News - Teen fooled by eBay scam is given a real Xbox One for free

[aidanjt]

Why did they feel the need given he was refunded and had ultimately not suffered a material loss?

It was a cheap marketing opportunity.

[Saracen]

I wouldn't call this kid/young man stupid. Naive, certainly, but not stupid. And, no doubt, a fair bit less naive now than he was.

It is possible that in his naivety, he assumed, despite the wording of the listing, that it must be badly worded, and that it actually referred to a console. The naivety is in not realising that there are a LOT of people out there that will not hesitate to take advantage of the gullible given a hint of a chance. Or that a lot will go out of their way to create a chance to do so. And that eBay is rife with mantraps for the unwary.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a £450 anything from a private individual on eBay, period. And nor from someone with 18 feedback, all of it apparently as a buyer. I wouldn't even buy a £450 item from a company without being very sure of the seller.

But my approach to this comes from, for example, many years (in my earlier days) of buying second-hand cars, and being absolutely familiar with the principle of caveat emptor. I am cynical enough to always, first and foremost, look for the catch.

Anyway, I look at this as one side being naive, but the seller as being nasty, cynical explourative scum.

Does this bloke "deserve" a free console, having got his refund? Well, no. But I don't begrudge it him either. Will he be that naive ever again? I hope not, but if he is, that THAT would truly be stupidity.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

[ik9000]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I can't hear that anymore without thinking of that time George W made a hash of it.... makes me chuckle every time

[Percy1983]

I wouldn't call this kid/young man stupid. Naive, certainly, but not stupid. And, no doubt, a fair bit less naive now than he was.

It is possible that in his naivety, he assumed, despite the wording of the listing, that it must be badly worded, and that it actually referred to a console. The naivety is in not realising that there are a LOT of people out there that will not hesitate to take advantage of the gullible given a hint of a chance. Or that a lot will go out of their way to create a chance to do so. And that eBay is rife with mantraps for the unwary.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a £450 anything from a private individual on eBay, period. And nor from someone with 18 feedback, all of it apparently as a buyer. I wouldn't even buy a £450 item from a company without being very sure of the seller.

But my approach to this comes from, for example, many years (in my earlier days) of buying second-hand cars, and being absolutely familiar with the principle of caveat emptor. I am cynical enough to always, first and foremost, look for the catch.

Anyway, I look at this as one side being naive, but the seller as being nasty, cynical explourative scum.

Does this bloke "deserve" a free console, having got his refund? Well, no. But I don't begrudge it him either. Will he be that naive ever again? I hope not, but if he is, that THAT would truly be stupidity.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

The problem is he is being rewarded for being so naive, when I have been naive in the past and paid the consequences and due to said loss learnt from it.

In his case the disappointment of receiving said photo + the hassle of getting the refund where his lesson, he had is money back so he could go and buy another, bit now that lesson has turned into, don't worry about it it doesn't matter what happens you will get bailed.

Am I bitter, hell yeah, as I wasn't naive or stupid enough to fall for such an auction I will have to pay for an xbox if I want one.

[iggy]

I too am fooled by this ebay scam. Giev xbox!

[jim]

The problem is he is being rewarded for being so naive, when I have been naive in the past and paid the consequences and due to said loss learnt from it.

In his case the disappointment of receiving said photo + the hassle of getting the refund where his lesson, he had is money back so he could go and buy another, bit now that lesson has turned into, don't worry about it it doesn't matter what happens you will get bailed.

Am I bitter, hell yeah, as I wasn't naive or stupid enough to fall for such an auction I will have to pay for an xbox if I want one.

True, but I'd be seriously worried for someone's mental capacity if they thought this was going to happen to them as well.

[Taurolyon]

How hard is it to research your sellers past feedback and auctions? It's only a couple clicks!

And yet, he goes crying to the local game store that sees a good photo opportunity, and rewards him for being a dumb eBay shopper.

I didn't think it was possible, but after reading this article, this makes me want an Xbox even less.

I'm not a console gamer, especially seeing the number of "ring of death" errors on the 360, and the inability to tweak/customize the console without breaking some sort of copyright or federal mandate. Not to mention, you need to buy console specific accessories, or upgrade to the newest revision or NextGen system after just a few months. Screw consoles.

[hysandrew]

So not only has he got a new Xbox One, and free publicity for CeX, but he is also getting his money back from PayPal as well. I wonder if he will be selling this on eBay, to make even MORE money??

[aahsheitt]

that sucks im glad they gave him one bless those people

[canopus72]

It pays to be stupid!. Look at that guy. He looks like a total idiot. I wonder if he knows how to use it?.

[ik9000]

I wonder if he had been sent a box with X written on it, and a photo, would that have counted enough to not be refunded by ebay?

[Spreadie]

Meh, he got fooled by an ebay scumbag, but has been lucky enough to profit from the situation as well as learning a lesson which may serve him in later life (probably).

Good luck to him.

[rpsgc]

With each passing year, Idiocracy becomes a little bit less parody and a bit more prophecy/documentary.

[Montysaurus]

"...local CEX shop cured his misery" World history is made as CEX shop have a cure for terminal stupidity! Quick! everyone in UK with only half a brain cell get treated now while stocks last!

[NaciremaDiputs]

I can't help buy feel the majority of the negative comments here are from people who wouldn't hesitate to rip someone off in the same way the seller on eBay tried to rip this kid off. It's really the only thing short of being completely jaded over someone else getting a free xbone that can explain their complete lack of empathy and understanding.

[synaesthesia]

So many people thinking "good on him" - ridiculous!
I can only assume the people that think he isn't at fault are the types of people that believe emails from Nigeria, click the links on emails from "their bank" and are suprised to see there are hot girls in their area waiting to speak to them! Please pull your heads out from the sand. It is made clear that the advert says it is for a picture of the item. Regardless of the location of the advert, and more so with the fact he didn't believe it was a picture when it said it was, it is entirely this young man's mistake. As above, surely he has higher priorities with a young child especially at a young age himself, so it's rather clear he's probably not the brightest tool in the box. We all make mistakes, and the idea is to learn from them. How would anyone learn from a mistake when they are rewarded for it? He should have been refunded at the most (which he was) and then left there. He has been rewarded and therefore he won't have learned anything valuable from it.