Thread: eBay item not as described!

I recently purchased a Bismarck razor on Ebay.

Here is the description from the seller:

"This is the oldest Bismarck straight razor on E-Bay.Three pins in handle and inserted old Bismarck Emblem with Ges.Geschuetzt(protected) underneath. Blade says Bismarck on one side and J.Voeringer Stuttgart on other side.This had to be an earlier piece because I believe the factory was moved to Solingen or may be there was another factory in Stuttgart? I am no expert and I leave you to judge.Says 'Fine Hollow Ground' on blade or that is what I believe it says. Has lots of patina and I will leave as found.Top of blade has like small little double grooves.Thank you for looking and please see my other listings."

Here are just a few of the photos from the sellers listing:







And this is what I received today:


I sent the seller a message informing him that the item I purchased was grossly misrepresented. I would never have purchased this item in this condition since I planned to restore it. I am hoping that the seller will be fair or I may no other choice but to contest this with eBay. Probably a nightmare as well.

I feel like I was "tricked" and I hope that I am not beat.

I purchased this because I really liked that thumb notch and felt this would be a great restoration project. I knew immediately upon opening the package that the razor was not in the same condition as advertised.

I am a little ****ed off but I will await the sellers response.

I will update with the outcome of this experience.

Just to clarify, I checked and double checked the packaging to see if this item (razor) had been damaged in transit but I did not find the missing chipped piece anywhere inside the package. I can only conclude that the seller was aware of this. I will post seller information if he does not do the right thing to protect other would be buyers.

If he gives you a problem just file a dispute through ebay or paypal and immediately escalate to a claim. You'll get your $. BTW, it looks to be ate up with cell rot anyway so you're fortunate that it arrived chipped.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If he gives you a problem just file a dispute through ebay or paypal and immediately escalate to a claim. You'll get your $. BTW, it looks to be ate up with cell rot anyway so you're fortunate that it arrived chipped.

Thanks Jimmy. I've only had one nasty bad experience with eBay in all my years. And that was about 15 years ago, the guy was a real conman. But I had faith that 99% of the sellers are decent, righteous people. I am hoping this will be resolved amicably between us.

By the way, what is "cell rot?"

Unfortunate. I always expect some variance in ebay purchases, but that is quite disappointing.

I noticed the date on the original pictures is 6+ months old as well. That's a bit of a red flag. Lots of time for things to go wrong in 6 months.

Cell rot is caused by the celluloid undergoing a chemical reaction that releases a gas, out of the celluloid, that causes severe corrosion to metal in close proximity. Once a set of scales is going through that there is no saving them. There are many threads on the topic in the archive.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Cell rot is caused by the celluloid undergoing a chemical reaction that releases a gas, out of the celluloid, that causes severe corrosion to metal in close proximity. Once a set of scales is going through that there is no saving them. There are many threads on the topic in the archive.

I have much to learn!

what a disappointment. hope everything gets disputed with ebay, and maybe you'll get the real product. i'll be waiting for the next few months to see that razor restored.

Originally Posted by hcintineo

what a disappointment. hope everything gets disputed with ebay, and maybe you'll get the real product. i'll be waiting for the next few months to see that razor restored.

I am only just starting out with this hobby of restoring razors. I find it very pleasing and a lot of fun. However, I still have a lot to learn. I'm basically unskilled in this area but was hoping to find some nice beat up razor to practice on. I did not want projects that are beyond my skills such as attempting to re-grind a blade. I'm not sure this blade is salvageable with the chip so far into the blade.

I knew I was purchasing a razor that needs work, however I would never have purchased it otherwise had I seen the chip before purchasing. I feel the seller may attempt to hide behind his great eBay rating and accuse me of doing the damage. It happened only once before and I know how they operate. Hopefully this particular seller is honest and noble and will do the right thing and correct this situation.

Yep, dispute through eBay or PayPal.

I ran in the same issue and they wonder why I left negative feedback.

Dispute through eBay. It worked for me.