Supposedly incorrect item description - is the eBay police out and about these days?
Summary: In the discussion titled "Supposedly false item description - is the eBay police out and about these days?" the topic of supposedly false item descriptions on an online marketplace is brought up. One participant mentions that he didn’t respond and immediately put the sender on the block list. The discussion seems to include various opinions and experiences from the participants on this topic.
I listed two items at different times.
The first: item number 406933081651, Krisla crystal Italy carafes made of lead crystal, with etched mark. Origin and brand verified.
I then received the following message:
„sorry, but that is not crystal, it is pressed glass. The decoration is much too shallow, and it has “soft” pattern edges. Crystal is cut, so the pattern is deep, the pattern edges are hard and sharp. You must remove crystal! Crystal looks LIKE THIS:
SEE eBay item no.:225380596052“
They also sent along a bunch of pictures of cut lead crystal.
Last Sunday I listed small glasses, whose nature I had researched thoroughly on the internet, but they are unbranded. Item number: 406963698695
I received the following message last night:
„sorry, but that is not crystal, it is antique glass. The decoration is not cut, but etched. You simply cannot make that on crystal. That was also on Bares für Rares once, most recently on 17/10/2024, the glass insert for the silver bowl, where the decoration is also etched and not cut! The expert was Detlef Kümmel. See attachments!
...that is why the decoration is so matte.....“
In my opinion, the “attachments” were something they made themselves. The source was “Wikibrief” - the copied Wikipedia.
Both accounts were registered on eBay in February 2026, and have 1 and 3 ratings as buyers.
I therefore blocked these users and initiated a report. Only eBay couldn’t make sense of the report; supposedly it was empty - even though I reported the message via the three-dots menu.
For now I’ve trimmed down my listings and will refrain from selling anything made of glass. Glasses of any kind will now stay in the cupboard.
I would be very grateful if comments like: „We’ve already had this“ or „It’s not that bad“ don’t come up again - in general, I expect a polite reply, as is expected of me as well. That should be possible too.
Maybe someone could look into the matter once.
Thank you very much and greetings from our capital, my current family place of stay.
25 comments
zappydooyoo
·3 weeks agoWell, unfortunately the joy on this platform has been gone for a long time already
pennystocknomoney
·1 month agoHello @ all
I didn’t react at all and immediately put them on my block list.
rogo-32
·2 months agohey, I had one of those guys on my back too, I reported him to eBay customer service yesterday. They replied to me an hour later saying they would take care of it. He even threatened me, see attachment. That was it for me. I did take the item down, but I’m not going to be intimidated. I wrote to him that he shouldn’t try to play hall monitor on eBay here and should leave me alone, and what the **bleep** he thinks he’s doing. Yeah, I know, it’s rude, but some people only understand the motto ...as you call into the forest, so it echoes back...or something like that! .-))) Of course I blocked him too. Don’t let some lonely guy unsettle you, he can’t do anything to you, even though he wrote to me that a warning lawyer was currently on the loose on eBay and a buddy supposedly had to pay 750 euros already...blah, blah, blah. That’s a little worm who wants attention. Just list the stuff again later. So chin up, you’re not alone...
lidor3073
OP2 months agoI think there’s a tactic behind things like this: to unsettle the seller and thereby convince them to lower the price.
I checked my glasses, which I no longer want to sell, again. They are cut glass. Not etched.
I will mark your answer as the solution.
Thank you very much.
sammlerkiste-1-2-3
·2 months agoDid the message writer actually demand anything, other than that the description be corrected?
That sounds to me like someone with a lot of time on their hands (retiree?) trying to "tidy up" the category, which I don't think is bad as long as no "nonsense" is being written there.
In the postage stamp category, I was even actively involved in picking out fakes once; there was(was there?) a direct contact person who had the authority to delete listings.
In the end: check/cross-check the message (google) and, depending on the result, leave the description as is or correct it .... I'd even go one step further: for a newly listed (glass) item, message the writer directly and ask whether they are satisfied with the description 😋
oskar_der_wikinger
·2 months agoI object to being accused of that @sammlerkiste-1-2-3 😂 that we supposedly have a lot of time,
I’m retired and don’t even remember anymore where I used to get the time from to go to work for eight hours.
030cep10
·2 months agoSince when do Vikings become retirees as a regular thing? I had thought, until now, that they set off for Valhalla in the prime of their lives? V.G. 🐻
oskar_der_wikinger
·2 months agoHello@030cep10
what makes you think I have my namesake origin with the Norsemen? 😮
It comes from somewhere completely different.
030cep10
·2 months ago030cep10
·2 months agoOr are you maybe the exception who also wants to experience Ragnarök? V.G. 🐻
elke@ebay
·2 months agoHello @lidor3073 ,
thank you very much for your post.
Only for the second item was I able to find the message through the eBay messaging system.
However, this message does not violate eBay guidelines; the user is only pointing out that the item description may not be entirely correct.
@bootyooty thanks for flagging it.
Kind regards
Elke
lidor3073
OP2 months agoIt’s strange, though, that the wording in both messages is almost identical, from two different accounts.
And my item description wasn’t incorrect either.
This isn’t about offensive messages. It’s about the fact that it unsettles others!
That’s why I pointed it out / wrote it.
elke@ebay
·2 months agoHello @lidor3073 ,
in principle, it is allowed to have several eBay accounts and to write with them or make purchases.
Since it is a personal message to you as the seller, other users cannot see it on eBay. You can also simply reply to it and state your point of view in a factual manner.
Kind regards
Elke
lidor3073
OP2 months agoUnfortunately, that only helps to a limited extent now, because I’m not the only one who has received messages like this. I don’t feel like playing ping-pong with the sender, so I won’t be responding. But I at least want to point it out and try to take some of the uncertainty away from others. I think it’s not such a big deal, but it’s honorable.
imperial-modellbau
·2 months agoWell, yes @lidor3073
you can only unsettle someone who lets themselves be unsettled!
As "sammlerkiste" already wrote - that’s probably just someone with too much time and a self-imposed mission (cleaning up).
Maybe have an antiquarian bookseller check a few glasses as an example (if you haven’t done that yet) - that’s usually free and gives you peace of mind!
And if that person should turn out to be right after all (which isn’t impossible) - you may have spared yourself trouble with an angry buyer!
lidor3073
OP2 months ago„ The first: item number 406933081651, Krisla crystal Italy decanters made of lead crystal, with an etched hallmark. Provenance and brand verified.“
imperial-modellbau
·2 months ago@lidor3073
well then everything’s fine and you can just forget about it.
I really wouldn’t worry about it if I were you!
dmary56
·2 months agoDear @lidor3073
Even if you don't want to hear this answer 😉, the self-proclaimed crystal expert has already
struck several times....As @imperial-modellbau already mentioned, only those who let themselves be unsettled get unsettled. פשוט don't respond to such messages, then the idiot is simply deprived of his food, replies only encourage him to keep going... but of course put him on the block list!!
Here on Ebay there have always been such guys, this one belongs to the stubborn sort.
Even if all that is annoying, just put it behind you, even if it's hard.
There is really no reason why you should remove part of your items because of this.
Wishing you a pleasant stay!
Addendum:
https://community.ebay.de/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=kristall
030cep10
·2 months agogasch-66
·2 months agogasch-66
·2 months agogasch-66
·2 months agobut I won't take anything from the artificial app. I'd leave it there..
😎
gasch-66
·2 months agobootyooty
·2 months agoHi, ebay doesn't have a "police" and yet... these annoying requests have always existed, and always will, whether justified or not.
@elke@ebay can view the communication about this and possibly forward it on.
lidor3073
OP2 months agoThanks for tagging the eBay employees.