Etsy buyers who don't comparison shop get ripped off by mendacious reseller of fake vintage 20thcenturydesignsny #etsysellsvintage

Yes, it's true!  An Etsy buyer paid the "reseller stupid tax", purchasing a lamp

• listed as "vintage" which is actually brand new
• priced at more than twice the market price
• that was mailed to the buyer missing its shade that comes with the base as sold everywhere else, and was listed by the deceptive seller as a lamp and shade

Instead of doing what a sensible buyer would do outside the Etsyverse -- demand the shade or a complete refund -- the buyer in this case left a 4 (out of 5) stars review, and says they might buy from this long term reseller's shop again if the description was more accurate.  Seriously?  A long term Etsy reseller's business model is creating deceptive listings to snare buyers who seem somehow unable to comparison shop online.

Let's meet the long term reseller who has been passing off brand new products as "vintage" literally for years.  20thcenturydesignsny was last featured in my companion blog during April 2018 and one of the fake vintage items I called out was this

Modern Geometric Table Lamp Fabric Drum Shade Diamond Shape Base

Note that the listing title (copy and pasted above) clearly mentions both the lamp AND the shade.  This is how it is sold by the manufacturer, as shown in the photo from 20thcenturydesignsny's listing -- which belongs to the manufacturer and is NOT an image of the actual product mailed to the customer.  Listed by 20thcenturydesignsny as a "vintage" item, it's actually new and easily found for sale online -- complete with the shade.  This eBay listing shows the brand (Lighting EVER), the manufacturer's product number, and the UPC -- showing that 20thcenturydesignsny deceived her buyer about this item being "vintage".  The eBay seller at the link is selling the lamp + shade for $32.99, including shipping.  20thcenturydesignsny originally priced the item at $75 (!) and then reduced the price to $55 (maybe when something happened to the shade?), and there was a shipping charge.  As I type you can buy this product directly from Lighting EVER on sale for just $20.32.

Okay.  I've shown that the buyer was ripped off in 3 ways (not vintage, comes with shade which was not shipped, and was massively overcharged by the greedy and mendacious seller).  Here's the review left by this so-not-savvy buyer:

The base itself has a great shape, but it is smaller than the picture/description suggests. HOWEVER, there is no lamp shade that came with the base, which was not specified in the description of the product. This should be explicitly mentioned next time an item like this is sold.
Bottom line: I'd buy this item again but I would want a clearer description telling you that it is just the lamp base, NOT the lamp shade and the base.

If the buyer who wrote the review above had read the review just below it, they would have realized that 20thcenturydesignsny is dishonest.  Check it out:

Product is NOT vintage—cheap little replica—going in a back guest room, so not worth fighting over

 The item purchased was this brand new, vintage style, starburst wall clock that the seller listed as a "vintage" item, and has sold 2 units (including the one reviewed above), with 1 unit still available for sale priced at $139 -- another brand new, easy to find, item priced at more than twice the market price.

How nice for the buyer that they consider paying $139 to a dishonest merchant "cheap" and getting ripped off "not worth fighting over".  Because if this buyer had comparison shopped simply by copying the photo (belongs to the manufacturer) from 20thcenturydesignsny's listing into Google Images, they would have discovered how much less you need to pay for the very same item!  Available for just $57.90 (free shipping, too) on Amazon  Just $70.99 on Wayfair  And $62.99 on Houzz

This, dear readers, is what makes Etsy "unique" and "special" (as described by CEO Josh Silverman):  the buyers on the site are happy to over-pay deceptive sellers for merchandise "not as described", and rarely demand a refund.  It's called the Etsy Reseller Stupid Tax for a reason.