I have an ethical question I'd like to pose to CR members... The following ebay auction for a 50cm Raleigh Pro from the late 70's that starts at $300 USD and may represent a low form of puffery to misguide the potential bidder. I wonder about seller ethics because it seems hard to believe the auction description is for the same frameset shown in the pics.
Careful viewing of the auction pics show that the sellers hype in the auction description uses inflated comments that do not match the actual exterior condition of the Raleigh Pro frameset.
Is the seller misguided when he says "excellent reynolds 531 double butted chromoly tubing"? 531 is chromoly tubing???
The seller claims, "CONDITION: Excellent for its age, basically in really good shape. As shown in the photos. A few tiny scratches as with any used bike. The top tube has surface level very minor surface rust under where the cable mounts as shown. no deep rust, not an issue at all for frame integrity, it is purely cosmetic and means nothing except for appearance. " ... "Could very easily be covered with a little touch up paint since it sits under where the cable goes and it would then be invisible. has a few tiny nicks and scratches but basically in great shape. "
'Excellent" for its age' and "basically in great shape"is subjective, but implies a puffy statement of its cosmetic condition. Excuse me, but it seems there is NO paint on the top portion of the top tube and there are MANY scratches. Rust sometimes hides structural cracks that weaken parts of the frame tubing. This frame needs a complete repaint and spraying Raleigh fisheye patterns on a Pro frame is not easy as he seems to mislead the potential buyer!
Do you think this auction is another low form of puffery and/or is the auction description misleading? I personally believe the auction description is deceptive because the pics show far more problems than the seller describes... is this puffery? What are some of the best/worst puffery claims involving vintage bikes on ebay that you have seen recently?
Best regards, Steve Neago "Watching out for that next great ebay "deal" very closely! "