Post by foxmilder on Jun 9, 2023 7:14:14 GMT -5
I just came across this eBay listing: a set of "Fuzzy Duck™" strat pickups, described in the listing as "Boutique Style Handmade Pickups". Something about them looked familiar to me — the pickup leads are identical to a few Donlis sets I have: same colour, same not-quite-vintage-correct cheap material. So I had a look through the specs, and found them to be exactly identical to a Donlis set I bought on AliExpress recently: 7.2 kΩ bridge pickup, 6.4 kΩ middle/neck pickups, and a combination of beveled Alnico 5/2 rod magnets.
I'm 99 percent certain this seller is simply putting (extremely ugly, IMO) branded covers on Chinese pickups, then listing them as handmade in the UK. Note that none of the pictures show the back of the pickups — as this would reveal the Donlis logo.
Does anybody know how one might go about notifying potential buyers of this seemingly fraudulent marketing practice? I tried reporting the listing to eBay, but they expressly forbid the inclusion of html links in such reports. I get the impression they are not particularly interested in stopping such sellers from operating on their platform.
I understand that this sort of thing happens — I've seen rumours regarding one big-name "boutique" manufacturer in particular — but I can't help but be appalled. This goes beyond the usual voodoo tone nonsense. If my suspicions are indeed correct, this seller is systematically misrepresenting their products on the world's most-frequented online marketplace — and unwitting customers are paying double the price on the basis of this misrepresentation.
As skeptical as those of us here have learned to be about the marketing copy of pickup sellers, the overwhelming majority of potential customers likely have no idea how to detect fraudulent listing practices. It doesn't feel right to me to do nothing and let this happen. Surely there must be something I can do ... ? Any ideas?
I'm 99 percent certain this seller is simply putting (extremely ugly, IMO) branded covers on Chinese pickups, then listing them as handmade in the UK. Note that none of the pictures show the back of the pickups — as this would reveal the Donlis logo.
Does anybody know how one might go about notifying potential buyers of this seemingly fraudulent marketing practice? I tried reporting the listing to eBay, but they expressly forbid the inclusion of html links in such reports. I get the impression they are not particularly interested in stopping such sellers from operating on their platform.
I understand that this sort of thing happens — I've seen rumours regarding one big-name "boutique" manufacturer in particular — but I can't help but be appalled. This goes beyond the usual voodoo tone nonsense. If my suspicions are indeed correct, this seller is systematically misrepresenting their products on the world's most-frequented online marketplace — and unwitting customers are paying double the price on the basis of this misrepresentation.
As skeptical as those of us here have learned to be about the marketing copy of pickup sellers, the overwhelming majority of potential customers likely have no idea how to detect fraudulent listing practices. It doesn't feel right to me to do nothing and let this happen. Surely there must be something I can do ... ? Any ideas?