Six Purchases Four Not As Described Holy Smokes

[pauyo_43]

Sharing an experience. This was one of the strangest holiday seasons. Rather disconcerting as well. As many of us are, I am a seller and also an occasional buyer. I usually purchase from a select few I've known for quite a while. Saves many headaches and their prices are always great.

This year my husband got an unexpected bonus, so he was a sweetheart and shared some of it with me so I could purchase some things for myself and the store.  Jewelry is always my thing so I ended up buying six items from four different sellers (not my usual sellers).

Out of the six items, four weren't as described. And not just slightly,  we are talking a minimum of a half carat or more of a gem. One seller who has been on eBay a very long time  told me that the actual weight of the earrings, which was stamped on the earrings and correct, was wrong and he was right.  Another listed a platinum diamond ring as 2 carats. It was 1 carat and 14K white gold. (After many decades of buying jewelry and taking gemology courses, I do know how to correctly determine carat weight and gold karat.)

Four out of six items were completely off? To me that's a frightening ratio.  Because I'd always purchased from those I knew well, I had no idea things could be that wildly wrong.  I do check feedback, I check how long the seller has been on eBay and that gave me no security.  I hate opening items not as described. I know how awful I feel if I get one, but I was not about to pay for return shipping. 

[*carrie]

There's no reason to hate telling the truth. If it's described as one thing and it's something else entirely, there's no reason to deny it. It is what it is.

[lex-talon]

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@pauyo_43 wrote:

Sharing an experience. This was one of the strangest holiday seasons. Rather disconcerting as well. As many of us are, I am a seller and also an occasional buyer. I usually purchase from a select few I've known for quite a while. Saves many headaches and their prices are always great.

This year my husband got an unexpected bonus, so he was a sweetheart and shared some of it with me so I could purchase some things for myself and the store.  Jewelry is always my thing so I ended up buying six items from four different sellers (not my usual sellers).

Out of the six items, four weren't as described. And not just slightly,  we are talking a minimum of a half carat or more of a gem. One seller who has been on eBay a very long time  told me that the actual weight of the earrings, which was stamped on the earrings and correct, was wrong and he was right.  Another listed a platinum diamond ring as 2 carats. It was 1 carat and 14K white gold. (After many decades of buying jewelry and taking gemology courses, I do know how to correctly determine carat weight and gold karat.)

Four out of six items were completely off? To me that's a frightening ratio.  Because I'd always purchased from those I knew well, I had no idea things could be that wildly wrong.  I do check feedback, I check how long the seller has been on eBay and that gave me no security.  I hate opening items not as described. I know how awful I feel if I get one, but I was not about to pay for return shipping. 

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4 out of 6 items being not as described is awful. You ran into a bit of bad luck IMO. No need to feel bad at all. 

Just keep your purchases to a select few you trust.

[adkhighker]

Wow, listing a 14k white gold ring with a 1ct diamond (or 1ctw diamonds) as platinum and 2ct diamonds is more than a little bit off the mark. I don't blame you for not paying return shipping on something like that. 

The one I'm confused about is your line that reads "One seller who has been on eBay a very long time told me that the actual weight of the earrings, which was stamped on the earrings and correct, was wrong and he was right. "

Of all the gold earrings I've scrapped over the years, I don't ever remember the weight of the earrings being stamped on them.  I've seen the carat weight of stones sometimes stamped on jewelry, though. Is that what you were referring to?  

[ed8108]

Yes, return those items that are not as described.

Your sellers will simply relist and sell to less knowedgeable, & trusting buyers.

[gramophone-georg]

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@pauyo_43 wrote:

Sharing an experience. This was one of the strangest holiday seasons. Rather disconcerting as well. As many of us are, I am a seller and also an occasional buyer. I usually purchase from a select few I've known for quite a while. Saves many headaches and their prices are always great.

This year my husband got an unexpected bonus, so he was a sweetheart and shared some of it with me so I could purchase some things for myself and the store.  Jewelry is always my thing so I ended up buying six items from four different sellers (not my usual sellers).

Out of the six items, four weren't as described. And not just slightly,  we are talking a minimum of a half carat or more of a gem. One seller who has been on eBay a very long time  told me that the actual weight of the earrings, which was stamped on the earrings and correct, was wrong and he was right.  Another listed a platinum diamond ring as 2 carats. It was 1 carat and 14K white gold. (After many decades of buying jewelry and taking gemology courses, I do know how to correctly determine carat weight and gold karat.)

Four out of six items were completely off? To me that's a frightening ratio.  Because I'd always purchased from those I knew well, I had no idea things could be that wildly wrong.  I do check feedback, I check how long the seller has been on eBay and that gave me no security.  I hate opening items not as described. I know how awful I feel if I get one, but I was not about to pay for return shipping. 

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Another great testimonial to how well eBay's "protection" policies of the last 10 years have NOT been working. I'll say it again: the more eBay "protects" me, the more issues as a buyer I seem to run into. It's counterproductive and a waste of time. Over the last decade eBay has "fired" one great seller after another over ex- post facto senseless "metrics" imposed with each seller upgrade, and yet the scammers adapt and survive. eBay policies have NEVER EVER seemed to snag the real offenders. 

Imagine the OP is a brand new eBay buyer... think s/he'd be back? ROTFL.

What's that Einstein definition of insanity again?

[castlemagicmemories]

Others have posted about rates of not as described as being 50% or more of their purchases but that is usually largely greeted with skepticism that that could possibly be true, as in statements such as, I just don't believe it.

However, as your experience shows, it is entirely possible. and sellers as buyers have confirmed this.  

[adkhighker]

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@gramophone-georg wrote:

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Another great testimonial to how well eBay's "protection" policies of the last 10 years have NOT been working. I'll say it again: the more eBay "protects" me, the more issues as a buyer I seem to run into. It's counterproductive and a waste of time. Over the last decade eBay has "fired" one great seller after another over ex- post facto senseless "metrics" imposed with each seller upgrade, and yet the scammers adapt and survive. eBay policies have NEVER EVER seemed to snag the real offenders. 

Imagine the OP is a brand new eBay buyer... think s/he'd be back? ROTFL.

What's that Einstein definition of insanity again?

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Ain't that the truth. Not only have the scammers adapted to ebay's never ending policies that protect buyers at the sellers expense, but because of those very same policies, this is fast becoming a magnet for scammers everywhere, scammers who know that ebay has their backs as a buyer, even if you're a scamming buyer.  It's the seller who always pays the price for it, not ebay, because this is the way ebay has eveything set up now.

[pauyo_43]

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@adkhighker wrote:

Wow, listing a 14k white gold ring with a 1ct diamond (or 1ctw diamonds) as platinum and 2ct diamonds is more than a little bit off the mark. I don't blame you for not paying return shipping on something like that. 

The one I'm confused about is your line that reads "One seller who has been on eBay a very long time told me that the actual weight of the earrings, which was stamped on the earrings and correct, was wrong and he was right. "

Of all the gold earrings I've scrapped over the years, I don't ever remember the weight of the earrings being stamped on them.  I've seen the carat weight of stones sometimes stamped on jewelry, though. Is that what you were referring to?  

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@adkhighker 

They were European. I've come across several diamond earrings from Europe where the carat value was stamped on them. These earrings had .25 stamped on each one. 

[pauyo_43]

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@ed8108 wrote:

Yes, return those items that are not as described.

Your sellers will simply relist and sell to less knowedgeable, & trusting buyers.

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You know that is the sad thing. No issues with their feedback and the one had been selling for years. I certainly don't think I was his first mistake.

[pauyo_43]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Others have posted about rates of not as described as being 50% or more of their purchases but that is usually largely greeted with skepticism that that could possibly be true, as in statements such as, I just don't believe it.

However, as your experience shows, it is entirely possible. and sellers as buyers have confirmed this.  

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I must admit Castle, that it involed 3 sellers ( I bought two items from one....both off the mark). When it comes to jewelry, its really a **bleep** shoot out there unless you're lucky enough like I've been to have a few very reputable sellers.  But 3 out of five is a terrible ratio.

[luckythewinner]

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@pauyo_43 wrote:

After many decades of buying jewelry and taking gemology courses, I do know how to correctly determine carat weight and gold karat.

{snip}

Four out of six items were completely off? To me that's a frightening ratio.  Because I'd always purchased from those I knew well, I had no idea things could be that wildly wrong. 

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The barrier to entry for an eBay seller is extremely low - all one needs is a credit card, a computer and pulse. 

There is no entrance exam,  no test for compentency, and no ethics check.  no one submits a business plan for review.  eBay is the ultimate example of caveat emptor. 

[castlemagicmemories · Accepted solution]

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@pauyo_43 wrote:

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Others have posted about rates of not as described as being 50% or more of their purchases but that is usually largely greeted with skepticism that that could possibly be true, as in statements such as, I just don't believe it.

However, as your experience shows, it is entirely possible. and sellers as buyers have confirmed this.  

---

I must admit Castle, that it involed 3 sellers ( I bought two items from one....both off the mark). When it comes to jewelry, its really a **bleep** shoot out there unless you're lucky enough like I've been to have a few very reputable sellers.  But 3 out of five is a terrible ratio.

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That's sad that there are so many issues in the jewelry category.  Sadly those that have posted of 50% or more not as described were not confined to just one category; it was more across the board.  While most transactions do go smoothly, many don't.  Sorry this happened to you.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@pauyo_43 wrote:

After many decades of buying jewelry and taking gemology courses, I do know how to correctly determine carat weight and gold karat.

{snip}

Four out of six items were completely off? To me that's a frightening ratio.  Because I'd always purchased from those I knew well, I had no idea things could be that wildly wrong. 

---

The barrier to entry for an eBay seller is extremely low - all one needs is a credit card, a computer and pulse. 

There is no entrance exam,  no test for compentency, and no ethics check.  no one submits a business plan for review.  eBay is the ultimate example of caveat emptor. 

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So true.  That gains Ebay a great variety of unique item, which is good, but increases the chance of issues due to the variety of sellers that might be listing.

[lugro_30]

I’m mainly a seller but buy as well. I’ve had great experiences with buying shipping supplies here. However when I started buying other electronics or lighting kits I got things that were similar but not what was described almost always . One indicated it was 2 and I got 1. Contacted the US seller with good feedback and she refunded immediately when I asked a question, I didn’t ask for a refund . I am thinking that’s what some do, they refund SNADs via PayPal so you never see it in eBay feedback.