Of course I did not ask for a refund.  
It would be foolish to return them for $15.
That does not remedy her error, or her failure to acknowledge one.
Further, we are still only speculating that there wasn't a switch involved.

Her response should have been fairly simple:

Oh, I am sorry.  I am new to Ebay and used someone else's photos.  I was unaware that they were different items or that it would matter to a buyer.  Would you like to send them back for a refund?

I have a lot of tolerance for honest mistakes that lead toward better listings from the sellers.  I don't have a lot of tolerance for dishonest, lazy or ignorant ones that are compounded by a sellers refusing to acknowledge one was made when caught red handed.  

She cribbed photos of the wrong books, failed to describe condition accurately and then was rude....  enough said, she got her negs.

FormCritic wrote:So you didn't ask her to make it right?  

You didn't ask for a refund, a partial refund or credit on another item or some other way of fixing the problem?

Presumably, you contacted her again and explained again what you were mad about and pointed out that your main goal was just to insure that she wouldn't post the wrong photos again in the future.  

You did that, didn't you?

Yeah, and now you can rub it in her face that if she wasn't lazy and ignorant she would have gotten much more for the books...

There are lessons here for her to learn... and every aspect of this transaction just reinforces them.

TheMilford wrote:Guys,
Stop nitpicking this... the seller is lazy and ignorant. THAT'S SHADY!

Regardless of the positive aspect of the items being under-priced... which is irrelevant. Her conduct should not be rewarded.

Dead on.  If he had payed $100 for the lot would anybody be questioning whether or not she belonged on the shady dealer list?  Inaccurate item descriptions.  Failure to mention that photos were not of actual items.  Apparent disinterest in buyers valid complaints.  Honest mistake or not, it was still a mistake.  Sounds to me like someone to avoid.

Pipswich wrote:She did not ship what she described and illustrated.

Sorry, there's no way this belongs in the Shady Dealer thread.  Unless you want to fill it with clueless eBay sellers...but it's really meant for people that intentionally screw people over.

Clueless newbies are everywhere on eBay.  Next time you see something too good to be true, ask before rabidly hitting the BIN.

Nobody ever intentionally tries to screw anybody... they only try to intentionally make more money... the screwing is a byproduct of a lack of moral and empathy.

"The means justifies the ends"

I guess "shady" isn't completely accurate until we know if this sort of practice becomes commonplace in her repertoire.

This story is about to get very interesting.

I ask this seller (junogrrl) several days ago about the module S4 she has for sale.  I know, it's one all of you have, and I knew it wasn't in the best shape, but the starting bid was $3.00 so I ask;

Is the photo in the auction a picture of the actual item? Also, please provide more information about the condition of this module. Is there any writing or highlighting within? Rust on the staples? Odd smells(pets, smoke, mildew)? Page tears? Creases? Thanks for any help you can provide.

She responds:

Hello - not a photo of actual item (from wikipedia) no writing or handwriting. no odd smells, just an old book, not mildew pets or smoke. a little rust on one of the staples. no page tears. slight creasing on cover. cover appears to be more of a containing folder, not actually attached (or intended to). staples are on the book inserted into the outside folder.
- junogrrl

Then, before I can respond, she writes:

Hello again - I've decided to end all of my D&D listings and give them to the local charity. But if you want this item, I'd be happy to send it to you if you would pay for shipping. I believe if I send it Priority Mail it should only cost about $4. let me know. my direct email is (e-mail deleted).

I say:

Dear junogrrl,

I would be happy to do that. I know you said you wanted to give the other D&D items to charity, but I was also hoping to bid on the character record sheets and the Tomb of Horrors module. Could I send you $8.00 for those three? You wouldn't even have to send it priority mail but by the cheapest way possible(Media Mail is fine about $3.00). Let me know if this is acceptable. Thank you so much for considering this. I could pay tonight.
- benjoshuasdad

She says:

Dear benjoshuasdad,

sounds like a deal to me! can we just do it directly thru paypal? my email is (e-mail deleted). I can get them in the mail on Tuesday, after the holiday.
- junogrrl

So, I pay the money and say:

Message: This is payment for three Dungeons and Dragons modules and shipping. The modules are: "Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth," "Tomb of Horrors," and "Adv. D&D Permanent Character Records." Please pack these carefully. Cardboard on top and bottom helps. Write "DO NOT BEND" on envelope. Thank you!

So she says:

Hello benjoshuasdad -
I am packing them in an album box (the kind that photo albums from hallmark come in) with some cushioning so they don't slide around. I'm throwing in a few extras, because I'm just getting rid of the stuff. It's my husband's from childhood, and they is what they is.  The description provided for the one you had contacted me about that I provided to you is as accurate to my view. (None of these have been hermetically sealed so please don't send me a nasty email like one person did, even though I felt I had represented the product accurately.)  I hope you like them!  Do you play or just collect?
-- Keni

So I say,

Thanks for carefully packing them in a box and cushioning them.  I feel much better.

I used to play but now I just collect, so condition is important to me, but I promise to not complain.  I can tell you are trying your best and that counts for a lot in my book.  And also thank you for throwing in the extra stuff.  The older the better, but I'll take anything.  My wife rolls her eyes, but I find older stuff quite interesting. Interestingly, my wife wants to get rid of some of my stuff from time to time, so I'm glad to be helping you out!  

And if mailing it Tuesday is a hassle, don't worry about it.  I'm in no hurry.  I am grateful for your kindness.  Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

benjoshuasdad

I get a message this morning,

Hi Benjoshuasdad - just wanted to let you know that I shipped the package today. I sent it priority, because it was only $2 more than sending parcel post. It's like that sometimes from Alaska.
-- Keni

So I say,

Wow!  Thank you so much!  I really appreciate it.

I am disconcerted someone in the D&D community sent you a nasty e-mail.  Not good.  I have a good idea who it was (Uncommon Artifacts in Mobile, Alabama)?  We D&D collector types talk among ourselves, and do all we can to make the collecting community better.  Would you be willing to forward his message to me?  The more I communicate with you, the more this situation sounds like uncalled-for behavior.  If you don't want to, no problem.

Sincerely,
benjoshuasdad

So she says,

Yes it was that collector from Alabama.  I don't want to forward the original email, but he basically accused me of selling the stuff I advertised to someone else, and giving him crap it its place.  I felt I had described the goods pretty well, even stating that it was my husband's from childhood and that one of the books had his name, address and phone number written in it in a child's handwriting, and that the books were yellowed with time.  
I don't know if I did the right thing, but I just gave him his money back and told him if he didn't like them to throw them in the trash, that I had no attachment to them.
I just didn't like being accused of doing something under-handed and making a deal with someone else on the side.  I decided that I would not be selling anymore D&D stuff, although I still have quite a bit. Currently I have several monster manuals and other manuals that are in my son's room, but he has never used them.  My husband has been known to say that if they had WOW and Champions of Norath when he was a kid, he never would have played D&D on paper. (Although he was rather poor, so probably would not have had the means to play either of those.)

I wish you well.  -- Keni

So now you see what a sneaky, wheeler-dealer I am.

Hey Pips, how come you didn't tell us that she refunded you your money?

TheMilford wrote:Hey Pips, how come you didn't tell us that she refunded you your money?

oh dear... well that just says it all, doesn't it...
how about we have a 'shady arsehole' collector thread so we can out 'shady arsehole' collectors...
I knew there was something about this guy, I just couldn't put my finger on it. What an arsehole...
strikes me that you're a snide, lying, jerk off piptroll. Never engage in conversation with me again!!!
where's bclarkie when you need him?

Lol, you had a better experience with her than I did.  She can tell you anything she wants to and hopefully she will be more honest in the future.

But, enjoy your witch hunt and congratulations on capitalizing on the situation.  I hope you get great deals on what you buy from her and if she sells on ebay in the future, that she treats people well.  Smart move, btw, clarifying the packing.  Mine were shipped with no padding in a priority mail flat envelope so it was fortunate they were not damaged.

She did send an UNSOLICITED refund with a snarky comment "here ya go big spender."  I don't consider it relevant.  I neither asked for nor wanted the refund and certainly I did not appreciate the rude comment and I never got an apology for her error.  (Although I certainly won't return it since I don't expect to see the books I bought).

My respond was appropriate.  My last two messages follow.  I even thanked her for the refund I didn't ask for...

"Thank you for the refund. Unfortunately, I can never know the facts of this matter. Your photos are of first printings. I, and any collector, would have paid as much as $600 for the three books you pictured. So, although I suspect that you indeed made a very bad mistake and stole someones pictures to save time.... I can not know that another collector did not step in between the sale by paying a larger amount of money and swapping out the books I received. I would have paid $15 for the books I got, that was not the issue. The issue is, I don't know if after the sale fraud occurred. And, yes, people do that sort of thing. Please be aware that if you are going to lift pictures from others, you need to make sure you lift the exact item you are selling and in the same condition. It takes only a few minutes to take, crop and upload your own photo. picassa and photobucket are both free, I believe. I can't imagine you want bidders wondering if you are selling things twice."

And the next and last message to her.  (routine with me for negs or low dsr's)

"Since you are new, I am going to try to help. Your responses and snarky comment in paypal took your feedback from neutral to negative.

1. No remorse. You are sorry I am disappointed, not sorry that you stole photos, misrepresented the items and did not deliver what I bought. (your apparent claim)
2. You claim I should know from your note that they are old books that you did not use actual pictures. Unless you state stock photos or are otherwise explicit, I, nor any collector can know what you are doing.
3. "obviously they are old... not... encased in plastic." How is it relevant. That was not part of the description. The photos are.
4. The refund... states "Here you are big spender." Wow! After, either misrepresentation with stolen photos, or worse, a sale to another collector with substitution. you are unhappy with the buyer? Class act. I just want what I pay for. DSR's 1's for description and communication This won't happen if you take your pictures and avoid rudeness"

So, yes, interesting, lol.  

But, she made photo, description, listing AND communication errors.  And, we still don't know someone didn't manage to swap out the books.  The neg was well deserved and my response to her more than necessary and adequate.