Sellers and "Ambiguity" or "Integrity" of "item as described" descriptions on eBay


Hello all:

I posted this on a thread about speakers and fraud and eBay, but I thought it might merit its own topic:

I have a situation at the moment where I bought a subwoofer on ebay. The seller described that the subwoofer was "In perfect working condition and sounds great. It has some cosmetic wear" but neglected to mention that it was missing a cable that is not an off-the-shelf item, is unique to the system and without which the subwoofer - by the manufacturer’s own statement, does not perform "In perfect working condition". The manufacturer no longer makes the sub or the cable.

It also had a small tear in the surround, which I was not as concerned about, as I am able to repair it, but the fact of the matter is that tear was not mentioned in the listing and only shows up in his photo if you blow it up 200% and then only if you know to look for it. There is an anomaly in the image that is near the tear in the surround that suggests that someone was trying to retouch it out but did not know what they were doing and not only did a sloppy job, but missed the spot.

I am disputing the transaction. Would you consider the description fraudulent? If so, to what degree? Or am I to blame for not reading the fine print? Thank you to all beforehand for your responses.

So far, I’ve gotten one response: from mr_m273 posts05-20-2017 2:12pm
Yes. I would think so. Just for the missing cable alone. I’m quite sure this guy knew that sub needed the cable in question.
128x128unreceivedogma
It's a 25 foot 5 pin DIN to a mono male RCA.

It likely can be replicated, and though I am not electronically oriented, it might be something that I might even be able to do it myself, but I need a schematic.

It should not be my problem, however. It is for the seller to be transparent.
Fraud, is a strong statement.  Grounds for a return for full refund - absolutely.
How did the seller list it as working if he didn’t have the cable to use it? You should get a full refund. I would say that it is very fraudulent. BTW,after you spend the time and trouble to find that oddball cable what if the the POS still doesn't work?  
It is in ebay speak "item not as described" with the tear in the surround making it not "in perfect working condition"

My experience is that people with audio equipment that would not pass on Audiogon sell it on ebay.
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