The eBay description scam is a confidence trick carried out via eBay. Sellers sell worthless items with descriptions carefully written to suggest that they are actually valuable ones. Although similar scams have occurred in markets and retail, usually blocked via a Trade Descriptions Act, eBay remains an easier target: firstly, because it allows description to be entered freely; and secondly, due to the fact that eBay's search is keyword based, it is standard practice for legitimate eBay sellers to "pad" item descriptions with extra keywords in order to attract buyers who may not have entered the exact description of the item.

When the item is finally sold and the buyer discovers what the actual item is, he or she frequently objects, but the seller can claim that the description was accurate to the item.

Several examples of the descriptions used in this scam:

  • Microsoft Limited Edition Xbox Box - appears as if the seller has included "Box" in order to catch buyers searching for "X Box" rather than "Xbox". In fact, the item on sale was the empty cardboard box that the Xbox came in.
  • Nokia Phone, Genuine Picture - appears as if the seller has included "Picture" in order to catch searches for "Picture Phone", a standard name for camera phones. In fact, the buyer was e-mailed a JPG picture of a Nokia phone.