iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Counterfeit Instrument

Got a message from a friend asking for help- the seller is defending to all inquiries that these instruments are authentic Aboriginally-made didgeridoos.

Errh, javanese aborigenes, maybe?

Hi there

These are made of teck wood ,beurk

GGW

Hi Jason,

The buyer should lodge a claim with eBay and Paypal if payment was made by Paypal. I'm happy to write a letter of support to provide evidence why the didgeridoo is not as described. Sometimes sellers honestly believe in the authenticity of their goods, in which case the dishonesty lies with the suppliers.

Guan

It's difficult to see what has happened here. The friend did not buy an instrument through this seller and is really just trying to get increased awareness that such deceptions are viciously rampant on Ebay and other auction sites. What is interesting in this case is that the seller wholeheartedly believes these instruments to be the real deal, even citing 'the Aboriginal tribe from North Australia' in his description.

Hi Jason,

I've got an easy solution for these sorts of things... if the seller does not change the listing description despite the errors being pointed out, then we ought to resort to letting any and all bidders know about the true nature of the instrument.

You CANNOT contact ebay about this 100% fake- ONLY the SUCKER who buys it! I emailed this crook as requested by our friend but crooks usually ignore warnings. Thanks to ebays policy we can only inform the unlucks buyer after it is too late. I am tempted to bid the $5.00 to have access to the "win" section but my expieriance with ebay before on frauds is that even the party getting ripped off and reporting it gets screwed in the ratings! This is not speculation.

Hi Guan:

You can contact the seller( I have)- but I suspect he would likely stick to his guns or ignore any requests to change his listing.

Unfortunately, Warner's correct- Ebay only gets involved after the sale in a dispute, once they've already collected the listing fees from the seller!

Jason

Hi Jason,

I did write to the seller as follows:

Sorry to disappoint you but all your didgeridoos are fakes/reproductions made in Indonesia. They were not made in Australia, they were not made by Australian Aboriginal people, and they have never even touched Australian soil for that matter! If your supplier provided you with false claims and information, you have recourse to legal action. Every country has laws that regulate trade and protect consumers from misleading and false representation. If you need to learn more about the didgeridoo and authenticity issues, see the iDIDJ Australia website: http://www.ididj.com.au Hope that helps and hope that puts an end to these false didgeridoos on eBay.

The seller responded thus:

I will definately look into this. If this is true, I have defiantely been decieved. Thank you for your time and knowlege of didges.

Anyone else who wants to email the seller can do so. His email is:

shane4d2@yahoo.com

Perhaps we can start a campaign to eradicate falsely represented didgeridoos from eBay and the rest of the internet? The procedure can be something similar to this one, with several people following up with the seller and buyer(s). This could be something we all do together as part of a collective effort to protect the integrity of the didgeridoo. So many people have asked me what they can do in the past, and this I think is one way. What say all?

Ester Rantzen would be proud!
(http://entertainers.co.uk/celebrities/e ... antzen.htm)

I think it is a great idea.

Great idea Guan. I too have written to Shane.

Kyle

I've written to Shane as well- this is an excellent idea Guan and a real opportunity to educate.

Jason

While shane claims to have been decieved he has NOT edited the descriptions of his products!
That doesent sit well with me.

I too emailed the seller several days ago. No response indicates to me an unwillingness to correct the situation. If someone actually buys any of his fake didjes, it behooves us to notify the buyer/s.

Looks like it worked!

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