Andrew F Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 A couple of weeks ago I sold a DMU on ebay and foolishly sent it un-signed for. The deal ended badly; the loco going missing in the post resulting in an impatient and highly stressed buyer being refunded before a case was opened and without the post office having chance to investigate As you might do, I had a look on ebay today and saw the same code of unit; my photo's in my room with my description, albeit in a different font from a different member. Of course, this must be a bizarre co-incidence but I didn't think it was possible to use someone else's advertisement like this. I don't mind folk using my pictures for modelling purposes but this seems a bit off. Anyone else had similar experiences? Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted March 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2014 i sold warmington on ebay (to a fellow rmweb member) only for it to appear on gumtree about 6 months later for £200 less than i sold it for in london, the ad was using my pics and description etc, completly lifted off ebay the reason i knew it was suspect was the layout was still sat in my spare room while the new owner was waiting to have his house built! i contacted gumtree, and put a warning up on here, i believe andy y also contacted them too, within an hour the layout was removed from sale i've also had someone use my pics on ebay in the very distant past too, however i'm wondering if your seller they may have used the "sell a similar item" button, i went to use it the other week for an item i had so i would be sure it went into the correct catagory and when i came to fill out the details the full description from the item i'd check from was already there, which i ended up deleting anyway out of interest is the different member local to the original buyer? i would report the item to ebay anyway stating they are your pics and description incase there is anything untoward, do it by phone though they are far more helpful than the email reps Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 A couple of weeks ago I sold a DMU on ebay and foolishly sent it un-signed for. The deal ended badly; the loco going missing in the post resulting in an impatient and highly stressed buyer being refunded before a case was opened and without the post office having chance to investigate As you might do, I had a look on ebay today and saw the same code of unit; my photo's in my room with my description, albeit in a different font from a different member. Of course, this must be a bizarre co-incidence but I didn't think it was possible to use someone else's advertisement like this. I don't mind folk using my pictures for modelling purposes but this seems a bit off. Anyone else had similar experiences? Andrew For that reason I always send '2nd signed for' as a minimum. Can you share the item ID with us? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew F Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Very wise advice Ernie. I always make myself learn the hard way for some reason. The unit is a Green SYP 3 car 108 with a couple of days to go and plenty of pictures. . I don't suspect any link between the 2 members Jim and they are maybe 150 miles apart.. It's just someone who's saving time on the listing I think, and my listing was pretty good. I will ring e-bay up on your advice though. Thanks. I've done the 'sell similar item' before, even from someone else's listing to skip the listing categories, but I wasn't aware you could use their description and photographs so easily. Your experience with Warmington is pretty mad!..... can't believe what some people try. Cheers Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 A couple of weeks ago I sold a DMU on ebay and foolishly sent it un-signed for. The deal ended badly; the loco going missing in the post resulting in an impatient and highly stressed buyer being refunded before a case was opened and without the post office having chance to investigate As you might do, I had a look on ebay today and saw the same code of unit; my photo's in my room with my description, albeit in a different font from a different member. Of course, this must be a bizarre co-incidence but I didn't think it was possible to use someone else's advertisement like this. I don't mind folk using my pictures for modelling purposes but this seems a bit off. Anyone else had similar experiences? Andrew Are you certain it's a bizarre coincidence? The conspiracist cynic in me suggests something's not quite right here. It went missing, you say? And now someone's (re)selling one that on face value is to all intents and purposes, the same thing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew F Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Hiya Chard. I always take the cynical angle too. I can imagine sending a message to this chap selling the dmu and telling him they're my pictures and description for my dmu that's just gone missing. Do you think he'd believe me or think it was a scam? unless he was guilty of course. I shall ring e-bay and see what they say as it does look dodgy and they can see that straight away. I was suspicious with the correspondence of the buyer who used poor sentence structure and was accusatory. His monologues had no punctuation but this curiously added realism to his breathless desperation to be refunded as soon as possible and he played the poor pensioner card. My only conclusion (with a neg still hanging over my head) was that he was just a petty and obnoxious man. Things do get lost in the post and expensive items should'nt go out un-signed for. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 In my humble opinion, the fellow may well be selling your DMU. Having bought and received it from you under a different, and bogus eBay identity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 In my humble opinion, the fellow may well be selling your DMU. Having bought and received it from you under a different, and bogus eBay identity. I have to agree that is a very distinct possibility. Notwithstanding the fact that he's too stupid to re-write the description and take his own pictures... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 In my humble opinion, the fellow may well be selling your DMU. Having bought and received it from you under a different, and bogus eBay identity. Acting with a juror's hat on - I' give him the benefit of the doubt ..... just .... is it worth the hassle of an accusation of theft when the evidence is so circumstantial. Simply worth reporting for the copy of the photo alone. Unfortunate lesson learned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 As Kenton says, there is the possibility that he was just too lazy to take his own pictures and write his own description, but I would still be fuming at the possibility that this guy has your item (for nothing) and is about to make money on it by reselling it. An unfortunate lesson indeed, because I agree that an accusation of theft could (would) prove fruitless. Shame. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted March 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2014 I sold an HST power car set a couple of months back and a cheeky eBayer (I'll be nice as probably someone also a member on here) nabbed my pictures (including my dining room background!) and complete description and sold their one! There's not a lot you can do, but it didn't sell for nearly as much as mine!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Acting with a juror's hat on - I' give him the benefit of the doubt ..... just .... is it worth the hassle of an accusation of theft when the evidence is so circumstantial. Simply worth reporting for the copy of the photo alone. Unfortunate lesson learned. I wasn't for a moment suggesting making that accusation. However, if it were me, I would buy it back on the strength of my hunch. Disclaimer: Not that it would be 'buying it back,' of course! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 However, if it were me, I would buy it back on the strength of my hunch. And if your hunch proved correct and it was sent by ordinary post, you could always say it failed to arrive... now that's poetic justice! Seriously, the moral of the story has to be to use a signed for or tracked service. I've sent items in the past by ordinary mail and have regretted it on a couple of occasions. My own personal yardstick is: less than a tenner, put a stamp on it, more than a tenner, charge extra for tracking. Easy enough to say now though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew F Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Ebay can't do anything but have told him to change the pictures on his listing. The bloke who's selling it hasn't sold model railway stuff before , looking at his feedback so probably didn't know how to describe it or couldn't be bothered taking all the pictures; looks like a music shop to me. Both members have 100% feedback around the thousand mark so I don't know. To buy or not to buy? 2 days and counting. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted March 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2014 I would go for buying it back, and if it does turn out to be your model, reporting the theft to the police and ebay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 ....Seriously, the moral of the story has to be to use a signed for or tracked service. .... I always do. It still hasn't stopped one German, and one Dutch buyer, trying to pull a fast one. They are banned from bidding on my auctions now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew F Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 It turned out good in this case. After reporting the duplicate of my listing to ebay, the seller changed his pictures and from them it was easy to tell it was not my dmu he was selling. . The original buyer then wrote to me saying he'd got a letter through the box from the post office saying he had a parcel at the sorting office that turned out to be my dmu and it had arrived with no postage label. He wanted to keep the dmu and pay me back for it minus costs incurred at the post office which I'd have to try to claim at my end. So, he was actually a really honest man. I can imagine that most of these cases of missing parcels start off genuine but after a few weeks have passed the refunded but disgruntled buyer consoles himself with a free item. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Its interesting how things can turn out! i recently ordered some cheap rocker switches from china. After a month they had not arived. Wrote to the seller who apologised and said he would send some more. Two weeks later the replacements arrived, and one week after that the originals! (I could tell which ones were which due to the post dates!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Jackson Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I sold my car on ebay many moons ago and some scrote used my pictures to list a similar car at the same time, I got eBay to remove the fake listing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted March 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2014 I can imagine that most of these cases of missing parcels start off genuine but after a few weeks have passed the refunded but disgruntled buyer consoles himself with a free item. Andy I sometimes wonder who is enjoying a free class 40. My buyer or some one else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted March 21, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 21, 2014 Glad to hear it all worked out OK in the end A couple of months ago I spotted a scam on Auto Trader when I recognised the same car being sold by two different people and one was a lot cheaper - further digging around showed that the 'seller' had 140 cars for sale on what appeared to be a legitimate dealers web site but on each one it said that it was a private sale on behalf of a friend and to contact by email only. I guess that you would then be asked to send money direct to the scammer and then turn up at the dealership to collect a non existant car. Auto Trader were very good and quickly removed the lot and 'suggested' how the dealer might like to increase his web site security. A lot of work went into that copying 140 pages of car details and photos, plus hacking into the dealers website but you only need to sell a couple of cars over a weekend when the dealer is closed and the banks are just running with an overseas call centre so not much chance of a refund when you realise it's all a con trick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon G Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I have seen a couple of my listings copied directly before - comes as a bit of a shock the first time. I have used the 'Sell Similar Item' myself, but always changed the picture & words. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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