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ebay razor turns out to be a botched restore project

last week, I hit the 'buy it now' button on a relatively inexpensive german made vtg SR. I was looking at several at the time. When I look at ebay SR's, I use a few general guidelines from this forum. No cracks, no rust or chips near the edge. no warped or worn spine, scales must be solid and the price must be right. I give the photos a good look. this one seemed to fit the criteria to the makings of a fun little restore for my own shaving.

Anyway, it showed up in the mail this morning and I started to look it over to begin the restoration. first thing that I noted was a that it has very rough and incomplete sanding/ buffing on the surfaces. it is not at all like the seller's photos. rough, meaning 120 grit sandpaper rough. the 2cd thing was (and this is the deal breaker) a big vertical crack, running from the edge almost to the spine. "oh shoot", I said to myself "That's too bad". I generally hate to return ebay items so I took a good look at the scales to see if I might use them on another project. Nope. a big chip out of the top of one of the scales. weird thing is that the pictures showed none of these defects. The entire piece is useless...even for parts.

I bet what happened was that this guy didnt know what he was doing and tried to "fix" this SR and messed it up badly. probably was hoping that someone would not attempt to actually use it as a razor. posted it on ebay, with flattering pics.

For me: not a huge loss even if he refuses to refund. if that happens, Im going to drop it in the waste paper basket and forget all about it. though, I may not leave positive feedback on the interaction.
 
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Ah I would still try to return it… but you have the right attitude about it.

I bought an expensive modern razor from Europe that was billed as “excellent” and paid over 1K for it. Guess what - it arrived with scratches all over it and I was not a happy camper. I still ate it and got it cleaned up to where I’m satisfied.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
In the UK ebay offers complete buyer protection by way of a money back guarantee. If you raise a claim that the item is not as described then ebay will step in and refund you in full if the seller does not do so. The seller can state that they do not accept returns or issue refunds, but ebay will always favour the buyer and provide a full refund. Sadly, increasingly these days, some buyers abuse that policy, which is one reason why ebay has never been less attractive for sellers.
 
In the UK ebay offers complete buyer protection by way of a money back guarantee. If you raise a claim that the item is not as described then ebay will step in and refund you in full if the seller does not do so. The seller can state that they do not accept returns or issue refunds, but ebay will always favour the buyer and provide a full refund. Sadly, increasingly these days, some buyers abuse that policy, which is one reason why ebay has never been less attractive for sellers.
Good news. after some back and forth involving me sending pictures and pointing out the inaccuracy of the pictures to what he sent me- and him trying to say that the picture showed the actual condition of the SR. He started to begin displaying a "buyer beware / all sales final attitude" I pointed out that we needed to work it out and he needed to make it right (implying possible consequences). he finally agreed to a return. 15 minutes later I got an email saying that the payment amount was refunded.
 
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For a new straight razor buyer, buying from an Antique Store or Flea Market, where you can hold the razor in your hand and inspect with a magnifying glass, if needed, is much better than buying online and paying shipping, at least until you know well, what to look for.

You can post photos and get opinions as to the quality or send photos directly to a member for opinions. I have done that with many new members, even texting photos while they are in the store or flea market.

You can still buy a great, quality vintage straight razor in an Antique Store for under $20.

When buying online, you really do need to inspect the photos, if the photos are not clear, well framed and focused, pass. Nowadays even with cell phones, there is no excuse for crappy photos.

Download sellers’ photos to a photo editor and enlarge to look for defects, something like a crack or broken scales, should have been clearly visible.

When you go to an Antique store, take a small flashlight and magnifying glass, and negotiate the purchase price. Price is always negotiable and if not walk away, there are millions of straight razors in the wild. Back in the day, Genco advertised making 6,000 razors per week. And that was just one maker in one country.
 
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