Something Sad On Ebay

[Gloucesterman]

I was just on eBay, scrolling through the "fountain pen ink" listing when I came across a seller advertising a "1950's Style" pen and ink. Well, out of curiosity I decided to look more closely. The seller was nice enough to show some up-close pictures of the nib from top and bottom. The pen looks like one of the Hero Parker 51 knockoffs with a squeeze filler. Okay, that's not so bad, except for the off center feed AND nib. The price was only $15.95 plus reasonable shipping.

 

What was truly sad was when I looked at the ink and saw that it was Higgins India Ink. OOOOPS! Pardon me, but anyone buying the pen & ink package and then using them together is in for a little surprise.

 

Being the good Samaritan that I am , I sent off a message thinking, maybe this person doesn't know pens that well and this is a mistake. Well, further scrolling reveals about 10+ additional packages of he same set up with different colored pens. What are your thoughts about that situation. Should I have just skipped over it and forgotten the whole thing.

 

I'm not looking for you to say I'm right or wrong, because I handled it the way I felt best. I'm still curious as to what others might have done in that situation.

 

Finally, have you ever run into similar situations? What did you do?

[MisterBoll]

As long as you enjoy it - keep on keeping on.

[TimGirdler]

I have messaged sellers selling mislabeled or wrong stuff.

 

On one such occasion, there was a seller selling a Parker VS with a broken nib and a "51" cap, complete with blue diamond. the seller labeled it as a very rare thing and had a BIN price of over $1,000 (no, that's not a typo).

 

After I contacted him, I got an message telling me how wrong I was and that I didn't understand Parker pens, etc.

 

Some people have things that just can't be fixed, I guess.

 

Tim

[OcalaFlGuy]

 

Some people have things that just can't be fixed, I guess.

 

Tim

 

In the words of that great philosopher Ron White,

 

You can't fix stupid.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[BookCat]

You did the right thing and can only hope that the buyers either know that the ink isn't suitable so toss it, or move on and buy a Hero 616 elsewhere. If someone does buy the package, well they're only ruining a cheap knock off.

Edited January 12, 2014 by BookCat

[Gloucesterman]

 

In the words of that great philosopher Ron White,

 

You can't fix stupid.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

Now that is Pro-found!!!

Thanks Bruce.

P.S. has anyone started a thread called the Wisdom of FPN?

[Sham69]

i would of messaged him what a goose.

[Aquinata]

Did he ever reply?

[Abner C. Kemp]

I would have reported him to ebay for mis representing his product. A Hero is definitely not a 1950's pen.

[pajaro]

I would have reported him to ebay for mis representing his product. A Hero is definitely not a 1950's pen.

+1. Report him.

[Left FPN]

The seller does say 'style' in the title so his description cannot be questioned. The ink is a little misleading but that's up to the buyer.

 

While the point of this topic is more the wrong ink, if I see an interesting pen,

 

1. that is misdescribed with a starting price that is appropriate I will Watch it should I decide to put in a last second bid.

2. that is misdescribed with a BIN price that is appropriate I may or maynot buy for collection purposes.

3. that is misdescribed with a BIN price that far underestimates its value I think a while and if noone else has I will buy it to resell.

 

I have come to the conclusion that Sellers have every opportunity to research what they have and that if listed as such they are happy with what they get.

 

I have found that notifying sellers that they have their description wrong gets different reponses, that can go

 

1. Many thanks, I will amend it. It gets amended.

2. Many thanks, I will amend it. It does not get amended.

3. WHATS IT GOT TO DO WITH YOU. KEEP YER F@IN NOSE OUT. Those I just might report.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Force

[SirVival]

Had a similar experience on flea bay where someone offered a cheap Bugatti piston filler as a vintage Pelikan.

 

When I messaged him about the error, he said he only implied it may be a Pelikan. So clearly intentional misrepresentation. Some people are just sleazy. So reporting ftw!

[JulesSilvan]

I messaged a seller who had put up a pair of technical pens with the title 'Rotring pens' even though they were clearly Staedtler Marsmatics. They thanked me and changed the title to 'Rotring technical pens', I don't think they ever sold them.

[Drone]

Don't assume the "Higgins India Ink" bottle is real - or that it contains India Ink. After all the pen is a knock-off as well. Anyone can print and stick-on a label these days.

[Gloucesterman]

Did he ever reply?

 

No, not as of a few minutes before the auction closes.

[Gloucesterman]

I would have reported him to ebay for mis representing his product. A Hero is definitely not a 1950's pen.

 

He covers himself by calling it a "1950's style" pen. He is not saying it is a 1950's pen. Almost sounds like he might be a politician :lticaptd:

[Gloucesterman]

Don't assume the "Higgins India Ink" bottle is real - or that it contains India Ink. After all the pen is a knock-off as well. Anyone can print and stick-on a label these days.

 

Good point. If the seller is misdirecting people, a bit, about the pen the ink could be bogus as well. It's even sadder, in a way, if it's not, because it will screw up the pen. :bawl:

[JotterAddict62]

I have in the past contacted sellers on their items for sale on fleabay noting a photo not matching the product when it is way off track. Example: [ photo of bananas selling as apples ] I always get a laugh when sellers are way off on a starting price for an item that is only worth 10x less than what they are asking. Always looking for the sucker to bid on it. Don't they know that fleabay is worldwide and the smart shopper will always look for the best price from a quality seller.

[kpyeoman]

Caveat emptor.

[Brioche]

I've messaged the seller when it appears they were trying to describe the item correctly. This excludes all weasel language like, "I'm told this is a Mountblack [sic]..." "style," "I don't know pens, see photos," "Just like a Parker" and so forth.

 

When the price is way off, like by two zeros, I message the seller, "Did you notice that your price came out as $1,000?"

 

I once messaged a seller about an Estie that was described as an antique very rare fountain pen with no mention of brand and that the profits were going to a church. Perhaps from reading other postings they described the nib as soft. In fact it was one of the Estie firms. The price was over $1,000 as I recall. I got a nasty email back but the listing was removed immediately.

 

There are a whole lot of people out there who believe that they are purchasing something quite valuable just because the price is high. There is sometimes a belief around this thinking that, "I have worked and scraped. I deserve exceptionally good luck and expect to find treasures for pennies on the dollar." My former mother-in-law was like that. She would go on cruises and come back with knock-offs. She could not be convinced that she had not bought a genuine Picasso and had made up a back story about how this painting had come to an ocean side stall in Kona.

 

My decision on messaging sellers is how likely I think it is that someone unsuspecting will get really hurt.