I was a longtime Appleworks user and finally began to migrate to Pages, part of iWork 08. One day, I actually read that little annoying splash screen that bugs you every time you launch (I know - I should have turned it off) and said - hey iWork '09 looks pretty cool. I'm also thinking that when I upgrade some of my Macs to 10.7 and 10.8, some of the older Universal apps with Power PC code won't work as well so I may as well hit eBay and see how much the upgrade to iWork 09 is.

I found this auction: [www.ebay.com] Seems like a good deal (almost too good to be true)- and seems that 9 out of the 10 available copies had already been sold.... BUY IT NOW... done...

The seller shipped it Media Mail and it took FOREVER to get here (bought 2/27, paid 2/28) - Estimated delivery: Mon. Mar. 4 - Mon. Mar. 11 - Actually Delivered: Wed. Mar. 13. I even messaged the seller on 12th letting them know I had not received the item yet, but I understand Media Mail delays.

So I open the package tonight and see this:


It was only $10 with free shipping but seems like the auction is mis-representing what you actually get. Quite different from the auction but it does say: (in Red): You will recive a Copy of:...

Also description says:
Like New: An item that looks as if it was just taken out of shrink wrap. No visible wear, and all facets of the item are flawless and intact. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections

So should I:

a: Dispute, ask for a full refund -report to ebay item not as described
b. Contact seller -let him/her know my concerns-ask for a partial refund -
c. just let it go and hope for karma?

Seems that the seller has sold quite a few, making a nice little profit on a .25¢ burned DVD and a handful of coins to ship.

What should i do?

edit: added description addition



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 12:27AM by ArtP.

It's a pirated piece of software/sale - report and get a refund. What they delivered would appear to be anything but a legal copy/license.

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OWC Larry
Other World Computing
[www.macsales.com]

I also just did a seller search. Seems that they changed up the auction.

[www.ebay.com]

“The software comes in a Dvd with a .dmg file that will allow you to install the item of this listing. You follow the installation process and it will work. Thank you.”

Also says item No Longer Available - sounds like ebay is ending the auctions now?

Quote
ArtP
Also says item No Longer Available - sounds like ebay is ending the auctions now?

If eBay ends the auction, you'll get an error message and won't see the item. In this case the seller ended the auction (maybe to cut his losses).

Ask the seller for a refund. If he doesn't comply, start an "item not as described" case with eBay, you'll win and get a refund.

Quote
ArtP
I was a longtime Appleworks user and finally began to migrate to Pages, part of iWork 08. One day, I actually read that little annoying splash screen that bugs you every time you launch (I know - I should have turned it off) and said - hey iWork '09 looks pretty cool. I'm also thinking that when I upgrade some of my Macs to 10.7 and 10.8, some of the older Universal apps with Power PC code won't work as well so I may as well hit eBay and see how much the upgrade to iWork 09 is.

I found this auction: [www.ebay.com] Seems like a good deal (almost too good to be true)- and seems that 9 out of the 10 available copies had already been sold.... BUY IT NOW... done...

The seller shipped it Media Mail and it took FOREVER to get here (bought 2/27, paid 2/28) - Estimated delivery: Mon. Mar. 4 - Mon. Mar. 11 - Actually Delivered: Wed. Mar. 13. I even messaged the seller on 12th letting them know I had not received the item yet, but I understand Media Mail delays.

So I open the package tonight and see this:


It was only $10 with free shipping but seems like the auction is mis-representing what you actually get. Quite different from the auction but it does say: (in Red): You will recive a Copy of:...

Also description says:
Like New: An item that looks as if it was just taken out of shrink wrap. No visible wear, and all facets of the item are flawless and intact. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections

So should I:

a: Dispute, ask for a full refund -report to ebay item not as described
b. Contact seller -let him/her know my concerns-ask for a partial refund -
c. just let it go and hope for karma?

Seems that the seller has sold quite a few, making a nice little profit on a .25¢ burned DVD and a handful of coins to ship.

What should i do?

edit: added description addition

a. You were ripped off, plain and simple.

I see no evidence that eBay has taken any action-- seller listed 10 for sale and sold 10.

From what you describe, I'd suggest that you open a case with eBay.

I had a similar case just recently and after they examined the information and investigated, eBay sent me a full refund.

The description and photos seem to make the story clear enough.

Just don't procrastinate.

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

I'm amazed they positive feedback from five people that bought them.

Seller probably has a multitude of accounts, they went 6 years and no feedback until this January.

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Grateful11

You thought you were buying a proper Apple product but, got taken by an unscrupulous seller. Notify Apple Legal department. I expect they see a lot of this and, will know just how to handle said seller. Let PayPal know you've alerted Apple and, are willing to file a police report if necessary. Demand a full credit. Ask what address they want you to send the "evidence" to.

Quote
testcase
You thought you were buying a proper Apple product but, got taken by an unscrupulous seller. Notify Apple Legal department. I expect they see a lot of this and, will know just how to handle said seller. Let PayPal know you've alerted Apple and, are willing to file a police report if necessary. Demand a full credit. Ask what address they want you to send the "evidence" to.

This...

If it was for me, personally, I might let it slide out of sheer laziness...
But I occasionally buy stuff on eBay for the school I work for, and pirated software is NOT something I want a part of for work (or personally... but I might not bother for $10).

Who knows, Apple Legal might offer to replace the fake with a real legit disk. Not bloody likely, but a polite email wouldn't cost you anything...

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

Quote
Paul F.

Quote
testcase
You thought you were buying a proper Apple product but, got taken by an unscrupulous seller. Notify Apple Legal department. I expect they see a lot of this and, will know just how to handle said seller. Let PayPal know you've alerted Apple and, are willing to file a police report if necessary. Demand a full credit. Ask what address they want you to send the "evidence" to.

This...

If it was for me, personally, I might let it slide out of sheer laziness...
But I occasionally buy stuff on eBay for the school I work for, and pirated software is NOT something I want a part of for work (or personally... but I might not bother for $10).

Who knows, Apple Legal might offer to replace the fake with a real legit disk. Not bloody likely, but a polite email wouldn't cost you anything...

???
eBay will absolutely reverse the charge without further adieu. Why goof around demanding a credit from Paypal?

I have had eBay deny a reversal, and PayPal approved it...
So I got my money back, no thanks to eBay.
That WAS a few years ago.. (probably longer than I think) so policies have probably changed.
But it never hurts to apply through BOTH eBay and PayPal.

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

Followup - I messaged the seller last night with no response as of yet. I also went on ahead and opened a "Item Not As Described" case since it takes a few weeks to resolve this.

If the seller does not respond by Mar 23, 2013, or if the seller does respond but you still can't work things out, you can ask eBay Customer Support to review the case and make a final decision.

It's not only about the money but the principle of the thing. The seller seems to have had SEVERAL auctions going for the same item. I counted at least 65 sold since i bought this copy at anywhere from $10 to 17 including shipping. Minimum $650+ for misrepresented pirated software. The seller cleaned up on this little scam.

That dollar figure above doesn't include the sellers auctions for Microsoft Office 2011 and Final Cut Pro X that were also probably bootleg.

Apple wont do much... I already called when I thought I was purchasing a legal copy of software but instead received a DVD copy. I called Apple to report it, and the representative was nonchalant about it. It went nowhere.

Apple does do VeRO takedowns. They may be interested enough in this seller to take some action or monitor for future possible action. Some googling retrieves their VeRO contact as apple_enforce@opsecsecurity.com. Should you choose to report it to Apple, that's one avenue.