Which is the fake listing

[richard_hunt64m9]

I am looking at an expensive fishing reel. Two suppliers have the reel for sale in Japan. Same photos, different backgrounds. I think the more expensive seller isn't the owner as vague with replies. How can I tell and secondly is there a way of reporting? thanks

The seller listing is same as another Japanese seller, they have just changed the background to the phones and increased price. I assume this one is the fake as they have been vague with answers. It's an expensive item and I need to know who owns and the other needs to take done the fake listing

[red_magpie]

I need to know who owns and the other needs to take done the fake listing

If only things were that simple on eBay!

eBay now allows sellers to copy and use other sellers' photos, so you can never know whether the item the seller is selling is the one in the picture.

In your case, one seller may have copied the photo from the other's listing, or  both sellers may even have copied the picture from an earlier listing in eBay's photo archive. Either way, there is still nothing to report to eBay as eBay allows sellers to do this!

To me, it's unbelievable! eBay already warns buyers in the user agreement that "they do not guarantee the existence, quality, safety or legality of items advertised, or the truth or accuracy of descriptions".  On top of which, the photos may not even be of the he actual item for sale. eBay is a jungle!

In your situation I'd either forget about buying this ree, or message both sellers to ask what's going on.

If you do buy one, you will be able to return it under eBay's money back guarantee if it isn't as described and in theory the seller should also pay the return postage, although this is complicated as eBay doesn't provide prepaid return labels for overseas returns. Plus of course you may have to reclaim a refund of any VAT and import duties that were payable.

Is it worth the risk and the hassle? Only you can decide.

[richard_hunt64m9]

Thanks very much for the reply, makes things a lot clearer. Amazing EBay doesn’t stop this in the age of AI

Thank you

Richard

[john1297576]

“In the age of AI”

What is there to stop? The photo side of things is allowed by ebay, with of course the 30 day money back guarantee giving support to buyers.

You ask about reporting, if you ever report anything, chances are it will get an AI generated response, saying basically that there is nothing to report. AI cannot detect fakes, even the majority of ebay agents, would not have the knowledge to identify a fake among the millions of items listed on ebay.