http://cgi.ebay.com/GI-Joe-like-25th-Anniversary-Dreadnok-Roscoe_W0QQitemZ260162516349QQihZ016QQcategoryZ246 7QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I hope no collectors who might just be getting into Joe or maybe returning buy this thinking it is a new product. I know it says 25th anniv like but still

What do you guys think of this?

It's a cheap way of getting more people to view your auction.

There are a lot of great people on Ebay, but half of the people I've bought Joes from were dishonest. I think that is why certain respectable sellers often earn twice as much for similar figures.

Nothing wrong with that. Gets more views.

Nothing wrong with that. Gets more views.

Really? You're serious? There is nothing "25th Anniv like" about the figure. It is lie made up to sell product. That's ok? I'd think it might even be against ebay policy. I'm sure they wouldn't encourage it

Really? You're serious? There is nothing "25th Anniv like" about the figure. It is lie made up to sell product. That's ok? I'd think it might even be against ebay policy. I'm sure they wouldn't encourage it

Honestly I don't think they would care at all. To us die hard collectors, we know it is not the best and that it is not 25th anniversary, but he doesn't say it is. He says "Like 25th Anniv." which I think is fine.

I also don't think there are a ton of people pulling up that as a search, he would have recieved more hits by putting in "Convention Exclusive" or "Dreadnok Exclusive" something like that.

Nothing wrong with that. Gets more views.
actually there is something wrong with that because it hinders peoples ability to use the search function and find the items that they are looking for. using misleading keywords in your title is against ebay policies, and they can be reported. simply select report this item at the bottom of the page, select misleading keywords, and follow the rest through the process. this is not only dishonest, but it hinders peoples ability to use ebay efficiently which is actually a priority for ebay.

obviously you want to get more views for your auction, but you have to do so accurately.

This like those Transformers sellers who make a point to say "not a reissue" or "non reissue" when they're selling G1 toys. It's seems needless, because if I am looking for a reissue those vintage toys come up or if I am looking for a vintage toy, that particular one has never had a reissue; official or otherwise.

it's a little deceptive, but it doesn't bother me much. It's the same thing as people that use "Rare" or “Hard to find" or other catchy shiny words to get more views...

It’s just marketing.

A bit deceptive? Yes, I guess. But is it anymore deceptive then most commercial marketing?… I doubt it…

Annoying? Possibly, if this sort of stuff gets to you…

Would I do it? Doubtful…

But you find many people do this sort of stuff all the time on eBay, in all categories…. So I've learned to live with it.

Like the wise Sage says “it happens”. :p

It's just as bad as people putting 'AFA worthy' or 'AFA?' in titles and descriptions of non-AFA graded items, not that I care about AFA, I'm just giving another example of this false type of "advertising"

Not as annoying as other misleading labels. As a collector I know what's 25th and what's not, and I'm sure the uninitiated can be mislead, but I hate seeing obvious incomplete items listed as complete. Some will tell you "complete, just missing X, Y & Z," which obviously isn't complete, but others feel if they throw up a pic and you don't notice the missing missile or gun, then it's not their problem when it's clearly been listed as complete and doesn't indicate any missing items.

Buyer beware is really all I can say, you really gotta do your homework these days. I see tons of early 90s Toy Biz 5" Marvel stuff being listed as Marvel Legends every day on eBay. You don't know how many times I got all excited seeing a listing for a "Marvel Legends Toad" with a $10 BIN only to find a X-Men 1 movie Toad when I click on the link.

As long as itr relates to item its not keyword spamming. Now if he said Halo 3 Nokia WII Gi Joe then that is a violation.

It doesn't violate thye spirit of the rulse. A little gimpy? yes but its not anything to get annoyed by. be annoyed by bad sellers, high shipping or scammers.

As long as itr relates to item its not keyword spamming. Now if he said Halo 3 Nokia WII Gi Joe then that is a violation.

It doesn't violate thye spirit of the rulse. A little gimpy? yes but its not anything to get annoyed by. be annoyed by bad sellers, high shipping or scammers.
that's the point, it doesn't relate. not being a 25th anniversary figure means putting it in is deceptive and actually does violate the "spirit of the rule," if there is one. you may as well say HALO 3 like character, there is no difference.

the intention is obviously to get people searching for the 25th anniversary figures to actually look at his auction instead. it isn't a matter whether someone is deceived, it is a matter of whether it inconveniences the customer, makes ebay harder to navigate and find what you are looking for more difficult, which could cause customers to stop using ebay. this is a matter that ebay has as much interest in as the customer looking for a product, because if ebay becomes inconvenient, than people may stop using it.

personally, I am not annoyed by people doing this, my internet speed is fast enough that it causes no problem. but for some people who have slower peeds, every extra auction that comes up unneccessarily and slows down the experience makes ebay a less desireable place to shop.

Doesn't bother me if the seller is a good one. Some people bulk list and change text little.

Awhile back I actually considered trying to sell some Marvel Legends Showdown and Microman figures on eBay, putting "Joe 25th" in the title, but then explaining in the description that they were of similar scale and were similarly posable, and would go well in a display with 25th figures. The purpose would obviously be to get more views and to get people thinking about my auctions in that way, as the 25th Joes seem to be more popular than Showdown or Microman figs in themselves. I never did this, but I guess my thought then was that, as long as you explain that the auction is not actually for a 25th figure, it should be OK, ethically (though maybe not by the letter of eBay's law).

The major problem with eBay is that it's a very large place with a comparatively small staff. They simply don't have the resources to properly enforce their code of conduct and listing rules. Hence the 'Report' feature being so important. If no one reports that kind of behaviour, it never gets resolved.

I've basically stopped using eBay because of how these bad sellers have damaged the 'user friendly' interface of the site. But even when I used it, I outright refused to buy anything from sellers that were obviously misrepresenting an item intentionally, charging too much for shipping, etc. I don't care if they're selling a mint collection of every G.I. Joe ever made for 20 dollars. It's the principle of it.

Another good example of this kind of behaviour would be those sellers that list items in ENTIRELY the wrong category in order to get more views. There's nothing I hate more on eBay, and I mean nothing, than deciding to spend a few hours happily browsing through entire listings under the general category of 'Action Figures,' only to have to sift through -hundreds- of auctions for watches, balloons, letter openers, etc. And no, your book about how to use Corel X3 is NOT software. Don't list it as such.

While it may seem like a small thing at a glance, misrepresenting items you are selling, especially because it is done en masse by shady sellers, is severely damaging to how eBay functions. You can't buy something if you can't find it. And the more auctions you look at which are falsely advertised, the less patience you will have to keep looking.

If you see people doing stuff like that, you just have to report it. Even if it doesn't bother you all that much. The rules and the spirit of the rules should apply to everyone. With a site as big as eBay, those rules can only be enforced if the eBayers themselves help.

That's my 50 stars, at least.

The thing is, why would anyone use the "25th anniversary" in their auction title? It's a relatively new term and has nothing to do with vintage figures. Even a newcomer to ebay is likely to just use "G.I. Joe" in their initial search. If they're looking for something specific that, say, they remember from childhood, I think they might at least know a relative date or partial or full name of the toy. What is to be gained by using "25th anniversary" or any abbreviations of that wording?

Wouldn't putting 25th aniversary on any 3 3/4" auction be ok considering it is the 25th aniversary for ARAH. I understand how this could be anoying but I don't think its a rule violation.....I think things like charging $20 shipping on a figure or calling something complete when its not is a much bigger problem. However I want to try to get away from buying joes on ebay just because the auctions go way to high and I have had much better luck with other sites. I picked up a Flagg a defiant a mauler night raven and about 100 figures all with filecards and weapons for $400 on craigslist this week. Ebay just continues to get worst. I'm sorry a topson for $900 is way to much in my opinion. My point is there are alternatives besides ebay, but if you must buy from ebay boycot the jerks. There are a lot of awful dealers out there. There also a lot of people who know nothing about the hobby and from there standpoint they are helping collectors out not selling figures with cracked elbows. If you find a good ebay dealer keep going back. I will pay more if I know the dealer is reliable. Thats my opinion I hope I didn't go to far off topic.

The thing is, why would anyone use the "25th anniversary" in their auction title? It's a relatively new term and has nothing to do with vintage figures. Even a newcomer to ebay is likely to just use "G.I. Joe" in their initial search. If they're looking for something specific that, say, they remember from childhood, I think they might at least know a relative date or partial or full name of the toy. What is to be gained by using "25th anniversary" or any abbreviations of that wording?
not to sound snide, but are you serious? anyone interested in these toys knows that they are commonly called 25th Anniversary, so if you are looking for them specifically, of course you would have that in the title.

let's say you are looking for a 25th Anniversary Snake Eyes. if you only put Snake Eyes in your search, you have to wade through 4 pages of Snake Eyes auctions, many of which aren't what you are looking for:
http://toys.search.ebay.com/snake-eyes_GI-Joe_W0QQbsZSearchQQcatrefZC6QQfgtpZQQfposZ91016QQf romZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQlopgZQQsab fmtsZ1QQsacatZ1167QQsadisZ200QQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQ QsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZunknown

but put in 25th Anniversarry Snake Eyes as your search, and now you have less than a page of figures that are all what you want:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=25th+anniversary+snake+eyes&sacat=1167%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=91016&sabfmts=1&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&fgtp=

that's the point of having keywords to identify the product, and why sellers and buyers use them. and they are effective only if used accurately.

Wouldn't putting 25th aniversary on any 3 3/4" auction be ok considering it is the 25th aniversary for ARAH.
no it wouldn't, because ONE: being the 25th anniversary of Joe has nothing to do with the specific toy you are selling, and TWO: there are specific toys that go by the name 25th Anniversary, so doing so intentionally confuses the distinction for the sole purpose of creating awareness for a toy that somebody isn't looking for, making ebay more of a hassle to navigate. that is the point of having keywords.

not to sound snide, but are you serious? anyone interested in these toys knows that they are commonly called 25th Anniversary, so if you are looking for them specifically, of course you would have that in the title.

let's say you are looking for a 25th Anniversary Snake Eyes. if you only put Snake Eyes in your search, you have to wade through 4 pages of Snake Eyes auctions, many of which aren't what you are looking for:
http://toys.search.ebay.com/snake-eyes_GI-Joe_W0QQbsZSearchQQcatrefZC6QQfgtpZQQfposZ91016QQf romZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQlopgZQQsab fmtsZ1QQsacatZ1167QQsadisZ200QQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQ QsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZunknown

but put in 25th Anniversarry Snake Eyes as your search, and now you have less than a page of figures that are all what you want:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=25th+anniversary+snake+eyes&sacat=1167%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=91016&sabfmts=1&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&fgtp=

that's the point of having keywords to identify the product, and why sellers and buyers use them. and they are effective only if used accurately.

no it wouldn't, because ONE: being the 25th anniversary of Joe has nothing to do with the specific toy you are selling, and TWO: there are specific toys that go by the name 25th Anniversary, so doing so intentionally confuses the distinction for the sole purpose of creating awareness for a toy that somebody isn't looking for, making ebay more of a hassle to navigate. that is the point of having keywords.


Congratulations for assuming absolute ignorance on my part. Perhaps you didn't realize what I meant, and what is generally being talked about in this thread, the use of "25th anniversary" in regard to figures that are not part of the 25th anniversary line.

Congratulations for assuming absolute ignorance on my part. Perhaps you didn't realize what I meant, and what is generally being talked about in this thread, the use of "25th anniversary" in regard to figures that are not part of the 25th anniversary line.
exactly. using 25th in the title of the auction is meant to make them appear in searches for people looking for the 25th product as well as searches for the character itself. putting it in only increases the exposure of the auction, but doesn't eliminate it's appearance to those not looking for it. so there is no negative repercussion for the seller putting it in, only to the consumer who does not want to be inundated with false results. the seller knows, or believes, that alot of people are searching for 25th product. so, hoping to create visibility of his auction to them, he puts 25th in the title.

if I call my Road Pig auction 25th ANNIVERSARY-LIKE ROAD PIG, it will come up in a search for those looking for Road Pig, and those looking for 25th stuff, thus increasing its exposure. that is as clear a benefit as there can be, creating exposure of your auction to both those looking for Road Pig specifically and to those who may be looking for 25th stuff but may buy your Road Pig figure now that they see it. there is your benefit for doing so.

I dont buy from sellers that use keyword spamming.I dont even look at there auctions.

I dont buy from sellers that use keyword spamming.I dont even look at there auctions.

I agree. It makes them seem shady.I'm pretty much with gunslingercbr on this one. It pollutes the listings and discourages me from browsing.

I also agree with Damien about sellers listing in the wrong catergory. That's why I stopped buying movies off Ebay years ago. I would go to browse through the "Independent" section or the "horror" section, and have to wade through listings for "Big Daddy" and "Sense and Sensibility". Not as bad as finding items that weren't movies at all, but annoying none-the-less.

I guess it all comes down to perspective. Some people think this is a clever way to get your product seen, I think it's sort of scummy.

Well, the most annoying thing I've found on ebay, was that EVERYTHING is "RARE". The word has lost all meaning I think. I can see someone using "25th Like" as being pretty annoying too, no matter what speed your connection is.

you mean common beat up joes are not RARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!RARE!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In a way its good and bad I guess. If you have a store there is a feature that shows how people find your store and what they searched for to find a certain item. Using the 25th will draw people in but its misleading. Its just a marketing tool to get more traffic thats all. I am sure someone looking for a ppd an original one is having a heck of a time filtering through the millions out there now. lol