more eBay skullduggery

[MAGUS®]

Cant seem to be convinced either way - but this pic sure looks odd. I've blown it up a tad - but not touched anything else.

 

[ibanezcollector]

redarken the black areas and it looks like this..

hence why he did it, its not a conspiracy or a scam.. Just a bad photo he retouched to make the body stand out more.

 

[MAGUS®]

Good point - makes sense

 

[bass_fish]

Anyone ever thinnk that the sunburst has black edges and then the case has black lining.. Making it hard to see the bodys shape?

Geez people, the guy obviously lightened it up so you can see the body style. Nothing more nothing less.

finally... some one smart! couldn't have said it better!

 

[Basshole]

I have done graphics myself professionally for a while. I don't think it's a cut-and-paste. It MIGHT be a mask and brightness/contrast tweak, as was suggested, but I'm more inclined to ascribe it to posterizing due simply to JPEG compression artifacts. Low light/low contrast stuff (and reds) are often not handled ideally by JPEG compression algorithms, especially if you get more aggressive with the compression ratio.

 

[dereksilloway]

Yeah what he said. Seriously though is it really a big enough deal? Unless you were planning on buying it all of this seems worthless to me. Just a thought.

 

[Baryonyx]

Yeah, just a little brightening up, nothing to mess the bed over!

 

[theshadow2001]

If you look real close at the front pic, the bass sits perfectly in the case. Now look at the rear shot. The bottom of the body seems to be in the same place as the first picture, but the headstock is shown out of the case, not in it as in the first. If that makes sense? Is it resting on something?

The bass is at an angle its not sitting in the case properly like it would with the strings pointing up. So the head stock is pointing upwards out of the case making it look to be sticking out longer than the case when infact it isnt

 

[idoru]

For what it's worth, I just find it amusing when somebody using eBay to make a living tries to sell something with terrible photography. This is some of the worst I've seen yet - dude can't even get the headstock in focus. My wife & I have both worked (for a living, y'know - to earn money) with digital imagery & this listing caught both our eyes. Don't even get me started on CSI and other shows: "Rotate 23 degrees, now enhance..."

I don't see why posting eBay trifles should be considered any bigger a waste of time than the 20 millionth thread about what aftershave Timmy C uses. I've made plenty of valid contributions to this forum, cut a guy some slack.

Edit: forgot to mention - I was only holding off from asking for better pics from the guy so's TB could have a chuckle first. I'll see what he has to say

 

[purfektstranger]

Personally I think reports of possible Ebay scams are invaluable and can sometimes be the source of great humour.
This one however doesn't come across to me as a blatant
attempt to shaft someone. Feedback and the value of the instrument would indicate otherwise imho.

 

[Obese Chess]

Look at the control plate in picture number one.

It's not even connected to the body, nor is it at the same angle.

 

[purfektstranger]

I have emailed the guy twice re. the screwed up looking photos and here's what he said:


" I can assure you that these photos are not doctored in any way. I would have absolutely nothing to gain from doing this as integrity is everything! If you are in any way concerned, please note my return policy - money back within 7 days if the item is not as described. Thanks for your interest!"


I then pointed out that the front and back body shots don't match up and this was his reply:

"Actually now that i look at it closely, i know how you can think that. I can assure you that this bass is in immaculate condition with no scratches, marks, irregularities etc."

Sounds legit to me........

 

[Basshole]

Like I said, probably nothing more sinister than JPEG artifacts. Wanna talk about sometimg amiss with an Ebay auction?

http://cgi.ebay.com/MTD-Kingston-5-...oryZ4713QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

 

[Jim Carr]

What am I missing?

 

[birdxofxprey]

... I'm more inclined to ascribe it to posterizing due simply to JPEG compression artifacts. Low light/low contrast stuff (and reds) are often not handled ideally by JPEG compression algorithms, especially if you get more aggressive with the compression ratio.

didn't the scarecrow say something like this in the wizard of oz?

 

[ggunn]

What am I missing?

Well, for one thing the description says 5 string but the picture is of a 4 string.

 

[idoru]

Just as a follow-up to this thread, I sent the seller a polite message pointing out that the photography didn't give anybody a good look at the instrument, and requested more pictures. He said he'd email some through to me that night. That was two days ago, the auction has since ended with 0 bids.