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Fraud and Deliberate Misrepresentation of an Item to be Sold

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calandzina

Guest
State: California

I sold an item to someone on eBay. Before she would send me a money order, she asked that I write her a "guarantee that the item I'm sending is as described in the listing". Now that she has the ring, she says it is not as described and is convinced that she can charge me with "fraud and deliberate misrepresentation of an item to be sold". She seems so sure of herself because she has my "guarantee". Does she have a leg to stand on?

She lives in Nebraska. I listed the item as "no returns".
 


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dorfman

Guest
You are always going to get some idiots on ebay.

You listed the auction details and as long as they are accurate she cant do anthing.

Word of advice:

ALWAYS TAKE WELL LIT PICTURES

So people can see all the little faults. And describe them.

The best defense aginst any accusations is the Price you started at or the reserve.

If you had a very high starting price or reserve, then you should expect people to be very picky, but if you start low with no reserve, then people should know its not 100% perfect,

And with a no return policy i would never bid high for anything, most of the time if I bid $100 for something if there is a no return policy i probably wouldnt bid higher then $50, and let some other sucker take a chance on it.

So what does she think was misrepresented?

What she though you can buy a Rolex for $60 ...nah man but you can buy a Rollx for $60!!!!!
 
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calandzina

Guest
State: California

Dorfman, thanks for replying. Here is what happened: I listed a diamond ring with a one-liner description. I set the reserve pretty low for a diamond: $400. I opted to have pics displayed, but something happened in the process and they didn't get in the listing. I was getting questions from quite a few people, and one suggested I describe the ring more fully. It is not certified, nor did I claim it was. I looked up some diamond grading info on the Internet and put it in as "D or E color, S1 clarity". Many people who were interested in the ring sent more questions asking if it was certified, cloudy, etc., to which I answered honestly: no certification, yes cloudy; and I sent those people pictures (those who asked). The winning bidder had only one question for me: why was I selling it. SHe never asked for pics. That dummy bid $2,025 for the ring!

Now that she has it, she says it is not as described (color- and clarity-wise) and she is going to charge me with fraud, etc. She seems to think that the "guarantee" I sent her will be my downfall. I also offered her a partial refund, after she was threatening and harassing me, which she doesn't want. She wanted me to take it back and refund her $.

What do you think?
 
S

sadnblue

Guest
i am going try an answer at this: first off, you wrote her a letter of guarentee, giving your own rating for the diamond in the ring? without a having it done properly at the jewerly store?

I would think that if she pays to have it appraised, and it does not meet the rating that you gave her, then she is entitled to her money back. Also, did she know that the rating was determined by you and that you were not licsensed? What did the guarentee say? What you wrote in the guarentee is going to determine if she has you on misrepresentation. Wouldnt it just be easier to give her the money back, less a percentage for "restocking" and be done with her?

Also, doesnt ebay give you customer support for situtations like this....see what their rules are.
 
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calandzina

Guest
The guarantee said (in an email): "I guarantee that the item I'm sending you is as described in the auction". You're right, it was just my own estimation on how I thought the ring should be described.

She never asked anything about certification or authentication, she only asked why I was selling it. Almost everyone else who bid on the ring (and people who chose not to bid after hearing my answers) asked more detailed questions (about certification, cloudiness, etc.).

eBay basically washes their hands of the whole thing once there is a winning bidder. They do have some sort of mediation, but she can't file any kind of complaint until 30 days after the auction has ended (basically, not for another 2 weeks).

At this point, yes, it seems that it really would just be easier to give her her money back. I have to decide whether or not to swallow my pride and just give in to her (since she's been sending harassing, rude emails ever since this went downhill).
 
R

rentertoo

Guest
why not take the ring to a very expensive jeweler, and get an estimate of what you could sell it for?

Thats what we did we dessed up and went into a ritzy town and sold our diamond for $700 more then the local poorer shop offered us.

This should teach you a lesson.......If you have no pictures, then cancel the auction.

The question is what is it really worth?
 

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