[Rockhounds] What do you do about falsely advertised eBay items?

Fri Mar 6 11:49:24 PST 2009

Rich, as an old salesman and small businessman, I simply apply the
salesman's question: "If it's such a great claim, why aren't they mining it
themselves? Why sell the claim on eBay, instead of going to mining firms
that would arrange for a royalty situation, rather than a one-time payoff?
Why, why, why?"
Sure, there are lots of great reasons and replies that they could give, but
are they believable?

Yes, I agree that eBay should do what it can to stop rookery such as this,
but I do understand that they rely on bidders to show some responsibility in
their listings. They cannot logically interrogate every seller, no one would
list with them. At some point, the age old adage that has proven to be the
ultimate test of native intelligence throughout the ages must be applied:
"If it's too good to be true, it probably is."

Since I've run into folks who don't seem to get this, despite diplomas and
letters after their names, I'll elaborate, though I doubt it applies to
anyone on this list. Succinctly, "If it's too good to be true, it's too good
to be true!"

So Rich, I applaud your desire to protect the innocent. But, you can't. The
innocent, in their wide eyed gullibility, have always been with us,and will
always be the target of the unscrupulous and crooked. And the only true way
to bring them justice is to attempt, no matter how they resist and insist
that the "too good" is true, to bring them down to earth. And the only sure
way of doing that with a person who has "The Will to Believe" is to watch as
their money is taken, and hold their hand when they cry. Then, when the
tears subside, ask if you have their attention now, and repeat your
teaching.

Because, you *can't* force a "conscience" on a person who has none. You *
can't*.

Dave, I'm sorry to hear that you choose not to even visit eBay, and are
proud of that choice. That attitude pre-assumes that *all* eBay sellers are
crooks. I choose not to take offense, having run into a number of sellers
who were less than scrupulous, and a few outright liars. We, as sellers who
use eBay exclusively at this time, rely on great customers who tell us
whether they're happy or unsatisfied. Our Feedback is 100%, our customer
ratings an unblemished 5 stars, and we are *proud of it!* Yes, we may have
only offered fairly common material, but we did it with humility, and put
forth the effort to accurately explain and describe the beauty of the
material. We've offered, in these tough times, free shipping, to make
shopping and billing "worry free." And we would rather lose money on a
transaction than have a blemish on our reputation.

And that defines the true measure of a seller: What is their reputation
worth to them? Can money make them lie? Do they offer detailed
*and*believable documentation and descriptions of their items? Do they
resort to
effusive descriptions such as "Unique!, Rare!, World-Class!"? (We gave up
using "Museum" in our descriptions after our first round of auctions. It
made us uncomfortable, and our customers appreciated our honesty. Trust me,
if it fit's any of the above descriptions, the customer will see it.)

Just as with any purchase, *you* must use discretion in your shopping, and
be diligent in demanding proper conduct from a sloppy seller. And remember,
a good seller lives on their feedback, which defines their reputation. Check
feedback *and* the full "details" of the auction *before* bidding. Bidders
and buyers have feedback, too.

So Dave, I hope you will check out our Blog & Gallery, and enjoy my amateur
photography and "Bad Writing." You'll see humble salt and hanksite, and will
find a place where the enthusiasm for our shared avocation knows no
boundaries!

Be Well, y'all!
                     Kris
                     Lapidary Specialties
                     Blog & Gallery: R&R
Rockhound<http://r-and-r-rockhound.blogspot.com/>

On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 7:36 AM, <betdav97 at aol.com> wrote:

> My solution is: don't visit E-Bay, and I am proud of it,
> dave
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: RicSchager at aol.com
> To: rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com
> Sent: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 11:33 pm
> Subject: [Rockhounds] What do you do about falsely advertised eBay items?
>
>
>
> _Topaz  Garnet Quartz Realgar Amethyst Chrysocolla Amber - eBay (item
> 180333600754 end  time Mar-13-09 08:38:43 PDT)_
> (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180333600754)
>
> The above link is for a mining claim in Washington about 25 miles from
>  where
> I live in Washington. I've prospected for gold in Money Creek, with sparse
> gold fines and flour found. And there is some quartz, mostly leaverite.
>  It'
> certainly not a "gem mine" that produces amber, topaz, etc.  As an
>  example,
> Washington's only amber producing area is several mountains to the  south,
> and
> just how many of you collectors have topaz from Money Creek? The  answer,
> of
> course, is none.
>
> Seller (from Texas) responded to my message by offering his professional
> services to find these gems - but I know that they would have to be salted
> in
> order to be found there.
>
> There's a large number of false eBay ads. Sometimes an ad will  irritate me
> enough to contact the seller - usually they just don't know any  better and
> correct their ad. Sometimes they acknowledge it's incorrect, but  won't fix
> their
> ad because they want to recoup their investment,  etc. because that's how
> it
> was sold to them.  And then there are ads  like this one (actually he has
> two)...
>
> Rich.
> **************Need a job? Find employment help in your area.
> (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agencies&ncid=emlcntu
> syelp00000005)
>
>
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