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Not so “RARE” phones, phony items and other such fakery on eBay

Started by Phonesrfun, March 17, 2011, 01:36:48 PM

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Contempra

Quote from: markosjal on December 11, 2022, 07:37:20 AMOne very common thing I am seeing on ebay is for instance a Modular WE 500 and the seller claims it is from the 1950s. SOmetimes they even show a date on the baseplate and a mic elemt that clearly show dates from the 70s

When I see this, I don't buy. This is clearly a lie that the seller is telling.

markosjal

Yea  I would never buy it but it is an example of how people intentionally misrepresent stuff on ebay
Phat Phantom's phreaking phone phettish

TelePlay

Quote from: Contempra on December 11, 2022, 08:58:00 AMWhen I see this, I don't buy. This is clearly a lie that the seller is telling.

Well, it may just be a seller with limited knowledge, ignorant of what they write, rather than outright lying, intentional deception. I would look for a pattern in all of the seller's listings to determine between ignorance and deception. Fortunately, most of us know what we see is more factual than what the seller writes and with that can make our own informed decision whether to buy it or not.

MMikeJBenN27

Most sellers do not want to defraud people, but more than a few really do want to.  And they generally know exactly what they are doing.  Honest people are more likely to thank you for the information.  One such seller, a business not a person, is American Heritage Museum.  They know that colored plastic Western Electric 302s are 1940 at the oldest, but they still try to say they are "circa 1930" or "1930s", and refuse to Revise their auction, and if you tell them again, they block you.  That tells me that they know EXACTLY what they are doing.

Mike

Darkstar2006

Quote from: TelePlay on December 11, 2022, 05:49:46 PMWell, it may just be a seller with limited knowledge, ignorant of what they write, rather than outright lying, intentional deception.
I have to agree. An example of this is, search for 554BMP and see what comes up. I needed a 554BMP (a wall phone adaptor to mod plug plate also known as a 228A) for a friend of mine. Of course a bunch of wall phones show up in the search results. Looking at the result phones people list the phone as a 554BMP because thats what the little sticker on the attached "back mounting plate" says it is. However some are listed 554BMP and there is no 554BMP mounting plate on the phone.
I had asked one seller where the mounting adapter plate was. the seller did not know what i was talking about and said that her phone looked just like another listing and thought that it was the same thing. Just an error in knowledge. Not a deception by omission. We must read and look carefully at all the pictures. Assume nothing!
Why do people with cell phones use "old phone" as their ring tone?

-Dave S.


MMikeJBenN27

You should see how many here in this country get dates and eras wrong, such as 1930s cars in 1920, etc.

Mike