eBay listing practice that gets you angry...

[Soulsaver]

Not necessarily about accordions...

'I'm selling this on behalf of a friend...(uncle, aunt, father in law)...' ie 'This is rubbish, I'm not going to admit it, I'm innocent, I'm going to blame the fact that it wasn't me describing it...so don't leave me negative feedback..'

'I know nothing about accordions ... but this is in excellent condition' - ie 'This is rubbish... but I didn't know 'cos, as I said, I know nothing...'

'If you find that I have not described it accurately, return it and I'll refund you... not including postage' ie I'll keep pricing it highly and describing it as excellent when it isn't, at no cost to me, until I find someone who can't be bothered to complain...' :evil:

'This accordion has been in storage for 30 years..so 'like new'' .. '..

 

[Soulsaver]

See here: Chinese Stella or Hohnica, described as Hohner, Made In Germany..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181821556549?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Accordian (Hohner - Made in Germany)
<ATTACHMENT filename=stella claiming Hohner..jpg index=0>

Messaged him... Reply? I dont know, its my father in laws, and thats what he told me...

That makes it all right then?

He could search for Stella and find a couple identical. He could search for Hohner and find none similar, in fact none without a Hohner badge... <EMOJI seq=1f620>:angry:</EMOJI> <EMOJI seq=1f620>:angry:</EMOJI>

224 feedbacks, 100% positive? My faith in eBay humanity is weakened...

 

[fjsys]

My favorite is when they list it as Vintage and it looks like someone set it on fire.
This is my favorite funny listing lately:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DaVinci-Pro...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Make sure you look at the last picture and see his comparable is a profesional top of the line model, not the student model he is selling...

My other favorite is when there is no description, listed as new, with bad out of focus pictures such as this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panjet-accordion-/252042579946?hash=item3aaee88fea

Mostly I just hate when there isnt an internal pic, you know the reeds are suspect if they will not take one.

 

[Soulsaver]

My favorite is when they list it as Vintage and it looks like someone set it on fire.
This is my favorite funny listing lately:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DaVinci-Pro...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Make sure you look at the last picture and see his comparable is a profesional top of the line model, not the student model he is selling...

My other favorite is when there is no description, listed as new, with bad out of focus pictures such as this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panjet-accordion-/252042579946?hash=item3aaee88fea

Mostly I just hate when there isnt an internal pic, you know the reeds are suspect if they will not take one.

Yep that first one is smoked...

 

[TomBR]

I agree that some listings are annoying and look like deliberate attempts to mislead, on the other hand I'm inclined to apply a bit of "Don't ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity!" What sellers don't know they don't know, and more to the point, they don't know that they don't know!

Look at the number of accordion listings where the seller thinks it's a big deal that the straps need replacing!

You do feel sorry for anyone who gets taken in by misinformation, whether it was deliberate or ignorant, and perhaps turns up on this forum asking for advice on the lemon they've bought!

There are opportunities to be had when the buyer has more knowledge than the seller, including knowing how much to bid and how much of the description to ignore.

I was pleased to see recently when a potentially very nice concertina was listed far too low and without a reserve that there was a chorus of decent Ebayers saying "Don't!!! You've got something valuable there."

There used to be an irritating chancer who clearly went around all the vintage concertina listings saying "It'll need a load of work, you could have complaints, I'll take it off your hands for [insert very low price.]" He must have done it a lot given the number of times it appeared when sellers chose to show the question. That was clearly deliberate.

But Ebay is a game I enjoy - a form of musical instrument related gambling perhaps! Only play to a stake you can afford to lose.
Tom

 

[Soulsaver]

Yes, Tom - you're a generous soul. I'm afraid I'm a bit more cynical, but not every example gets me irate. With experience you can generally tell the sincere/naieve from the dishonest.

So what of the one above? He's been informed... so he's out of the 'don't know' camp (which I doubt) and into 'dishonest' for me.

Some tipped off a lister selling an early Morino that appeared with a low start on ebay while Sandy was selling his, too. Of course you still don't know how bad or good it is if you don't go and try it.

 

[Reedwarbler]

See here: Chinese Stella, described as Hohner, Made In Germany..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181821556549?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Accordian (Hohner - Made in Germany)
<ATTACHMENT filename=stella claiming Hohner..jpg index=0>[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Messaged him... Reply? I dont know, its my father in laws, and thats what he told me...

That makes it all right then?

He could search for Stella and find a couple identical. He could search for Hohner and find none similar, in fact none without a Hohner badge... <EMOJI seq=1f620>:angry:</EMOJI> <EMOJI seq=1f620>:angry:</EMOJI>

224 feedbacks, 100% positive? My faith in eBay humanity is weakened...

I think the clue was in the fact that he cant spell Accordion

 

[Soulsaver]

See here: Chinese Stella, described as Hohner, Made In Germany..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181821556549?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Accordian (Hohner - Made in Germany)
<ATTACHMENT filename=stella claiming Hohner..jpg index=0>[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Messaged him... Reply? I dont know, its my father in laws, and thats what he told me...

That makes it all right then?

He could search for Stella and find a couple identical. He could search for Hohner and find none similar, in fact none without a Hohner badge... <EMOJI seq=1f620>:angry:</EMOJI> <EMOJI seq=1f620>:angry:</EMOJI>

224 feedbacks, 100% positive? My faith in eBay humanity is weakened...

I think the clue was in the fact that he cant spell Accordion[/quote]
Hes not alone... theres 148 of them (over 1000 if you include books..!) although some of them are sellers who wisely list both spellings, given number who would spell incorrectly in a search. And the wont necessarily indicate a poor accordion - there is a Sonola Sorbonne and a Brandoni Super Musette both described as accordian, so that you wont find with a correct spelling (accordion) in the search bar!

 

[TomBR]

It's a bit worrying when you get listings for a "paino accordion" and a "queeze box" - you never know, the sellers might be honest!

(I think both actually happened.)

 

[smdc66]

Its a bit worrying when you get listings for a paino accordion and a queeze box - you never know, the sellers might be honest!

(I think both actually happened.)

i believe i read some where once that looking for incoorectly spellt items can in some cases help ypu grab a bargain!

 

[james_from_stoke]

I was on the market for a cheaper one this time last year, as my first advance from a 12 bass. The cheaper end of ebay is where the real corkers are. You get more results the worse your spelling is, and half of them have bits missing. My favourite is when people try and pretend they know what they are on about, and give listings with information that is completely irrelevant / wrong - stradella basses that suddenly have the chromatic range of a grand piano, with 5 buttons to change the sound of the reed (singular). More time is invested into describing the straps and case than the 'accoridian' itself. All top of the range, high quality. From someone who (evidently) knows exactly what they're on about...
And the pictures always show the wrong bits. No reeds, no close up of the switches, no bellows. Just lots of pics of the GENUINE 'DIAMANDS!!' and the funny shaped 'suitcase', and the shiny grille. Which is of course vital to the correct function of the accordion.
"I have no musical experience, but I played it (upside down) to my cat and she didn't run off so it must be in tune"

The worst I saw was someone trying to flog what was left of a crippled Hohner Morino. It was listed as a Honer Marina Harmonica. Cringe

 

[Soulsaver]

heres another trying to pass off a Chinese Stella as a Weltmeister this time.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-W...-Case-Retro-/191690196819?hash=item2ca1a04753
<ATTACHMENT filename=Stella weltynot $_57.jpg index=0>

 

[Soulsaver]

And here! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weltmeister-Stella-Accordian-/262045950809?hash=item3d0327e359 at least with a low start.

 

[Soulsaver]

Well good on them: Both sellers of the above two, er, instruments changed their description after a polite message pointing out the inaccuracy in the description. Neither of them decided to include 'made in China', but I suppose you wouldn't really expect that, would you. But faith restored. I shouldn't be so cynical... maybe.