False pricing

[margretholmes]

I was trying to buy an iphone 5 cable (5 of them actually) and they are listed as $1.00, but when you go to buy them they are actually $2 plus.  They trick the system buy offering multiple items and slipping in a cheap one - in this case an iphone 4 cable.

I clicked on the first 8 or so ads and they are all the same.  Ebay needs to stop this garbage.  I searched the price of an iphone 5 cable, returning the price of iphone 4 cables is false advertising.

[nevillesdaughter]

To the right hand side of the listing above the item description is a "Report Listing" button. Click on it and follow the prompts and you'll get a chance to explain your concerns. There's no guarantee that it will get removed but if enough people use the system, it might work.

The only way to protect yourself from being ripped off is to continue to be vigilant, do your research, read everything on a listing - too many people read the heading, look at the picture and price, click on buy now and confirm, and are then surprised whenit goes pear-shaped. Getting ripped off is bad enough but people have died because of dodgy electronics.

EBay can't read and verify every listing but if nobody reports the suspect ones, nothing will happen.

Marina.

[jerryman12a]

Maybe it's a bit of good luck that you came across these type of listings , it brings attention to not only these type of listings but also that it stopped you buying a cable . If you have read the news then you might be aware that these cheap cables and chargers from overseas can be deadly .

Please be very careful buying any cables for phones from overseas , it's not worth the risk !

Do a bit of homework and buy from AU stores.

[margretholmes]

I did have "Australia only" selected, but it seems that can be a big lie too.  So the only safe option seems to be walking away from eBay althogether and buying one locally.

[nevillesdaughter]

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@margretholmes wrote:

I did have "Australia only" selected, but it seems that can be a big lie too.  So the only safe option seems to be walking away from eBay althogether and buying one locally.

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There's a loophole in the "Aust only" category - aparently if they have anything (eg a spare bedroom, or maybe an old outside dunny) that can be called a warehouse, they can then claim that your purchase was sent from China because they "ran out of stock at the warehouse", when in reality, they are dropshipping.

I have a supplier in China who gets my orders from his place to my back deck in 3 days, so it's not surprising that these dropshippers are flourishing - when small orders come in (under $1000 attracts no duty), they are rarely examined - I've been doing it for several years and have never had a shipment inspected. So there's little chance of unsafe electrical gear being caught by Customs, and by selling in cyberspace, or at the markets, these guys are potentially getting away with murder.

"Nuff said,

Marina.

[craig23040]

There are safety concerns with unbranded wall chargers, not cables.

Sellers always exploit eBay features to their utmost whether it be duration changes or anything you can think of from the past policies. Like a slow moving train eBay eventually stitches the loose threads and changes policies to stop it. No doubt this will make it onto a list somewhere in the never-never.

[cherry*135]

What sort of quality did you expect from a $1 cable?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5609

Identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning connector accessories

Some companies manufacture accessories that are similar to Apple Lightning accessories but aren't certified by Apple. Apple recommends using only accessories that are certified by Apple and come with the "Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad" logo. Learn how to identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning accessories.

If you use counterfeit or uncertified Lightning accessories, you might have these issues:

Device damage
Syncing issues
Cable damage
Charging issues
Cable doesn't fit properly
Connector end falling off
Excessive heat in the connector

Cables and accessories manufactured by Apple have a Lightning connector and other unique features that distinguish them from cables and accessories not manufactured by Apple. Looking for these features can help you identify counterfeit or uncertified cables and accessories.

Inspect the accessory's packaging. Certified third-party accessories have the MFi logo on their packaging.

Inspect the accessory. A Lightning to USB cable manufactured by Apple has "Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China" imprinted on the cable about seven inches from the USB connector. A serial number with either 12 or 17 digits is imprinted at the end of this text:
See link

Inspect the accessory. A certified, third-party Lightning to USB cable will usually have company branding applied to the Lightning connector boot.

Use the Lightning connector, USB connector, and laser etchings to identify counterfeit or uncertified Lightning accessories. See the images below of genuine Apple connectors and samples of counterfeit or uncertified Lightning connectors. The counterfeit samples below are limited; there are more variants than are shown below.
See link