What To Do About An Ebay Lot Received With Fakes?

I recently received a lot of 32 cinderellas that I purchased on ebay today and found that out of 32, 4 were modern forgeries/ fakes fronted on computer paper. These were not pointed out as being forgeries but were not really highlighted in the lot either. Should I bother to try to get a partial refund or just forget about them?

Depends what the description says. If they are sold as legit then yes. If it is sold as is or doesn't make any false claims then it is buyer beware, imo.

As a seller, sometimes I simply don't know the authenticity of an item. If I am unsure, then I make a rule of saying so out of respect to buyers, but not every seller will do this.

You could always start by asking the seller what can be done about it.

It really depends on you. There are fine lines to this. Does the seller even know they are forgeries. I myself wouldn't know especially with Cinderellas because most have never been used postally so they are almost all unused and appear new. But then perhaps the seller would assume that the buyer would know. There are those possibilities. But I believe its up to you to perhaps let him know and work something out. Are they the highlights of the lot? If they were I'd for sure let the seller know.

Can you post pics ?

Thanks.

An item can always be returned if it is NOT as described. Both ebay and PayPal guarantee refunds on fake items. If it is an expensive item, by all means return it. If it is inexpensive, it is up to you. Sometimes, it is better just forget it to avoid headaches dealing with the issue.

I had a recent experience where a batch of cinderellas came and were not what were pictured in the auction. They were still interesting, but if I'd seen them in the picture I wouldn't have bid. And they were too inexpensive to bother mailing back. The return postage would have cost more than the item itself.
It was frustrating, but I decided it wasn't worth returning. I did email the seller, twice, to express my disappointment. His explanation was plausable (I'm old, I'm selling off a lifetime collection, I don't know anything about labels {but you've been collecting them all you life?}, the ad states the received item will not be as exactly show {very small type buried in the ad}.
OK, fine. He has said he is sending me 20 more labels to make up for my disappointment. We'll see if they get here.
My point is sometimes just a note can elicit a positive response. Sometimes a mistake is just that, a mistake. Not everybody is out to get us (I like to think).
I'd certainly send the seller a note. Squeaky wheel and all.

If your bid reflects the value you put on these four stamps, then I would contact the seller and try to work something out - if not a full refund, then a partial refund for the stamps that were fakes. Most sellers will work with you as they don't want the hastle of returns and relisting.

Let us know how it goes!

Brian

I can't seem to get photobucket to work but here is a link to the auction- I probably overpaid even if they were all real...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/40038881832....m1497.l2649

Here are some uselessly blurry photos of the forgeries. (Due to photobucket error- when I took the photos originally they were perfectly clear and large!)





And now with some genuine ones to compare the paper, printing, etc. to. (The fakes are in the top row of the stockcard with some random genuine examples at the bottom).

If the top photo is all the fakes and the bottom is all the real, I see no discernable difference. Or are there a mix of fakes and real in each pic? I see gum color diffs (or gum va no gum).

I would err on the side of seller being unaware and would tell him they are fakes and see what he/she offers. Otherwise, unless those 4 are what you wanted specifically I'd just leave it. My general advice is ALWAYS ask questions before bidding (closeup pics, if known fakes, etc) otherwise buyer takes the risk imo (regardless of ebay/paypal policies)

Just my opinion on buying/selling.

This sort of thing has happened to me twice in ebay auctions. In both cases, I asked for a refund based on what I estimated the fake stamps to be worth when I set my bid price. Since I generally set my bid on percentage of Scott value, this was easy for me to determine. The seller agreed in both cases, in one case with an apology and in the other with a bit of grumbling about not being able to make a profit etc.

However, in both cases, the seller had clearly represented the stamps as genuine. In your case, its difficult to say that the auction description misrepresents the lot. The only claim made is they are "poster stamps" and its hard to argue the fakes are not poster stamps.

But its worth expressing your disapproval. I would be respectful and point out that you are disappointed and would like to leave positive feedback, then ask if there is anything the seller can do to compensate. This could lead to a negotiation of a refund. Or you could also say that you would be happy with a refund of X% of the purchase price.

I finally got around to contacting the seller.

This is what I wrote- I'm hoping this seems okay?

Looks good

I always put the praise before the complaint.

64idgaf - very good point

Very well stated Ben. I think he will get the point of your dis-satisfaction.I always look for a good return policy. Most sellers give at least two weeks to return. Most Sellers don't want negative feed back,