I am scammed...what can I do now?

[wasabisabi]

I won this faceplate on Ebay and got the package today.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300437162008

Turns out what I received is a fake. It is made with vinyl sticker, not printed on, the sticker does not even align properly with the sides of the faceplate. Definitely not the original one from Colette.

First thing I did was call my credit card company but they said they could not do a charge back as long as the "item" has arrived. So I set up a Paypal claim as well as notified Ebay.

It was shipped to me from France to Hong Kong. I am not sure what to do now. I paid a friggin 530 EURO!!! :crying:

[wicked_d365]

Sorry you got ripped off. Sucks.
First off the description does say "copy of set" so that could mean it is a "copy" based on the original set.
Second, the only thing you can do at this point is deal with Paypal and report him to eBay for selling fakes. Now you play the waiting game.

[pierrevincy]

maybe the original faceplates are stickers. for example ,

the extra limited faceplate of PREY is a sticker on faceplate !!

[hellonearth159]

maybe the original faceplates are stickers. for example ,

the extra limited faceplate of PREY is a sticker on faceplate !!

I think pierrevincey is correct. All the one of a kind charity auction plates I have are stickers also.

[SpaceGhost2K]

The "official" Ninety-Nine Nights plate, Canada X05 (three of them) and Canada X06 are all stickers.

I am bummed to find out it's a sticker. I don't know how someone would go about verifying that the original plates on display at Colette's were stickers. Some had things attached to them or were painted, but with this being a photograph, I think there's a good chance that it and the Daft Punk plates were stickers.

[Variation-XBA]

it technically says 'copy' so I'm not sure what they'll be able to do.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Look at the image attached. This is from the database which was made from the original Colette's press releases that were circulated 4 1/2 years ago by all of the game press.

I put it side-by-side with the plate sold by the ebayer, and I drew arrows where there are clear differences.

First, on the USB door, the darker part of the shadow on the pole, on the furthest upper right part of the USB door, is barely there on the ebay plate where it is larger on the Colette plate, meaning the image on the sticker is shifted right from the original.

Second, the "5" is the same way. The ebay plate shows the vertical part of the number 5, where the Colette plate that part is where the DVD door would go, again showing that the image has shifted to the right.

Third, look at the top of the red area on the sign, and where it goes onto the memory card door. There is more of it on the ebay plate than the Colette plate, meaning the the image is also shifted up as well as to the right.

Last, and this doesn't have an arrow next to it, but look at the i/r port. The Colette plate has image on the port itself, further suggesting that the original was also a sticker, but this is missing on the ebay plate ant not likely something someone would have removed had they purchased a 1000 euro plate from Colette's.

One more thing, and this is hard to tell because of the small size of the original. You can't see the "ring of light" on the original where it is very obvious and clear on the ebay plate.

Take this picture and forward my post to PayPal as evidence that you were defrauded, and they should refund your money with no hassle.

Here is a link from gizmodo about the original press release:
http://gizmodo.com/141584/lagerfeld+inspired-xbox-plates

[Fargoth]

Look at the image attached. This is from the database which was made from the original Colette's press releases that were circulated 4 1/2 years ago by all of the game press.

I put it side-by-side with the plate sold by the ebayer, and I drew arrows where there are clear differences.

First, on the USB door, the darker part of the shadow on the pole, on the furthest upper right part of the USB door, is barely there on the ebay plate where it is larger on the Colette plate, meaning the image on the sticker is shifted right from the original.

Second, the "5" is the same way. The ebay plate shows the vertical part of the number 5, where the Colette plate that part is where the DVD door would go, again showing that the image has shifted to the right.

Third, look at the top of the red area on the sign, and where it goes onto the memory card door. There is more of it on the ebay plate than the Colette plate, meaning the the image is also shifted up as well as to the right.

Last, and this doesn't have an arrow next to it, but look at the i/r port. The Colette plate has image on the port itself, further suggesting that the original was also a sticker, but this is missing on the ebay plate ant not likely something someone would have removed had they purchased a 1000 euro plate from Colette's.

One more thing, and this is hard to tell because of the small size of the original. You can't see the "ring of light" on the original where it is very obvious and clear on the ebay plate.

Take this picture and forward my post to PayPal as evidence that you were defrauded, and they should refund your money with no hassle.

Here is a link from gizmodo about the original press release:
http://gizmodo.com/141584/lagerfeld+inspired-xbox-plates

And Spaceghost saves the day again!

[laughs]

You paid almost $700 (Canadian) for a faceplate? Sweet adorable cluster ****!

[SpaceGhost2K]

You paid almost $700 (Canadian) for a faceplate? Sweet adorable cluster ****!

She paid almost $700 (Canadian) for a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork designed by Karl Lagerfeld, one of the top designers in the world. The fact that it's a faceplate is irrelevant. Sadly, what she paid for doesn't appear to be what she received.

[laughs]

She paid almost $700 (Canadian) for a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork designed by Karl Lagerfeld, one of the top designers in the world. The fact that it's a faceplate is irrelevant. Sadly, what she paid for doesn't appear to be what she received.

I don't know... Unfortunately, I think that description is written in such a way that the seller has probably covered his/her ass.

Did she try to contact the seller?

[Floppy Brown]

I have an original one.
I'll check how it's made exactly, vinyl or not and i'll tell you.
Maybe they're all made of sticker after all.

[wasabisabi]

Thank you so much for all the advice and input. I really appreciate all the help.

I didn't know that some of those rare faceplate were sticker too but the quality of the one I received is pretty bad which leads me to conclude that it is fake.

I hope Floppy Brown could give us the answer :cheers:

I called my credit card company but they refused to do a charge back because the item DID arrive. They said they could only charge back if the item was not sent.

I already filed a paypal claim and a claim to Ebay. Keeping my fingers crossed, I cannot afford to be out $700!

[wasabisabi]

I don't know... Unfortunately, I think that description is written in such a way that the seller has probably covered his/her ass.

Did she try to contact the seller?

I contacted the seller but he insists that it is the real deal.

[laughs]

I contacted the seller but he insists that it is the real deal.

Keep that message, and if you find out it's fake, you got him. Hope you find out soon. :cheers:

[Floppy Brown]

Well well...
i've checked mine and indeed, it's a sticker too.
The execution is pretty good tho, you can't get it's a sticker unless looking very closely.

I think it might be real tho. I don't see how he could have made a fake sticker of something which was almost impossible to get his hands on.

By the ways he's french. And the Colette party was in Paris.
So well, overall it might me legit, even if badly executed.

Just my opinion.

Edit : i didn't see Spacey's post.
Indeed there were not high quality pictures of the plates, just those small ones. They might also be "renders" of the faceplates instead of actual ones, but i don't know.
The only thing i can say is that they are stickered plates.

[wicked_d365]

I hate to say it but it looks like the seller covered their @$$ because it does say "copy" in the description. That would end the case if this was taken to court.

[laughs]

I hate to say it but it looks like the seller covered their @$$ because it does say "copy" in the description. That would end the case if this was taken to court.

Yeah but he insisted that it was the real deal after she contacted him. The whole "copy" thing makes it interesting though.

[SpaceGhost2K]

I agree that it's possible the photo that I used as the "original" was a render and not a photo of the final plate.

Honestly, it's such an odd item it's not the kind of thing a pirate would likely attempt. I think after Floppy's comments you can probably sleep well tonight knowing you've got the real thing. The best way would be to find someone in France who might be able to scare up better pictures of the launch event that show the plates.

Now that Floppy has said his are stickers too, I would relax. I think you're okay.

[Fargoth]

Floppy can you compare your faceplate to hers?

[Floppy Brown]

Here is mine.
As they were all unique plates, it's different from hers but here it is.

http://nsa15.casimages.com/img/2010/07/02/mini_100702070722729106.jpg (http://www.casimages.com/img.php?i=100702070722729106.jpg)

[SpaceGhost2K]

I downloaded the pic and I'll compare it with the database picture (render or whatever) but I can't do it now because I have to go for a few hours.

[ez054098]

I downloaded the pic and I'll compare it with the database picture (render or whatever) but I can't do it now because I have to go for a few hours.

Any news from PayPal? This post is fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time.

When I bought my Simpsons console I at first thought it was a fake. The console did not look like the press release photo. After doing some research on the web, I confirmed it was real.

[gh0st_r1der]

The way I see it that the problem is not that is as sticker but that is not one of a kind ( sticker ). Has the original design on the faceplate been mentioned that is painted ? Worst case, the original poster of the faceplate existance made the sticker and not only one but more than one sticker ... so if it is a scam, the origin on both faceplates it is the same.
The only faceplate I've seen ( from official promoters, not counting painted ones ) not being a sticker is WarOfWorlds ( unfortunately I sold mine) . I spent alot of time examining the faceplate and I'm convinced it is not a sticker.
The best painted /mixed custom faceplate I have examined closely and not being a sticker in my opinion is WALL-E - kudos to SpaceGhost2K and www.mypainteffect.com

[SpaceGhost2K]

The way I see it that the problem is not that is as sticker but that is not one of a kind ( sticker ). Has the original design on the faceplate been mentioned that is painted ? Worst case, the original poster of the faceplate existance made the sticker and not only one but more than one sticker ... so if it is a scam, the origin on both faceplates it is the same.
The only faceplate I've seen ( from official promoters, not counting painted ones ) not being a sticker is WarOfWorlds ( unfortunately I sold mine) . I spent alot of time examining the faceplate and I'm convinced it is not a sticker.
The best painted /mixed custom faceplate I have examined closely and not being a sticker in my opinion is WALL-E - kudos to SpaceGhost2K and www.mypainteffect.com

Yeah, Garrick did an unbelievable job on those plates.

[wasabisabi]

I am happy to say that paypal ruled in my favor after I sent the faceplate back to the buyer. However, paypal said it will take a few weeks for the money to go back to my account.

If it were the real thing, I apologize to the seller however since I can't be sure, I thought it's better for me to send the faceplate back to the buyer and get a refund.

[Ainokeatoo]

I am happy to say that paypal ruled in my favor after I sent the faceplate back to the buyer. However, paypal said it will take a few weeks for the money to go back to my account.

If it were the real thing, I apologize to the seller however since I can't be sure, I thought it's better for me to send the faceplate back to the buyer and get a refund.

I agree, that is a lot of money, I'm glad Pay Pal decided to give you back your money because you were not happy with the product you received, even if it wasn't what you expected.

[someguy617]

Sorry to hear that you got scammed. I got scammed once on Ebuy. I bought a PSP a couple years ago and they gave me on that was broken. I was so:cuss: mad. I am glad that paypal gave you your money back.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Yep, if you're not happy, you did the right thing, whether it was legit or not.