Hopefully Uneducated Ebay Seller

[tschiraldi]

So, there is a pipe on Ebay listed as a RARE Sasieni Four Dot Old England 109 xs. I wrote to the seller who almost certainly has no idea as they sell a lot of different products. explained that there was no such thing and that the pipe in question was an Old England and NOT a Four Dot. I got no response. This was about two weeks ago. The pipe is still listed. I probably won't follow through, but I sent them another message tonight hoping to encourage them to do the right thing and correct the listing. As I said, I doubt I'll follow through, but here is what I wrote:

"
Sir (or Ms), I contacted you once before. Perhaps you simply don't know (I'm hoping that's the case), but there is no such thing as a Sasieni Four Dot Old England. Sasieni Four Dot pipes were their top graded pipes. Old England pipes were made by Sasieni, but they were NOT Four Dots! Old England was one of Sasieni's many "seconds" lines, as was Mayfair, Friar, and many others. Your listing is fraudulent. A Sasieni Four Dot pipe is worth much, much more than an Old England pipe. Representing this pipe as a Four Dot is, at best, misleading and at worst intentional fraud. I hope this is not the case. I will have my answer when I see if you do the right thing and end this auction and relist with the correct information. If this title and description do not change, I will be forced to report the fraudulent activity to Ebay. I hope I don't have to do this, as I've never had to in the past."

Respectfully,
Tim Schiraldi

Thoughts?

 

[ssjones]

The sad thing is most don't care, and they rarely update ads. Confusing to uneducated sellers is that 4Dot pipes were sold in Four Dot labeled boxes.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Tim, this issue has actually come up before talk to @ChuckMijo

 

[ChuckMijo]

I posted about this same thing not a month ago. Same as you it was a Sasieni . No response. But this is common across a lot of hobbies. It can only go 1 of 2 ways. Your uneducated and make a purchase only later to learn it wasn’t a good purchase. That’s a cheap education. Or 2 with eBay buying protection, you can almost always return it. The best advice is please know what you are buying, if unsure you can always PM another forum member for a opinion.

 

[tschiraldi]

The sad thing is most don't care, and they rarely update ads. Confusing to uneducated sellers is that 4Dot pipes were sold in Four Dot labeled boxes.

Right? I'm hoping against hope, though.

 

[ashdigger]

You’re kicking against the pricks.

 

[tschiraldi]

I posted about this same thing not a month ago. Same as you it was a Sasieni . No response. But this is common across a lot of hobbies. It can only go 1 of 2 ways. Your uneducated and make a purchase only later to learn it wasn’t a good purchase. That’s a cheap education. Or 2 with eBay buying protection, you can almost always return it. The best advice is please know what you are buying, if unsure you can always PM another forum member for a opinion.

Absolutely! Great advice. I just wanted to save someone the $200 lesson.

 

[tschiraldi]

Funny thing, I caught a mistake in another, well respected, seller's add today. He immediately pulled the auction and replied with a "Thank you"! Goes to show...

 

[Chasing Embers]

A seller and I butted heads over the brass dots on Punto Oros. He kept listing them as 24k gold. I tried to inform him otherwise but he never changed his listings. I never reported it though.

 

[ChuckMijo]

Absolutely! Great advice. I just wanted to save someone the $200 lesson.

That’s not just on eBay I have seen things Listed wrong, albeit I’d imagine, unintentional ,or lack of knowledge at some popular pipe sellers websites as well. It’s always know what your buying.

 

[gamzultovah]

So, I’m not alone?... Good to know I’m in good company.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I enjoy it when sellers don't know how to spell.

 

[sablebrush52]

So, there is a pipe on Ebay listed as a RARE Sasieni Four Dot Old England 109 xs. I wrote to the seller who almost certainly has no idea as they sell a lot of different products. explained that there was no such thing and that the pipe in question was an Old England and NOT a Four Dot. I got no response. This was about two weeks ago. The pipe is still listed. I probably won't follow through, but I sent them another message tonight hoping to encourage them to do the right thing and correct the listing. As I said, I doubt I'll follow through, but here is what I wrote:

"
Sir (or Ms), I contacted you once before. Perhaps you simply don't know (I'm hoping that's the case), but there is no such thing as a Sasieni Four Dot Old England. Sasieni Four Dot pipes were their top graded pipes. Old England pipes were made by Sasieni, but they were NOT Four Dots! Old England was one of Sasieni's many "seconds" lines, as was Mayfair, Friar, and many others. Your listing is fraudulent. A Sasieni Four Dot pipe is worth much, much more than an Old England pipe. Representing this pipe as a Four Dot is, at best, misleading and at worst intentional fraud. I hope this is not the case. I will have my answer when I see if you do the right thing and end this auction and relist with the correct information. If this title and description do not change, I will be forced to report the fraudulent activity to Ebay. I hope I don't have to do this, as I've never had to in the past."

Respectfully,
Tim Schiraldi

Thoughts?

Most of the eBay sellers I've contacted really don't care if the listing is inaccurate, or even dishonest, unless the issue in question is going to make their auction less successful.
Some are ignorant about what they're selling and others are just plain crooked. On the Interesting eBay Auctions thread I mentioned how Alfred Dreyfus pipes being sold as early Alfred Dunhill pipes. Informed of the error with hallmark images to support the concern, none of them fixed their auctions. When you're buying on eBay it's caveat emptor.

 

[Birddog66]

So, there is a pipe on Ebay listed as a RARE Sasieni Four Dot Old England 109 xs. I wrote to the seller who almost certainly has no idea as they sell a lot of different products. explained that there was no such thing and that the pipe in question was an Old England and NOT a Four Dot. I got no response. This was about two weeks ago. The pipe is still listed. I probably won't follow through, but I sent them another message tonight hoping to encourage them to do the right thing and correct the listing. As I said, I doubt I'll follow through, but here is what I wrote:

"
Sir (or Ms), I contacted you once before. Perhaps you simply don't know (I'm hoping that's the case), but there is no such thing as a Sasieni Four Dot Old England. Sasieni Four Dot pipes were their top graded pipes. Old England pipes were made by Sasieni, but they were NOT Four Dots! Old England was one of Sasieni's many "seconds" lines, as was Mayfair, Friar, and many others. Your listing is fraudulent. A Sasieni Four Dot pipe is worth much, much more than an Old England pipe. Representing this pipe as a Four Dot is, at best, misleading and at worst intentional fraud. I hope this is not the case. I will have my answer when I see if you do the right thing and end this auction and relist with the correct information. If this title and description do not change, I will be forced to report the fraudulent activity to Ebay. I hope I don't have to do this, as I've never had to in the past."

Respectfully,
Tim Schiraldi

Thoughts?

Good on you. I see stuff like this a lot, especially Peterson Pipes listed as having silver bands. People mistake the Shamrock, Lamb? and lighthouse marks as hallmarks because they’re in very similar lozenges to real hallmarks. It really bugs me when people do that and don’t like being corrected, I’m never rude and personally would be grateful for the lesson.

 

[BROBS]

Funny thing, I caught a mistake in another, well respected, seller's add today. He immediately pulled the auction and replied with a "Thank you"! Goes to show...

Exactly. You can tell from the response whether it was a mistake or they are doing it on purpose.

I messaged a seller of a “pipe rack” that what he had was a nut tray ?
He thanked me and changed the listing immediately. Now that’s a good seller.