Late last year I bought a bbx on Ebay & although the unit looked real good in the ad, the actual bbx was in a much poorer state. So this is my question, is there a growing trend to manipulate photos using photoshop to hide defects like scratches & marks?

Your thoughts?

dxer2_2000

The problem is, most sellers just don't know how to take good pictures. I can't count the number of high-dollar auctions I've seen with only ONE photo.......Retarded.

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The problem is, most sellers just don't know how to take good pictures. I can't count the number of high-dollar auctions I've seen with only ONE photo

Completely agree. Great question as well.

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Originally posted by Reli:
The problem is, most sellers just don't know how to take good pictures. I can't count the number of high-dollar auctions I've seen with only ONE photo.......Retarded.

hey those are the best ones to get a great deal from as i did with a lasonic way back when

My experience is that often cosmetic flaws like scratches, small cracks, dirt and dents just dont show up in pictures. Without trying to hide anything, I can make some of my shabbiest boxes look pretty good in the right light and from the right angles. Honest sellers know that and will compensate for it by taking several close-ups and describing the flaws in detail (e.g. "needs a good clean").

Obviously, functional flaws are a whole separate matter, and a dishonest seller can simply avoid mentioning them. Beware of disclaimers like "untested," "probably an easy fix," "I'm not an expert in how these things work," and "could just be because of where I live."

it COULD just be because of where they live

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Originally posted by Reli:
The problem is, most sellers just don't know how to take good pictures. I can't count the number of high-dollar auctions I've seen with only ONE photo.......Retarded.

I wouldn't doubt if some people use cheap disposable cameras... It could explain some people's unwillingness to take more pics when requested to do so (take pics, go to the photo lab, wait hours to days, pic 'em up, come back, scan, upload to the net, etc.,... the whole process is tiresome) ... who knows.

Others prolly have weak low resolution digital cameras...

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Obviously, functional flaws are a whole separate matter, and a dishonest seller can simply avoid mentioning them. Beware of disclaimers like "untested," "probably an easy fix," "I'm not an expert in how these things work," and "could just be because of where I live."

Or my favorite; "This is a vintage electronics item so it is being sold AS IS"

(In other words, he knows what the flaws are, but doesn't want to list them)

Hahah, indeed.

I've had 'cassette still works perfectly!' translate in reality to 'plays at half speed: needs new belts desperately!'

Or that other old chestnut 'Tape is untested as I don't have any cassettes'.

Their corporate slogan should be 'Sometimes even winners are losers on Ebay'



Rock On.

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Originally posted by Gluecifer:
Or that other old chestnut 'Tape is untested as I don't have any cassettes'.

Or, in that same catagory: "Untested because I don't have any batteries."
My answer: "Well, chump, go out and spend a couple of bucks and get some... you cheap, lying b**tard!"

P.S. Just to follow up on what I wrote earlier. I'm often surprised when I take digital photos of my boxes for posting on S2G how much better they look than they do in real life. Makes it more fun to post pictures... but, unfortunately, eBay sellers know how that works, too.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Reli:
The problem is, most sellers just don't know how to take good pictures. I can't count the number of high-dollar auctions I've seen with only ONE photo.......Retarded.


hey those are the best ones to get a great deal from as i did with a lasonic way back when

Kinda gotta agree here, to an extent... I've had some good luck with auctions where the pic was less than desirable, but the feedback looked good. Got my Kaboom RV-DP100 and Hitachi 8180 from 1 picture auctions with crap pics. Both looked pretty good when I got them in hand. Somehow, I don't want to push my luck though...