U.K. Teen Buys $735 Photo of Xbox One on eBay

[Andy Chalk]

U.K. Teen Buys $735 Photo of Xbox One on eBay

A U.K. teenager is "furious" after paying $735 for a picture of an Xbox One on eBay.

Peter Clatworthy, a 19-year-old from Nottingham in the U.K., thought he'd purchased an Xbox One on eBay for £450 - about $735 - for his four-year-old son. What he received, however, was a photo of an Xbox One with "Thank you for your purchase!" written on the back. He was, of course, outraged.

"I looked at the seller's feedback and there was nothing negative. I bought it there and then because I thought it was a good deal," he told the Nottingham Post. "It's obvious now I've been conned out of my money."

Except it wasn't entirely a con: Clatworthy acknowledged that the eBay listing stated that the item was in fact a photograph. But because it was in the proper category, he thought it was legit and so went ahead with the purchase.

Luckily for Clatworthy, because the photo was listed in the incorrect category (and, I would guess, because of all the attention the matter has received), eBay has issued him a full refund [http://www.nottinghampost.com/Nottingham-teenager-gets-450-refund-buying-photo/story-20267041-detail/story.html] via PayPal, and also banned the seller from the site. An eBay representative noted that PayPal guarantees a refund if a product doesn't match its description or gets lost in the mail and added, "Our main tips for buying online generally this Christmas is make sure you're getting a good deal, know who you're dealing with and protect your personal and financial information."

And, you know, maybe pay a little attention to what it is you're actually buying.

Source: Nottingham Post [http://www.nottinghampost.com/Warning-student-pays-pound-450-photo-Xbox/story-20263203-detail/story.html]


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[StraightToHeck]

not surprising considering this guy's stupid enough to have a child at 15

 

[Jeronus]

He should have read the fine print, but selling a photo for 735 dollars. That guy was definitely running some kind of con.

 

[Compatriot Block]

U.K. Teen Buys $735 Photo of Xbox One on eBay

Peter Clatworthy, a 19-year-old from Nottingham in the U.K., thought he'd purchased an Xbox One on eBay for £450 - about $735 - for his four-year-old son.

Italics are mine. Did that stick out to anyone else? Good lord, the idea of 15-year-old fathers frightens me. I know there are worse stories out there, but I'm not much older than this guy and I am in no way ready for that kind of responsibility.

Anyways, I'm glad he got his money back, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't. The seller actually had the nuts to list it as a photograph, so he's really lucky that it was in the wrong category, I guess.

EDIT: So apparently someone else noticed it before I clicked post.

 

[Frost27]

I noticed and immediately called BS on the old "it's for my kid" line. That is probably the tear jerker hook he used thinking it would increase ebay's chances of paying him back.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

You know, I actually agree with the conman on this one. If you're willing to put down $735 on something before checking for shenanigans like this, then you deserve to be taught a lesson. Although as I didn't see the listing, perhaps it was a bit difficult to tell.

Also, is that actually how much an Xbone is going for in the UK?

 

[1337mokro]

Yeah this guy basically is an idiot.

Got a kid at age 15, scammed into buying a picture, it´s good to say this whole thing was bound to happen sooner or later. It´s a good thing it was an Xbox and not a job offer at a fake company that had him `invest` money into a partnership. If not for the technicality the money would have been lost.

 

[Avaholic03]

Good for Ebay giving this guy a full refund. That is positive customer service especially during the holiday season. Nobody should be taken advantage of or lose that much money during this time of the year.

I disagree. Natural selection has got to survive in some form or another. This guy is clearly not smart enough to have that kind of money (even if he had got what he thought he was paying for...he still claims to be buying a $735 console for a 4-year-old). Maybe the con man would make better use of the money.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

No 1080p, 0/10

Ebay is a funny place, and once again proves why I will only buy things there when the legit companies are over-pricing shit like there's no tomorrow.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Haha... in Scotland, having a baby at 15 is kind of like having a baby at all in Japan. Very rare. Expect younger, much younger even. The sex ed courses here are ridiculous. Besides, it said it was a photograph. I don't even know how to respond to this other than laughing my ass off that this stupid kid (who has had a kid) bought a piece of paper.

The tragic part is that stuff like that happens everyday around here.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I don't think it was a con. If the seller said it was literally just a picture of an Xbox One, then so be it. The same thing happened when the 360 launched as well. A few people were selling only the box for the 360. They made it very clear that it was just a box, not the system, and people still paid absurd amounts of money for it. If the seller said it was just a picture and not the system itself, that blame falls solely on the buyer.

Now, if the seller didn't make it clear (which it sounds like it did say it was just a picture), then yeah, that's a scam. I would like to see the listing myself personally and see what it says.

 

[-Ezio-]

You know, I actually agree with the conman on this one. If you're willing to put down $735 on something before checking for shenanigans like this, then you deserve to be taught a lesson. Although as I didn't see the listing, perhaps it was a bit difficult to tell.

Also, is that actually how much an Xbone is going for in the UK?

£430 on amazon so pretty close.

 

[Jaeger_CDN]

About as bad as the guy who spent his life savings (of $2600) to win a Xbox 360 but gets a giant banana instead [http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/01/man-loses-life-savings-playing-carnival-game-wins-giant-banana/] or the infamous P P P powerbook [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/p-p-p-powerbook]

Atleast Ebay is not being complete dicks about the whole thing

 

[Truth Cake]

About as bad as the guy who spent his life savings (of $2600) to win a Xbox 360 but gets a giant banana instead [http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/01/man-loses-life-savings-playing-carnival-game-wins-giant-banana/]

From that article, it seems he wasn't even playing to get an Xbox 360 system, just an Xbox KINECT; which is even sadder, somehow. I wouldn't get an Xbox Kinect if it was free, let alone for thousands of dollars.

Back on topic, I feel they should not have refunded his money, quite frankly. Wrong category or not, if it stated it was a photograph and he acknowledge that he KNEW it said that it was a photograph, then he should have known that, I don't know, that it was going to be a photograph? Thus he knew what he was paying for, he's a severe idiot, or both.

My money's on the latter, $735 of my money to be exact.

 

[Ticklefist]

Why are people hung up on a 19 year old with a 4 year old child? He manned up and owned his shit at an age when most people would likely run from it. You judgmental people and your unqualified opinions.

 

[ThatQuietGuy]

I'm surprised at how many people defend the scammer, this is not a legal practice nor should it be. The buyers life choices aside, the intent to mislead and con is clear as day, one line saying it's a photo only doesn't change that.

 

[Infernal Lawyer]

Oh, the comments. Of course everyone latched onto how old this guy was when he became a father. Because life choices have everything to do with getting scammed.

Personally, I just think this is one of these situations where almost all parties are partially in the wrong. This idiot should have read the fine print and contacted the seller instead of shrugging his shoulders, and the seller shouldn't have thought he would get away with selling a photograph in the console section, for the same reasons you don't sell a car in the computer printers section, regardless of whether the item is what it says on the description.

Good on Ebay for not putting up with the scam though.

 

[Dogstile]

Hey, the kid was overtaken by his hormonal urges and fucked up when he was a stupid teenager (we were ALL stupid teenagers once), cut him some slack. The way you people berate someone who is trying to be responsible for his actions is pathetic. He's being a good father and getting his kid an Xbox One, that's more than enough in this day and age where far too many kids don't even grow up with a father at all. Good on him, and I'm glad he got his money back.


....unless of course, the flip side of this story, is that this guy is full of shit and getting it for himself and just using his son as a sap story to gain empathy and get his money back.

In which case, fuck him.

I doubt it was for his son. Most four year olds can barely grip the controller.

 

[omega 616]

Aw, come on now.... A UK teen pays in dollars... Really?

This kind of shit has been happening for years, with iphone especially. I even remember a "case" on judge Judy with this exact story line, not about an xbone though.

This old news with a modern twist

As for the very conservative nature of this thread, remember age of consent in the UK is 16. Sure it's still under the age of consent but I'm of the opinion that a very strict age of consent is stupid. (I'm not saying let's start coaxing 13 year olds into sex but what's a couple of months before the age of consent? Like the day before they are 16 they are almost feral but when midnight strikes, they're high class?)

 

[jp201]

I don't think it was a con. If the seller said it was literally just a picture of an Xbox One, then so be it. The same thing happened when the 360 launched as well. A few people were selling only the box for the 360. They made it very clear that it was just a box, not the system, and people still paid absurd amounts of money for it. If the seller said it was just a picture and not the system itself, that blame falls solely on the buyer.

Now, if the seller didn't make it clear (which it sounds like it did say it was just a picture), then yeah, that's a scam. I would like to see the listing myself personally and see what it says.

When you try to sell something for $735 and the price is probably worth a few cents then yes we have a con. The seller was obviously trying to get a buyer who would think he/she was buying the actual system and scam him/her. You need to be acting in good faith when forming a contract otherwise it is voidable.