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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Frikkin cheeky Ebay sellers that make their product appear cheap when it isn't, by listing a bullshit cheap item in the list.

22 replies

flashbac · 06/02/2022 11:27

Example: a particular brand of hairdryer is normally around 50 quid. Seller lists a comb or plug or something stupid in the same listing so headline price on the list makes it look like the hairdryer is a fiver.
Happens on most items. Annoying AF. Shouldn't be allowed.

OP posts:
usernameshistory · 06/02/2022 11:33

It's only really the large volume business sellers that do this. You need to adjust your filters.

MargaretThursday · 06/02/2022 11:44

I agree. The fabric used to be a good place to buy, but now they're all selling it with a "sample" for 99p, or list it by 1/4m to look cheaper. Frustrating.
I don't use it anything like as much as I used to because it's so hard to trawl through.

Sparklesocks · 06/02/2022 11:49

I remember I knew someone years ago who got tricked thinking she was buying a product but really it was the box of the product. Nightmare.

Theunamedcat · 06/02/2022 11:51

Yes it pisses me off I specifically restricted my filters and still fall foul of the "organza bag" trick

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 06/02/2022 11:53

What filters help with this?

Original poster
flashbac · 06/02/2022 11:55

@MargaretThursday

I agree. The fabric used to be a good place to buy, but now they're all selling it with a "sample" for 99p, or list it by 1/4m to look cheaper. Frustrating. I don't use it anything like as much as I used to because it's so hard to trawl through.
Yep. I ended up not buying any fabric when I looked some time ago. Far too many 99p items where you get a piece the size of an knat's backside but a metre of the fabric is a zillion quid.
OP posts:
PurpleNebula84 · 06/02/2022 11:59

I've recently got into sewing and I've got to say I'm appalled at a majority of places selling fabric in half metres to make it look cheaper - same goes for fat quarters - I'm not a quilter and there's only so many things I want to make that use such small amounts of fabric.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 06/02/2022 12:05

I don't understand this issue?

ClariceQuiff · 06/02/2022 12:09

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

I don't understand this issue?
So you search for (e.g.) William Morris fabric and instead of appearing as its price per metre, it appears as 99p - because you can get a tiny sample swatch for that price. Which makes it very tedious to compare prices per seller.

The same with other items - e.g. a silver ring might appear for 99p but when you go into the listing, the 99p is for a gift box you can add to your order.

A PITA.

QuantumHypothesis · 06/02/2022 12:09

Its the ones with a cheap buy it now price but an extortionate postage price that annoy me.

Danikm151 · 06/02/2022 12:11

Pisses me off so much. Ebay lose a lot of buyers this way.
I want to buy the thing I search for, not trawl through 50 items to actually find it!

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 06/02/2022 12:14

So you search for (e.g.) William Morris fabric and instead of appearing as its price per metre, it appears as 99p
Isn't it pretty obvious you won't be getting William Morris for 99p a metre?
This complaint just seems like another way people demand to be "protected" from something that is really easy to avoid.

Original poster
flashbac · 06/02/2022 12:19

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

So you search for (e.g.) William Morris fabric and instead of appearing as its price per metre, it appears as 99p Isn't it pretty obvious you won't be getting William Morris for 99p a metre? This complaint just seems like another way people demand to be "protected" from something that is really easy to avoid.
OK, to use another example. Discontinued make up on ebay. Lip liner. Appears to be 99p. Click on the link but its not. They've listed a sharpener for 99p in the list of lipliners. The lipliner is actually 4 quid.
OP posts:
stripeyflowers · 06/02/2022 12:22

YANBU It's devious and dishonest and very frustrating.

Kpo58 · 06/02/2022 12:27

@QuantumHypothesis

Its the ones with a cheap buy it now price but an extortionate postage price that annoy me.
Do you not order things by price & P&p lowest first to get around this? I don't see why this would be an issue as the extortionate P&P probably covered the cost of the item and P&P so they don't sell for less than they paid.
ClariceQuiff · 06/02/2022 12:31

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

So you search for (e.g.) William Morris fabric and instead of appearing as its price per metre, it appears as 99p Isn't it pretty obvious you won't be getting William Morris for 99p a metre? This complaint just seems like another way people demand to be "protected" from something that is really easy to avoid.
Yes, of course it's obvious - that's why it's annoying. If you're trying to compare prices, you don't want a list of nonsense prices to trawl through - you want to see a list of sellers and their genuine price per metre.
Greenlight4 · 06/02/2022 12:31

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

It makes it really time intensive to scroll through and impossible to price compare

If say you are looking for earrings the only price that will be shown on the main page is the price of the box it comes in. You have to go into each individual listing to see the price. One listing might it at £6 and one at £4 but you won't know until you've scrolled through everything and they will still be sorted on the price of their cheapest item

lemongrasstea · 06/02/2022 12:34

This is highly irritating. Sellers are allowed to list multiple items at different price points although it only looks like one item when you see it on the main page. Lots of time wasted on pointless clicks for this purpose!!! They would be more popular and able to compete with Amazon if they took away this ability and you had to list one price point

Cronehands · 06/02/2022 13:14

Yes. I've been looking for sheets today. Great, 3 quid.
Oh, it's for a pillowcase. That is not a sheet. If I wanted pillowcases, I'd look for pillowcases.

MedusasBadHairDay · 06/02/2022 13:21

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

So you search for (e.g.) William Morris fabric and instead of appearing as its price per metre, it appears as 99p Isn't it pretty obvious you won't be getting William Morris for 99p a metre? This complaint just seems like another way people demand to be "protected" from something that is really easy to avoid.
For me I've found it's most annoying if I'm looking for some cheap fabric (eg. For creating mockups) I've sorted by price and made sure I'm searching for fabrics sold per metre, problem is people are listing fabric they are selling by the metre, but included within the listing that they are also offering a swatch of the material.

So I'm then having to trawl through pages of dirt cheap swatches in order to find fabric that's actually cheap by the metre.

ClariceQuiff · 06/02/2022 13:39

So I'm then having to trawl through pages of dirt cheap swatches in order to find fabric that's actually cheap by the metre.

Yes, exactly. Even if you're looking for expensive fabric, you still have to go in and out of every 99p listing and change the dropdown to find the actual price per metre.

Original poster
flashbac · 06/02/2022 15:00

@Theunamedcat

Yes it pisses me off I specifically restricted my filters and still fall foul of the "organza bag" trick
I forgot about the organza bag bollox. Gives me the rage!
OP posts:
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