It happens a lot. Not that there aren't ethical sellers on eBay, but there are enough unethical sellers that my advice to the buyer is to know what he's bidding on, REALLY know what he's bidding on. So many misattributed "Dunhill" pipes made by Auguste Dreyfuss and when you inform the seller and provide links to the makers' marks, they just continue to lie about what they're selling. So many people who have misquoted the Barling page to make false claims. So many "gently smoked" burned, fried, cremated pipes.
But sellers are only partly to blame. Uninformed buyers who don't take the time to learn about what they're bidding on, or don't think they need to know about what they're bidding on, make fraud profitable