On the responsibilities of e-bay sellers
Mar 22, 2015 16:43:38 GMT
Post by Afoo on Mar 22, 2015 16:43:38 GMT
So, I was grazing the e-bay today when I came upon this
www.ebay.ca/itm/Italian-Model-1871-Heavy-Cavalry-Troopers-Sword-/301570723369?
This is an m1871 Italian cavalry sword. There are several glaring issues with it - the grip appears to be cracked, the tip of the blade has been shortened by 3/4 of an inch, and the metal collar at the front of the wooden grips appears to be distorted, almost lime the whole assembly has been compressed
Of course, condition issues such as these cam be expected for an antique sword - I have no issues about them. What I do have an issue with is the fact that the seller addresses none of them in the posting at all; he simply asks buyers to refer to the pictures for the condition of the sword and to ask any questions they may have.
I find this practice rather unacceptable, to be honest. As a seller, you should be responsible for listing the true condition of your products. It should not be the buyer's responsibility to poke and prod you in order to determine what they are buying. The fact that he says that all sales final suggests that, if you have an issue with the sword, its not his fault for failing to list it, but rather its your fault for not asking enough questions. Of course, its not always possible to list every single small detail about an item, but you could at least make an effort to list some of the more obvious ones which go beyond normal wear and tear - such as the modified blade and the crack in the grips.
It is also not reasonable to expect every seller to be experts in the items that they are selling. However, a quick look at this seller's other auctions reveals a bunch of swords, some of which come with extensive descriptions indicating that the seller has extensive knowledge of swords and militaria. These descriptions also show that the seller is fully capable of providing adequate descriptions about his product, but simply chooses not to do so when convenient.
www.ebay.ca/itm/301570748165
www.ebay.ca/itm/301570741472
Of course, I understand that sellers want to make their wares look as attractive as possible. However, I feel like they still owe the buyers the responsibility of providing an accurate description of their products to the best of their abilities, rather than leaving it up to the buyer to find out for themselves and sticking them with a crappy item if they don't play their game of 20 questions.
This one example was the most recent one I have seen, and the one unfortunate enough to trigger the rant. However, I have seen other examples of similar practices - I have seen one antiques dealer list an item, but failed to mention that the grip was loose and wobbled by "up to 1/4 an inch" until prodded. One other seller sold me an m1885 sword with extensive corrosion not evident in the pictures due to lighting (the sword looked shiny, but when I got it it was entirely black with patina) and a shortened blade. I was lucky enough to get a partial refund (returning it to the UK from whence it came would have been too expensive), but was not the best experience. It was actually the 2rd sword I purchased in my life, and almost put me off collecting. In this case, I asked the usual questions such as condition of the grips, etc. I did not think to ask questions about something seemingly so obvious like the length of the blade, or whether the pictures were actually representative of the item being sold, nor should it be my responsibility to ask these types of questions when the seller themselves already know the answers.
Anyways, there is my rant. Just one final note, I am not saying that sellers should list every small detail about the sword. However, it should be their responsibility to give the most accurate description that they can provide, rather than leaving it up to us to figure it out for ourselves
EDIT: I sent a message to the e-bay seller in question asking about the condition, just to see what he would reply. His response was very courteous, and he seemed eager to help. They indicated that they were not an expert on Italian blades, so can't be certain whether the tip was altered or not. I have not seen an Italian m1871 with a tip like that, but perhaps such a pattern did exist. Iam told that the crack in the grip is superficial, and does not affect the structural integrity, though feel like that should be mentioned. Seems like a nice person. However, I would argue that as a sword vendor, should at least do some basic research into what you are selling. You know the make and model of the sword, so can easily find out what its supposed to look like. Again, responsibility should be on the seller and not on the buyer.
Then again, maybe I am being overly zealous. I just hate having to play the 20 questions game when looking for swords...
- Alex
www.ebay.ca/itm/Italian-Model-1871-Heavy-Cavalry-Troopers-Sword-/301570723369?
This is an m1871 Italian cavalry sword. There are several glaring issues with it - the grip appears to be cracked, the tip of the blade has been shortened by 3/4 of an inch, and the metal collar at the front of the wooden grips appears to be distorted, almost lime the whole assembly has been compressed
Of course, condition issues such as these cam be expected for an antique sword - I have no issues about them. What I do have an issue with is the fact that the seller addresses none of them in the posting at all; he simply asks buyers to refer to the pictures for the condition of the sword and to ask any questions they may have.
I find this practice rather unacceptable, to be honest. As a seller, you should be responsible for listing the true condition of your products. It should not be the buyer's responsibility to poke and prod you in order to determine what they are buying. The fact that he says that all sales final suggests that, if you have an issue with the sword, its not his fault for failing to list it, but rather its your fault for not asking enough questions. Of course, its not always possible to list every single small detail about an item, but you could at least make an effort to list some of the more obvious ones which go beyond normal wear and tear - such as the modified blade and the crack in the grips.
It is also not reasonable to expect every seller to be experts in the items that they are selling. However, a quick look at this seller's other auctions reveals a bunch of swords, some of which come with extensive descriptions indicating that the seller has extensive knowledge of swords and militaria. These descriptions also show that the seller is fully capable of providing adequate descriptions about his product, but simply chooses not to do so when convenient.
www.ebay.ca/itm/301570748165
www.ebay.ca/itm/301570741472
Of course, I understand that sellers want to make their wares look as attractive as possible. However, I feel like they still owe the buyers the responsibility of providing an accurate description of their products to the best of their abilities, rather than leaving it up to the buyer to find out for themselves and sticking them with a crappy item if they don't play their game of 20 questions.
This one example was the most recent one I have seen, and the one unfortunate enough to trigger the rant. However, I have seen other examples of similar practices - I have seen one antiques dealer list an item, but failed to mention that the grip was loose and wobbled by "up to 1/4 an inch" until prodded. One other seller sold me an m1885 sword with extensive corrosion not evident in the pictures due to lighting (the sword looked shiny, but when I got it it was entirely black with patina) and a shortened blade. I was lucky enough to get a partial refund (returning it to the UK from whence it came would have been too expensive), but was not the best experience. It was actually the 2rd sword I purchased in my life, and almost put me off collecting. In this case, I asked the usual questions such as condition of the grips, etc. I did not think to ask questions about something seemingly so obvious like the length of the blade, or whether the pictures were actually representative of the item being sold, nor should it be my responsibility to ask these types of questions when the seller themselves already know the answers.
Anyways, there is my rant. Just one final note, I am not saying that sellers should list every small detail about the sword. However, it should be their responsibility to give the most accurate description that they can provide, rather than leaving it up to us to figure it out for ourselves
EDIT: I sent a message to the e-bay seller in question asking about the condition, just to see what he would reply. His response was very courteous, and he seemed eager to help. They indicated that they were not an expert on Italian blades, so can't be certain whether the tip was altered or not. I have not seen an Italian m1871 with a tip like that, but perhaps such a pattern did exist. Iam told that the crack in the grip is superficial, and does not affect the structural integrity, though feel like that should be mentioned. Seems like a nice person. However, I would argue that as a sword vendor, should at least do some basic research into what you are selling. You know the make and model of the sword, so can easily find out what its supposed to look like. Again, responsibility should be on the seller and not on the buyer.
Then again, maybe I am being overly zealous. I just hate having to play the 20 questions game when looking for swords...
- Alex