An intentional misrepresentation or omission of fact for the purposes of depriving someone else of money or property is considered fraud. The law states that a buyer should be wary in order to protect his/her own interests. A seller who gives a highly overstated opinion about the quantity of the items being sold is not guilty of fraud but he/she could be, once a fact about those goods is misrepresented.

What is the Misrepresented Item Scam?

Misrepresentation is considered one of the oldest tricks in the business. It is basically the intentional overstatement of the value, authenticity and condition of the item. In essence, the winning bidders receive items that are not what they assumed it would be based on the way it was described and presented.

Intentional misrepresentation can be done through the use of written descriptions or glossy marketing photos. It can also be done otherwise through the use of blurry or strategically blocked photos that hide flaws like dirt, stains, holes, tears, cracks, chips, wear and even substantial damage. Item description can be also be vague and deceptive such as “Oakley Sunglasses”. A dishonest seller could reason out that he/she never advertised the item as “authentic Oakley Sunglasses” when the buyer receives a poorly made imitation of the product, worth much less than the price paid for it.

Generally, the write-up and photo should be able to give the potential bidder a clear picture of the item. One way to prevent being victimized by this type of scam is to ask questions about the product. If the seller proves evasive in giving answers or tends to distract you with non-specific descriptions, it is best to move on and bid on something else. Though there are ways that items can be replaced or funds recovered, the odds of being able to do so is quite slim.

It could be possible that some sellers unknowingly sell reproductions or counterfeit. These might have been passed-off as the real thing to the seller himself. Since authentication can be very difficult for such items as art pieces, the buyer should do his/her research and find out the current market price for such a piece. This would determine whether it is possible that an original piece can really be sold within the seller’s asking price. A price that is too high or too low should alert the buyer to further investigate before buying.

Related Scams

If there is one thing that can be considered the ultimate misrepresentation, it would have to be the Wholesale List Scam. Regular online buyers have surely come across auction sites selling wholesale lists. At first glance, nothing could be wrong about this practice since there is no one to say that lists cannot be sold at auction sites. The bottom line is as long as the seller is offering something that can be of interest to a buyer and it is not illegal, then it is perfectly all right to sell a list.

In this scam however, misrepresentation is done by making it appear that bidders are bidding on real items instead of a mere list of wholesalers selling these particular items. Potential buyers will be enticed by the remarkably low price as seen on the auction site. Just imagine the difference in price between an actual laptop and a list of wholesalers of laptops and you’ll understand the source of attraction of this scam. This is a classic example of the saying that “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is”. Bidders who get victimized are those who are on the look-out for the most unbelievable deals where they get to have something in exchange for almost nothing. Notwithstanding the personal motives of bidders, misrepresentation of items for sale is still a bad practice.

A typical example of a misleading item falling under this category would be one that makes generous use of words or group of words that have double meanings and thus would be open to various interpretations. Take for instance the words, “Brand New Laptop Wholesale” and “List of Brand New Laptop Wholesalers”. These are two phrases using similar words having entirely different meanings. The first one implies that there are brand new laptops being offered on a wholesale basis while the second one clearly states that what is actually being sold is a list of brand new laptop wholesaler. Scammers would use the first one as this gets the bidders’ attention rather than the second one. A list, for all intents and purposes cannot be of use to a regular consumer since wholesalers deal only with retailers. The critical wordings are usually hidden within a big block of text, in the middle of the item introduction, at the bottom of the page or simply implied by the accompanying text. A buyer who gets victimized by this scam has no recourse against the seller as they got exactly what they paid for. The facts of such transactions should be reported to the auction site and be included in the seller’s feedback.

The Importance of Feedbacks

Victims of any kind of misrepresentation or fraud can still make use of the power of feedbacks. This particular bit of information can be used by buyers to determine what kind of seller they are dealing with. The amount of negative feedback can also forewarn others about dealing with a particular seller.

Negative feedbacks about buyers usually center on the issue of either late payment or non-payment. Sellers, however, can do more to the disadvantage of buyers. They can misrepresent the item, overcharge for shipping and ship the items late or not at all.

A prospective buyer should make use of the important information contained in the feedback. A few negative feedbacks should make the buyer more aware and careful. A few more should automatically remove the seller from the buyer’s list. Ten negative feedbacks against 1,000 items sold accounts for only 1% but ten negative feedbacks is actually a terrible track record. It is a fact that not all customers take the trouble of reporting their bad experiences with a seller. Some don’t because of the fear of getting a negative feedback in return. Others give neutral feedback for the same reason. Neutral feedbacks should be further examined as important information may be hidden somewhere.

The contents of negative feedbacks will tell buyers how a seller conducts his business. A handful of feedbacks that says the items were shipped late will reveal the seller’s record on making good his delivery schedules. Feedbacks that say that items were damaged or misrepresented will reveal that receiving bad items from the seller is very possible. Feedbacks that say items were never shipped should send alarm bells ringing. One negative feedback should not discourage a buyer outright. Several feedbacks of the same nature probably attest to the validity of complaints. Look also into how the seller responds to negative feedbacks and what kind of feedback he/she leaves others. Avoid sellers who give a lot of negative feedbacks or responds in a hostile manner to negative feedbacks.