I Know We're Not Supposed To Discuss Live eBay Auctions, But...

[ras120]

How can we warn newbie collectors about highly desired sets that are not correct? I hate to see someone plunk down a lot of money thinking they are getting a hard to obtain set that has the wrong razor in it.

I know we can't be the razor police, but I would sure like to be warned about a mismatched set from a seller that I know he knows is wrong.

 

[Blondie]

Maybe the mods would consider putting up a sticky thread that we could use only for the purpose of alerting members to suspect ebay listings? Certainly a less than honorable seller would not link to an auction from a thread titled "Bad eBay deals" or something along those lines.

 

[Chester]

I think that there will always be uninformed buyers. I do not believe that it should be our place to warn off potential bidders on suspect or mismatched sets. There are many many resources that people can use to inform themselves before they bid. Sometimes I go after mismatched sets because I have some pieces that do match, and mine is incomplete. As such I'm prepared to bid what I think that piece is worth.

For my part, I think it's appropriate to message the seller and let them know about the mismatch. That is as far as I think it should go.
My $.02,
-- Chet

 

[BBrad]

I would think that accusing someone of a potential misdeed in a public forum opens up a big can of legal worms.

I do have an idea, though . . .

1. Newbie sends a PM with questions and auction link to a special mailbox.

2. Special mailbox is monitored by a panel of knowledgeable guys.

3. Bright and trustworthy guy reviews PM, assisted by others on the panel if needed.

4. PM is then sent to newbie advising him accordingly. The identity of the panel member is hidden from the newbie, and the messages are never seen by the public.

5. Newbie helped, disaster averted, legal rump remains un-roasted, public totally unaware.

Of course, the newbie is welcome to PM any member who he thinks might be able to help him - myself included!

 

[luvmysuper]

The problem is that even if it's a mismatched set, people may want to buy that razor or that case.
I've done that. I wouldn't want the sales I bid on advertised that they were wrong.

Telling the seller he's wrong doesn't work.
If you tell a seller the Tech he's selling is an Aristocrat, he jacks up the price.
If you tell a seller the Aristocrat he's selling is a Tech, you get a nasty note to mind your own business.

Sellers and buyers on eBay have a responsibility to do a modicum of research, or they get what they deserve.

 

[Rasierhobel]

i definitly agree with you. a newbie alert thread will never work. if someone is not sure about a set he/she can crawl the www or this forum. there are all needed information aviable. do you buy a house without any information? same like buying razor sets...

The problem is that even if it's a mismatched set, people may want to buy that razor or that case.
I've done that. I wouldn't want the sales I bid on advertised that they were wrong.

Telling the seller he's wrong doesn't work.
If you tell a seller the Tech he's selling is an Aristocrat, he jacks up the price.
If you tell a seller the Aristocrat he's selling is a Tech, you get a nasty note to mind your own business.

Sellers and buyers on eBay have a responsibility to do a modicum of research, or they get what they deserve.

 

[ERVARGASNY]

I think that there will always be uninformed buyers. I do not believe that it should be our place to warn off potential bidders on suspect or mismatched sets. There are many many resources that people can use to inform themselves before they bid. Sometimes I go after mismatched sets because I have some pieces that do match, and mine is incomplete. As such I'm prepared to bid what I think that piece is worth.

For my part, I think it's appropriate to message the seller and let them know about the mismatch. That is as far as I think it should go.
My $.02,
-- Chet

+1 and then some.

 

[ERVARGASNY]

I wonder who is going to warn me when i find That Sterling Silver Gorham in a mismatch Set ?

 

[luvmysuper]

I would have been pretty upset if I were bidding on this "Gem" and someone posted about it being a mis-matched set, or e-mailed the seller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...vip=true&rt=nc

 

[Manning]

Outside of contacting the seller, I would leave it alone. And, as has been mentioned above, even that is often not in our favor. (See the Gem example from above).

 

[ras120]

The board has spoken, and thus it shall be. Caveat emptor it is.

To be more specific though, I was talking about a knowledgeable seller purposely listing something incorrectly, not the honest mistakes.

 

[celestino]

Might be a bit challenging to remedy.

 

[amishmotorboat]

The remedy can always come after the fact. It seems that very few people who plunk down large amounts for a razor are unfamiliar with this forum. If such a sum is spent, and the buyer didn't know that it was a dishonest listing, he'll soon find out here if he asks about it or shows us what he's won. After that, ebay supplies their own remedies for him.

 

[ERVARGASNY]

Same here one time i was bidding on a double ring, was getting it cheap, last minute seller pulls it out of auction and anounces he is relisting item and thanks to an Ebay Member he didnt know he had a rare double ring . I would like to say thanks alot to the big mouth that warned the seller and ended the auction early. I dont have the luxury or driven to an Antique shop in the city of NY and if i do find one its usally for the very rich, like a millon dollar painting /

I used to worry about helping sellers etc, but the i realized that some do bid on mismatch set to complete there like i did last week with an really clean empire set in a Gillette New case. So know i have the Gun Metal Empire Set Complete for under $75.00 ) an empire case so Rare complete with Empire Razor and blade case would of probably cost me over $300.00 if CFM was selling it / So now i just sit back and enjoy the auctions and make tue best of them i can

 

[ras120]

The remedy can always come after the fact. It seems that very few people who plunk down large amounts for a razor are unfamiliar with this forum. If such a sum is spent, and the buyer didn't know that it was a dishonest listing, he'll soon find out here if he asks about it or shows us what he's won. After that, ebay supplies their own remedies for him.

But wouldn't it be nice to know beforehand and avoid the whole mess altogether?

And to clarify, I'm not talking about contacting sellers, I'm talking about providing some help to newer members that are unfamiliar with some of the sets so they can avoid some headaches.

I guess what happens on eBay stays on eBay, eh?

 

[global_dev]

Bad news to discuss IMHO. too much drama could result.

 

[Mike'sWorld]

Many times I've bought shaving items at antique stores that were seriously under priced. I've also seen items that were ridiculously overpriced. I've never felt the need to educate the seller or potential buyers either way.
I'm not sure why online auctions are different. Why does anybody feel the need to assess value or to correct a listing? One of my ebay rules is never bid on something I know nothing about.

 

[luvmysuper]

The board has spoken, and thus it shall be. Caveat emptor it is.

To be more specific though, I was talking about a knowledgeable seller purposely listing something incorrectly, not the honest mistakes.

Hard sometimes to tell what a sellers "intent" is, and each noob that came along would have a different idea of who was and who wasn't "intentionally" misrepresenting something.
You may be aware of a specific case, but once the floodgates are open, it's all interpretation.

But wouldn't it be nice to know beforehand and avoid the whole mess altogether?

And to clarify, I'm not talking about contacting sellers, I'm talking about providing some help to newer members that are unfamiliar with some of the sets so they can avoid some headaches.

I guess what happens on eBay stays on eBay, eh?

The "talk about eBay sales only after they are closed" bit is pretty reliable.
Like I said, I would have been upset if I had been bidding on that double ring in the GEM box, and someone posted on here (believing they were helping others out) "Hey guys, beware - this isn't a Gem Razor"

The problem isn't that many people here know what a double ring is, and what it's worth and wouldn't do that. The trouble is how do you caveat someone as "qualified" to make a warning post to others?

 

[kingfisher]

Brad's idea is viable, and it doesn't even have to be formalized.

Newbie sees razor on eBay, not sure of the price point. Sends a PM to Brad; "would you mind looking at this and telling me what you think?"; Brad sends PM advising said newbie of goodness or badness of said deal; done.

There are others who could also perform a similar service and would probably be happy to do so.

 

[ras120]

Brad's idea is viable, and it doesn't even have to be formalized.

Newbie sees razor on eBay, not sure of the price point. Sends a PM to Brad; "would you mind looking at this and telling me what you think?"; Brad sends PM advising said newbie of goodness or badness of said deal; done.

There are others who could also perform a similar service and would probably be happy to do so.

This is really what I meant, not open discussions. I was thinking in terms of looking out for our "little brothers" (newer members).

I certainly don't want to start anything here, but I'm a little disappointed at the many "why should we do that?" responses versus brainstorming for a viable solution (of course, if you don't see a problem, you don't need a solution, right?). I know the resources are available to find out what's what in the world of razors, but how many "I need a razor ID" threads do we see in a week? Not everybody knows who Mr. Razor is or have visited his site.

It was just a thought and my intentions were honorable.