such people in society TBH, let alone make excuses for them or blame the victims.
You need not 'fear for my children' as they are grown adults and successfully use eBay for both buying and selling on the odd occasion. But then they learned to read at a very early age.
Being able to read is not enough. What humans are good at is error-correction, at being to make sense of language that might have missing bits or that might not quite have the right words or grammar. Often context is used to make things fall into the correct patterns that we expect.
This is an extremely useful ability. However it is also open to exploitation as in this case.
(Try this little experiment: on a piece of paper, roughly write A B C in caps - it helps if you have scruffy handwriting. Then write 12 above the B, and 14 below. Now show someone the central column, and the chances are they will read it as 12 13 14. You might try it by writing 12 13 14 first then putting A and C each side of the 13. Our brains are trying to form familar patterns and seeing what they're expecting to see.)
Being able to read is not enough. What humans are good at is error-correction, at being to make sense of language that might have missing bits or that might not quite have the right words or grammar. Often context is used to make things fall into the correct patterns that we expect.
This is an extremely useful ability. However it is also open to exploitation as in this case.
(Try this little experiment: on a piece of paper, roughly write A B C in caps - it helps if you have scruffy handwriting. Then write 12 above the B, and 14 below. Now show someone the central column, and the chances are they will read it as 12 13 14. You might try it by writing 12 13 14 first then putting A and C each side of the 13. Our brains are trying to form familar patterns and seeing what they're expecting to see.)
You are forgetting that certain posters on DS are perfect and never make mistakes.
I can't find anything that says he was fully aware that he was buying a photograph.
I think, at best, he seems to be acknowledging that the wording was ambiguous but that additional factors persuaded him that the item was a games console.
I'd have been interested to see the original auction.
I mean, if the specifications given were for the x-box console, itself, rather than for a photograph then it'd suggest the deceit was intentional.
Course, I doubt there's anybody who doesn't already believe this.
I'll concede one point. If the item description was cut and pasted from an actual console description and made no mention of the fact that it was only a photo then I'll give him the benefit of the doubt - pretty much what you've said.
But he's quoted as saying "it said 'Photo' and I was in 'two minds'". If you're about to part with £450 quid for any reason, you don't make the decision if you're in "two minds" !!.
Apparently he's been in the papers before though - at 12 years old, he took down a drink driver with Judo and held him until police arrived.
Hard to believe he was only 3 years away from fathering his first child ..
But he's quoted as saying "it said 'Photo' and I was in 'two minds'". If you're about to part with £450 quid for any reason, you don't make the decision if you're in "two minds" !!.
Indeed.
I must admit, if I'm buying anything on eBay worth more than about a tenner I will sit there for half an hour and go through the description like a lawyer might go through a contract, looking for any possible loophole in it and I've often ignored some items that were probably perfectly legitimate simply because of some odd wording or because something was omitted from the description.
Even so, the point is that if you're forced to choose between supporting somebody who was simply a bit clueless and somebody who's obviously a scammer, surely it's the idiot who deserves the sympathy... even if he has been an idiot?
This kind of reminds me of those arcade machines which have boxes of Nintendo DS's hanging up inside making people believe they are playing for a chance to win the actual thing but in reality all they are offering is an empty box. I know this because a friend of mine got scammed by one of these machines and after contacting the dodgy gaming company about his prize he was told that only the box was on offer not the actual game console. They get away with it because they don't actually say you can win an actual Nintendo. They just hang the empty box up behind the glass and let you believe what you want.
1. Why would someone sell a photo of a newly released console if not to try and scam people.
The same reason as people in the past have advertised "Ferrari nut for sale". Item description will state that you are bidding on a nut....but there are always some nuts out there thinking they are going to get a Ferrari car for a few quid.
2. Why would you list it not as a photograph, but as a Videogame/Console, if not to try and scam people.
I never saw the original ad but according to a poster the description read; Xbox One Fifa 14 Day One Edition, Photo Brand New UK 2013. The buyer himself even admits he did 'think twice' after reading the word 'photo'.
3. Why would you let the price of a photo skyrocket to £450, if not to try and scam people.
Highest bidder wins. I bought a camcorder for twenty quid off ebay, used it for the job i'd bought it for, then stuck it back on two weeks later and watched it 'skyrocket' to £135. I wasn't about to complain folk were bidding too high.
I just hope he now spends the money actually on his child, not on himself pretending it's for a child. That's the only part of this story I can remotely get indignant about. I've tried to give a flying fig about his consumer rights but no, it's just not happening.
This incident is similar to a Judge Judy case a few years ago. In the end, Judge Judy awarded the plaintiff $5000 (the figure disputed was around $460) as she ruled the seller's a scammer.
The comments on that article are so funny! Feel a bit for the guy but come on, you're on ebay! You should know to check what you are buying, he saw it said photo but went on to bid on it anyway. Would have asked a question to the seller or just discarded it.
The comments on that article are so funny! Feel a bit for the guy but come on, you're on ebay! You should know to check what you are buying, he saw it said photo but went on to bid on it anyway. Would have asked a question to the seller or just discarded it.
Ebay are cancer and should have let the listing stand. The product which was sold was listed as a photo and the photo is what he recieved through the post. I only see one problem here and that;s the fact that the seller got conned out of money.
No. Photos are listed in the photographic sections of ebay.
This one was listed under the section where actual xbox gear is sold and the postage charge would imply it was a heavier item than a photo.
Such a pity that people would wish to see buyers ripped off in such a way, simply so they may laugh at the uneducated working classes.
Comments
This thread has provided me with a few DS members whose usernames I would avoid if I ever saw them on eBay.
Whether you agree with the seller or not, I find it hard to believe that anyone would think that eBay/PayPal wouldn't refund the buyer.
It said in the article he's 'a student'. God help us if this dim wit is representative of the brains of tomorrow they are now turning out.
Yet you have nothing to say about the deliberate scam that went on in the first place.
I see. I fear for your children should you ever have any.
That would make sense if you could do it. Presumably they would have the persons details from paypal so ebay could track them down.
The story i read made it sound as though ebay had instructed the seller that he had to provide a full refund. Presumably he would be reported or banned too if they thought he was deliberately scamming someone.
I interpretted it that whatever happened, the seller would have to return the full amount so the scam would only work if one person didnt report it. I thought that seemed highly unlikely so couldnt see where they would profit. But if ebay cant locate them then i guess they are out of pocket.
You need not 'fear for my children' as they are grown adults and successfully use eBay for both buying and selling on the odd occasion. But then they learned to read at a very early age.
In that case, do all those people think it's wrong that the banks are being forced to pay back all that PPI?
I mean, surely everybody who signed up for it "should've paid more attention" too, right?
Awesome, so answer me these 3 questions will you?
1. Why would someone sell a photo of a newly released console if not to try and scam people.
2. Why would you list it not as a photograph, but as a Videogame/Console, if not to try and scam people.
3. Why would you let the price of a photo skyrocket to £450, if not to try and scam people.
Yes, the guy should have read the description more carefully but to say he DESERVES to lose £450 into a scammers pocket just before Christmas is moronic. I can't quite believe you don't see this.
Adding the word "photo" into the description of a games console doesn't make it clear at all.
Again, I'd bet that any description and specifications within the text were of the Xbox, itself, rather than of the photograph.
eBay seems to agree, too, cos they've pulled a whole heap of similar auctions.
Kinda sad that some people seem to think that it should be okay for con-artists to be allowed to try it on and that it's people's own fault if they get suckered.
BIB: I totally agree, some people on here are absolutely ridiculous in their argument of "he should have paid more attention"..It's not his fault he got scammed is it..
Sooo true.
Well, erm, technically I suppose it is his fault that he got scammed...
Thing is, there's two things at work here.
On the one hand you've got a shister who's deliberately making money by ripping people off.
OTOH, you've got a person who's a bit naive and a bit gullible and possibly a bit desperate for a shiny new toy.
Which of those two people is more worthy of support?
Surely nobody actually believes that the scammer is actually the better of the two people and, that being the case, surely it's got to be the victim who gets the support?
Let's face it, it's all very well slagging off some "dumbass teenager" who's lost £450 to a con-artist but that con-artist could be selling your grannie double-glazing or a stair-lift tomorrow.
Would you still feel the same way then?
Would you still think it's okay to let these people get away with their scams?
Would you still think it's up to the victims to "pay more attention"?
I simply have no idea why anybody would tolerate having such people in society TBH, let alone make excuses for them or blame the victims.
Being able to read is not enough. What humans are good at is error-correction, at being to make sense of language that might have missing bits or that might not quite have the right words or grammar. Often context is used to make things fall into the correct patterns that we expect.
This is an extremely useful ability. However it is also open to exploitation as in this case.
(Try this little experiment: on a piece of paper, roughly write A B C in caps - it helps if you have scruffy handwriting. Then write 12 above the B, and 14 below. Now show someone the central column, and the chances are they will read it as 12 13 14. You might try it by writing 12 13 14 first then putting A and C each side of the 13. Our brains are trying to form familar patterns and seeing what they're expecting to see.)
It must be great being them.
I'll concede one point. If the item description was cut and pasted from an actual console description and made no mention of the fact that it was only a photo then I'll give him the benefit of the doubt - pretty much what you've said.
But he's quoted as saying "it said 'Photo' and I was in 'two minds'". If you're about to part with £450 quid for any reason, you don't make the decision if you're in "two minds" !!.
Apparently he's been in the papers before though - at 12 years old, he took down a drink driver with Judo and held him until police arrived.
Hard to believe he was only 3 years away from fathering his first child ..
http://sunday-mirror.vlex.co.uk/vid/boy-12-fells-drink-driver-73363737
Indeed.
I must admit, if I'm buying anything on eBay worth more than about a tenner I will sit there for half an hour and go through the description like a lawyer might go through a contract, looking for any possible loophole in it and I've often ignored some items that were probably perfectly legitimate simply because of some odd wording or because something was omitted from the description.
Even so, the point is that if you're forced to choose between supporting somebody who was simply a bit clueless and somebody who's obviously a scammer, surely it's the idiot who deserves the sympathy... even if he has been an idiot?
I never saw the original ad but according to a poster the description read; Xbox One Fifa 14 Day One Edition, Photo Brand New UK 2013. The buyer himself even admits he did 'think twice' after reading the word 'photo'.
Highest bidder wins. I bought a camcorder for twenty quid off ebay, used it for the job i'd bought it for, then stuck it back on two weeks later and watched it 'skyrocket' to £135. I wasn't about to complain folk were bidding too high.
Hallelujah...now you've got it.
I never wrote that.
The total verbal ass kicking that dumbass got was awesome, thankfully i learned she was sent to jail so HAW HAW
No. Photos are listed in the photographic sections of ebay.
This one was listed under the section where actual xbox gear is sold and the postage charge would imply it was a heavier item than a photo.
Such a pity that people would wish to see buyers ripped off in such a way, simply so they may laugh at the uneducated working classes.