gibosi
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Oct 18, 2012
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Sorry gibosi, but according to ebay rules it is not the responsibility of the buyer to study 'pictures' - it is his responsibility to read the listing description carefully. And the seller has strict listing rules he should abide by as part of terms and conditions...and I quote :
http://Ensure your item is authentic You can't list replicas, fakes, counterfeits or other illegal copies on eBay. For example: Don't list an item that bears the brand name or logo of a company that did not manufacture or authorise the product Don't list homemade or otherwise unauthorised copies of music, movies, television programmes or software Under the law, it is no excuse to say that you didn't know the item you were selling was a counterfeit or a pirated copy. It's your responsibility to investigate your source for product and stand behind everything you sell.
http://2. Ensure the statements in your listing are accurate Ensure that all statements and claims in your listing are true and complete. Rights owners may object to listings that contain false, inaccurate or misleading claims about their products. If you're not sure whether a statement you want to make is true, double-check it and rely only on credible sources. Someone on a message board may sound like they know what they're talking about but you're the one who will be responsible for the content. Making sure that your listing is accurate and complete will not only help you avoid intellectual property concerns, it will also help buyers understand what they're buying. This will minimise any miscommunication that might lead to a poor transaction and negative feedback.
In addition, ebayers selling internationally must abide by the consumer laws of the countries targeted - and here in the UK especially, there are very strict laws regarding any kind of misleading advertising, so that 'caveat emptor' is no protection for fraudulent - or careless - instances of seller behaviour.
Hence I stand by my previous statements re the particular listing in question, lol...
Given the prevalence of relabeled tubes, your interpretation of the eBay rules is unreasonable and unworkable. Every vendor would have to be able to recognize whether a tube had been relabeled, and further, ascertain the original manufacturer. As an obvious example, this would present an almost insurmountable hurdle when trying to sell Motorola, Philips, Haltron and similarly relabeled tubes. Very few vendors have adequate knowledge and experience to enable them to comply with such a high standard. But notice the word "authorise" above. Motorola and other rebranders were most certainly authorized to sell the tubes they relabeled. So describing a tube as a Motorola is most certainly not misleading or fraudulent. And of course, this extends to all examples of authorized relabeling, such as a Brimar relabeled as a Mullard, and so on.
Based on these eBay rules, the recent sale of a pair of 6AS7G that has everyone all worked up does not appear to be misleading or fraudulent. The tubes were labeled as GEC. This is a fact verified by the pictures. And according to eBay rules, the vendor did not lie or misrepresent that fact. While some may believe the tubes are fake, there is absolutely no proof to back up such a claim. It is equally possible that they were simply relabeled, and it is doubtful that anyone alive today, including the seller, knows the real truth. With no proof to the contrary, the vendor cannot be faulted for assuming that the relabeling was "authorized."
Hence, I stand by my assertion: Labels cannot be trusted. It is the buyer's responsibility to perform the necessary due diligence, closely examining all the information provided, both text and pictures, to verify that the listed tubes are the "real deal".
By the way H1, using your interpretation of eBay rules, it would appear that the listing for the Haltron 6AS7G you recently purchased was misleading. Haltron most certainly did not manufacture that tube...
Cheers