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In praise of the chancers

amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
in The potting shed
Was having a look around eBay to see what sorts of fantasy seeds are being sold...and sadly it's as overrun as usual by ridiculous Photoshop concoctions.
A few of my favourites for a little giggle










I suppose what's most horrifying is the numbers of people duped that keep supporting this trade. I've reported scores of them to eBay but can't imagine they will do anything.

What's your favourite? I think that mouldy looking strawberry is mine 😂
To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I imagine that the folk who fall for that lot are the same folk who fall for all the conspiracy theories ... 🙄 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited February 2021
    I've been on at Ebay for so long to address this problem. I think that as soon as a company is removed, it pops up under another guise. It's more alarming to think what these mafioso are importing into (or exporting from) this country.

    When trying to take it up with Amazon, they demanded concrete proof that purple strawberries and neon blue roses did not exist. I said that I cannot prove a negative. They did not reply. It's all grand negligence in my book, on the platforms' part.

    The Willy Chilli


     Is anyone really dumb enough to think these are real?


  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Oh Amazon are atrocious at dealing with chancers @Fire I had some very strange live chats with them. I suppose they make a cut so they don't think they have to patrol what gets sold on their platforms. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited February 2021
    I do hope the new decade will see these bandit companies will be held accountable for their unethical practices. Saying "oh, we are just a platform" doesn't wash. Yes, it's partly that they get a cut and partly they don't give a toss and partly that this is the new model. It seems acceptable (wet dream) for businesses to make money from just offering a marketplace with no clue what or whom they are hosting. It's a cheap matching algorithm - like a dating app. Uber, Ebay, 4chan, diy porn sites, Facebook, whatsapp - all of them "just offer the space".

  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    I think companies should have the right to just offer the space but Amazon and Ebay actually aren't that. Because simply most customers don't want that, customers want some reassurances and guarantees and both Ebay and Amazon offer them. In fact, Amazon has very strict seller rules and it's one mistake and you're out as a seller. Ebay is said to have a lot of sellers that were banned from Amazon.
    The problem is with some of Amazon customer service people. They have huge call/support centres in countries with cheap uneducated labour, usually these people just barely speak English and can't understand anything more complicated than "I want a refund now". I am not surprised they don't know that blue roses or rainbow tomatoes don't exist. And that's easy stuff... get into the penis peppers (which do exist) and it's much more complicated.
    And the second problem is that these sellers just come back. Delete them on one day and there will be a ton of new accounts the next day. Amazon has very sophisticated mechanisms to prevent that but the cheaters are always one step ahead. 
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Bummer.  I was just about to order the multi-colour tomatoes. :D
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I've no idea who would want a black strawberry?
    Devon.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096



  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I boiled up some of those blue potatoes. Didn't like the look of them. Had a nibble. They tasted ok but I didn't fancy eating them. 
    Some things are just plain wrong. Why would you want a blue strawberry or daffodil or rose or snowdrop? Blue sheep might be nice. So long as the wool was the right shade.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    I have been given Osu Blue Tomato Seeds but I see that they are red inside once cut.  A little like the purple carrots which are orange inside.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

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