Bait and switch

[retro_licious]

I sold this necklace  https://ebay.us/m/wkE0Ba and this necklace is what the buyer is returning saying it didn't match description!! Ebay automatically sent him a refund. It is obviously not what i sold him.  There doesn't seem to be any recourse for me to dispute this. How could I lose my necklace and the $88+ and not have any recourse?? Please help this is an obvious bait and switch and he gets away with it. I"m a  respectable seller and don't sell this kind of garbage.  I'm really upset that he gets away with this. Any help would be appreciated 

 

 

 

[gurlcat]

@retro_licious  When you get the item back, make sure to REPORT this scammer.  Do you know how to do that? 

[toysaver]

Any report from the seller will be cancelled out by the report from the buyer.

[powell-collectibles]

I still don’t see what the buyer did wrong. Seller represented that there was something under the plating that wasn’t there. Buyer took off the plating to get at the material underneath. That’s when he discovered that the listing was not as described.

[gurlcat]

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@toysaver wrote:

Any report from the seller will be cancelled out by the report from the buyer.

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That's not true but even if it was, what makes you think the buyer reported the OP?   
Are you just talking about the INAD return?  I've gotten a buyer's account completely shut down just by reporting them for a bullsh return. 
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Beyond-Bizarre-Return/m-p/34619838 

[gurlcat]

     All the buyer needed to do to verify the metal content was a scratch test on one tiny spot, not de-plate the whole thing!  🤣
       He stripped it for the rhodium and is sending back a completely destroyed item.  Had he simply tested it and sent it back, the OP still could have sold it as rhodium plated with no mention of silver. 
And heck, if the OP still thinks it's a completely different necklace, she could report it as a bait and switch; I wouldn't fault her for it, and the buyer's OWN photos sure look like a different piece. 
      This "buyer" deserves zero sympathy.  I can just about guarantee if we had his username we'd be able to see evidence of his doing this evil sh to lots of sellers.  Sure wish I had it for my BBL.  

 

[gurlcat]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@retro_licious wrote:

Yeah, I don't believe this is my necklace at all think. Its a very common style and he was searching and found mine. Totally fraudulent.  And the description clearly states silver plated. Couldn't get this beat up in such a short amount of time.

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Not "beat up" but simply chemically or electrically stripped, which doesn't take very long, and then he was all miffed about the metal that was uncovered. I know the chain design is not uncommon so I was looking at the details of the clasp and the terminating links on either side of it, and it does appear (to me) that we're looking at the same chain in both the original listing and the buyer's photos after he was done messing around with it.

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Interesting point -unless they were made at the same factory, a Figaro chain would be more likely than most to reveal a switcheroo if there was one, because of its unique pattern of link lengths (say "link lengths" 5 times fast 😆).   So yeah, which link the clasp is clamped to (a long one, or the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd short one) could serve as its "fingerprint."  

Incidentally, I have a hard time remembering some of the more obscure chain types, but not Figaro.  To me it looks like it's singing its name! 

[youn2240]

Peculiar how the fake not silver 925 chain was sold at basically the exact price of the scrap price of that amount of silver. 

[albertabrightalberta]

@gurlcat 

Did you miss this post from the OP? 

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@retro_licious wrote:

It could have any mark if you know jewelry this happens which is why I acid test. It came up not 925 so I never stated that. Besides I shouldn't have accept item in damaged and disgusting condition 

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So you tested, learned it's not sterling (925) even though marked as such? Are you not aware that this indicates the sale of a counterfeit sterling item. 

Whether you advertised it as sterling or not, that it's marked as such means it's disallowed on ebay (or anywhere). 

[krazzykats]

Displaying a picture of the "925" clasp might give the impression that the entire necklace is made of silver with just a rhodium plating, leading your buyer to be unhappy by the copper base after the rhodium plating was removed.

ᓚᘏᗢ

[gurlcat]

Go to the OP's link and scroll down to the sponsored similar items.  "REAL" and "Solid" and "925"  "Sterling" silver chains, likewise wide width and heavy Figaro ones like the OP's ..... priced crazy cheap.  Don't you suppose those are counterfeit?  So why did the buyer choose THIS one for way more money?  Because he wasn't after silver; he wanted the RHODIUM.  It is worth more than twice as much as gold! If he got even one gram of purified rhodium from stripping that big necklace, that's worth $241 today!  Nobody cares about silver; it's worthless.  

[albertabrightalberta]

I admit to not knowing a lot about jewelry and metals, but what the buyer received vs. what the seller's listing and pictures showed are 2 different things. 

Had the buyer received a sterling chain under the rhodium plating, I don't think anyone would have an argument that the buyer altered the item they received. But in removing the rhodium (which the buyer wanted), he rightfully expected to end up with a sterling chain sans plating. 

But instead, he ended up with the rhodium and a copper chain (that was marked as 925). 

What am I missing and how is this not a legitimate SNAD complaint? 

[gurlcat]

Unless I missed it I don't think anyone has said this is not a legitimate INAD.  A buyer has every right to return an item marked 925 that is not actually solid sterling.  But they do not have the right or the NEED to completely strip away the whole surface of the entire piece to find out it's not solid sterling before returning it.  

Imagine a falsely-marked gold ring with real gemstones, and the buyer just rips out the gemstones and sends the mangled ring back.  Imagine a Barbie lookalike fashion doll wearing an authentic rare Barbie costume and the buyer just sends back the naked doll.  Regardless of whether the seller knowingly or accidentally sold a fake 'anything' that doesn't make it right for buyers to be scavenging opportunists and get valuable items for free.  

I hope the OP uses her 50% withholding right and reports this dog turd, but it's entirely up to her.  

[toysaver]

The seller also failed to give this vital testing result in the listing.  That would have been the honest thing to do.  

[pickapaper]

@gurlcat 

Some questions, because you seem to have a lot of knowledge about Rhodium (lucky for you and for us)...

If one strips the Rhodium off a piece, I assume they end up with a "powder".  How much Rhodium would a person end up with from a piece such as this necklace?  A gram?  What would one do with the Rhodium powder they collect, i.e. how would they sell it?  I can't imagine pawn shops or gold-buying shops would buy it.  

And lastly, how does one know if a jewelry piece is Rhodium plated or not?  Is there a test?  I've never seen any marks on jewelry that would indicate anything other than gold or silver.  In this case, the seller states that the necklace is Rhodium plated; how would she know this?  How would I know if I have a Rhodium-plated piece?

[gurlcat]

Those are great questions. Rhodium isn't my wheelhouse -honestly the whole world of precious metal economy kind of disgusts me, makes me embarrassed to think about if the aliens are watching.  But I just checked and there are a ton of Youtube videos on rhodium.  Some I put in my Watch Later because they look interesting.  -From a purely metalurgy standpoint I mean.  I could watch somebody making and talking about making stuff out of metal all day.