Ebay experts--I Bid on Auction with title and part of description intentionally misleading--what do I do?

[smkinc]

Hi,

I have been searching for a particular high end boutique brand outfit for DS. I found what I thought I was looking for NWT, and bid based on the title and first sentence of the description, but then read the full item description (which contradicts the title and the first sentence of the description) and realized that I no longer want this item. I believe the seller is being intentionally misleading.

Here is a generalized example:

Title: BOUTIQUE_BRAND_NAME Short Set NWT

Description: THIS IS A GREAT SHORT SET BY BOUTIQUE_BRAND_NAME. THE TOP IS A GREAT THEME ... AND THE SHORTS ... MATCH. THE TOP IS MADE BY BOUTIQUE_BRAND_NAME AND THE SHORTS ARE MADE BY WALMART. THEY ARE BOTH 100% COTTON AND FEEL SO SOFT. THIS SHORT SET IS A SIZE XX AND THE SHIRT IS NEW WITHOUT TAGS AND THE SHORTS ARE LIKE NEW. THEY DO NOT LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN WORN OR IF WORN ONLY ONCE OR TWICE.

Ebay experts--What should I do? Is this against ebay rules?

TIA
Mary
Mom to Jeremiah 2/4/03

[Momof3Labs]

I don't think that the seller is doing anything against eBay rules - sounds like they are disclosing everything, and it is just up to the bidder to read (believe me, bidders often don't read the descriptions, so you aren't alone).

You can cancel your bid but I don't remember the rules around that. Ultimately it is up to you - you need to weigh the pros and cons of your options!

[smkinc]

I may have to chalk this up to experience. I did check the ebay guidelines (pasted below) and while I'm interpreting them one way, the seller may be interpreting them another.


"eBay guidelines:

If your title contains a word or phrase that does not seem to belong, make sure it is clear from your description why you included that word or phrase in the title.

If a bidder can't tell what items you are offering from the title of the listing, the title is misleading and is not permitted on eBay."

Mary
Mom to Jeremiah 2/4/03

[Melanie]

Sorry, but it looks to be on the up and up to me.

ETA I do understand your frustration, though, I often see something that will say, for example, Size 90 Boy's Summer Outfit and then when I read the description the pieces will be different sizes.

[ChicagoMama]

I wish I had found this a couple of months ago. Here's the auction title & description:

Title: VICTORIAN HEIRLOOMS CHABRE Battenburg LACE 4T Bubble $$

Description: NEW WITHOUT TAGS> STUNNING!!

Portrait Quality is this Bubble. Chabre VICTORIAN HEIRLOOMS Bubble with Starched Battenburg LACE Collar and tips of legs. THIS outfit has Never been worn. Size 4T. I PROMISE you will LOVE this one!!


And what I received was NOT a Chabre brand item. The tag says it is by Victorian Heirlooms, which is not affiliated with Chabre. This was clearly misleading, and when I emailed the seller and asked them why they put Chabre in the listing, they were extremely negative, and claimed it was meant to mean "Chabre-style". I totally disagree! It was like the 2nd auction I ever won, so I just gave up b/c I didn't want to risk negative buyer feedback so early in my ebay "career" if you will. I think that sellers should be held to very high standards, and if you think it is misleading, then you shouldn't buy it, and watch out for them in the future!
Becky

Mama to DDs Shelby 09/19/02 and Sydney 10/16/03

[smkinc]

Update: After I posted here, I found a discussion board on policies on ebay, and posted this same question there. One person responded that since neither item is NWT, that the title is misleading and does violate ebay's policies. (and that I should report the listing to ebay)

After reviewing the seller's other items and feedback, I realized that her listing was not intended to be misleading. I contacted her. She has excellent user feedback and listed multiple items at once and all of them were actually NWT, so this was an oversight on her part. She agreed that under the circumstances it was reasonable to cancel my bid and I did.

I know I have seen other sellers abuse the NWT title in their auctions and plan on calling them on it in the future.

The Chabre auction also violates ebays rules on misleading titles.

Here is a link to the ebay policies:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-keywords.html#misleading

If the seller meant to compare it to Chabre, they can only do it in the description, not the title. There is a link at the end of the policies section to report this infraction.

Ebay is largely a user policed site. Even though you don't want to leave negative feedback for the seller, you should report this violation to ebay (all reports are confidential), especially if you notice that this seller does this as a pattern of behavior.

Mary
Mom to Jeremiah 2/4/03

[parkersmama]

I'm glad it worked out for you. It annoys the heck out of me when the auction ends up being really for a different thing than the title states. The seller sounds like a good person to do business with, maybe in the future? :)