Ebay picture / description discrepancy

[wrapperguy]

There is a card on ebay that has the picture of a Cubs player but the description of a Phillies player. I would like to buy the Cubs card and have emailed the seller without response trying to find out if it is the Phillies or Cubs card that is truly for sale. If I bid and win, is the seller obligated to sell me the Cubs card as pictured or the Phillies card as written?

[D. Bergin]

"Obligate" is a strong word. Sounds like a listing mistake. Check his previous listing before this one to see if it gives any clues as to his intentions, and don't bid until you know exactly what is for sale.

Sometimes a description or a photo gets carried over from the previous listing. I have done this by mistake a few times with my own listings and sometimes don't even catch it until somebody e-mails to let me know my mistake.

[tbob]

Yes, I think we all have done at this at one time or another. As a rule of thumb, I have always assumed that if the scan doesn't match the detailed write-up, the scan was wrong. If there is an identical scan on a correct write-up, that's a no brainer.

[Matthew H]

Check his completed listings to see if he already sold the Cubs card. I have seen sellers make this mistake a few times and In my experience, they are selling the card described in the title.

[wrapperguy]

Thanks for the advice. After a couple emails, he finally put up the scan of the card that matched the description and also made the Cubs card for sale.

[Leon]

Not that you were going to but I personally wouldn't hold a seller to an honest mistake as you described, nor would I want to be held to an honest mistake. Glad it got worked out...

[wrapperguy]

Leon, you are correct that I would not put the guys feet to the fire for an honest mistake. Had a similar problem a few years ago when a seller was selling some Exhibits. We know there are subtle differences between 1925s and 1926s, etc. and the seller had photos that did not match descriptions, etc. When you are working on those sets, the correct year means a great deal. Then when the cards were sent out, he got them all mixed up. There was considerable angst amongst a couple people who did not get the right card. I was not one of those people with the angst, by the way.
Now, this new situation developed and I was just wondering if there was an actual ebay policy if a person accidentally wrote up one card and added a picture of another. It would be good to know if requesting a refund.