Ambiguous language confusing item descriptions

[goatlyones_2]

I was browsing for clothing items made of bison down (or "buffalo wool") when I noticed that most of the items turning up on eBay searches weren't really made of that material, but rather of cotton or of polyester. The "buffalo" in the listing titles turned out to be the result of a red-and-black color pattern that has been dubbed "the buffalo color pattern" by sellers. Also, there appears to be at least one company with the word "buffalo" in its corporate name that does not specialize in selling items made from that animal's fur. The confusion caused by these misleading terms can cause buyers to make purchases in error. Whether or not that is the entire point, I don't know.

A similar thing can be said for the word "camel." The wool of the bactrian camel is another very warm fiber, and clothing items made from it (socks, leg warmers, gloves, etc.) are sought-after by people living where winters are cold, who are wise to the fact that cashmere isn't the fiber with the greatest warmth-to-weigh ratio. But "camel" is also used by sellers as a color description, and most of what you will see upon searching eBay for "camel" clothing items aren't really made of camel wool. Again, buyers can be misled into making purchases in error.

[bonjourami]

Well maybe by buyers with no common sense.

[myboardid]

Buyers NEED to read descriptions.  Camel and Buffalo colors are accepted terms, and buyers who are looking for products containing their fibers need to know that.  You cannot ban the use of a term that has more than one meaning. 

[goatlyones_2]

I deny that. The use of adjectives when describing an item can confuse buyers with good common sense. Sellers sometimes clarify ambiguous language in the body of the listing. But, if they do not, then the buyer will not know whether, say, a "camel wool hat" is made of real camel wool, and so is naturally of a camel color because of its fiber content, or whether it is, instead, sheep wool that has been dyed a similar color.

[goatlyones_2]

"Buyers NEED to read descriptions. Camel and Buffalo colors are accepted terms, and buyers who are looking for products containing their fibers need to know that. You cannot ban the use of a term that has more than one meaning."

That's correct. Buyers who don't read the description of items have no basis for complaint. The problem that I have brought forward, in my original post, is that sometimes reading the description does not resolve the ambiguity. Often, it does. At other times, it does not.

Common sense sometimes helps, too, but not always. Nearly always, when a clothing item is colored red-and-black, and the description says "buffalo," it means that the item isn't made of bison fiber, but rather of sheep wool or of cotton or of some sort of synthetic.

But sometimes a clothing item made, say, from polyester is nevertheless described as "buffalo" (with a small initial b), because the company that made it has the word Buffalo (with a capital initial B) in its corporate title.

And, sometimes, a clothing item is described with the adjective "buffalo" because it has an embroidered design somewhere on it that resembles a bison. The material, itself, might be anything.

[bonjourami]

Sorry I cant imagine anyone thinking a 'camel wool hat' is made from camel wool..especially if the hat is a tan camel color..I mean duh.. But in case thats what a buyer thinks..thats what the mbg is for.