ChatGPT trying to rip me off!!

Hanley

Hanley

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I've been using ChatGPT to help me write eBay descriptions for a few items I'm selling, and I'm considering selling my Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L so asked it to do the same, and laughed at the recommended price :ROFLMAO:

Screenshot 2025-11-26 at 15.53.01.png

So I had to respond with - "You know this lens is £10K new and was only released a year or so ago?"

Screenshot 2025-11-26 at 15.54.19.png

:ROFLMAO:
 
I look through Ebay frequently. The item descriptions written by Artifical Ignornance are so obvious. I would never go anywhere near anything with and AI description, it just implies that the seller knows nothing about what he is offering.
 
David_Mug said:
I look through Ebay frequently. The item descriptions written by Artifical Ignornance are so obvious. I would never go anywhere near anything with and AI description, it just implies that the seller knows nothing about what he is offering.
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To you maybe, to others not so much. Some people realise AI is just a tool like everything else, maybe if you'd used AI you'd have spelt 'Artificial' and 'Ignorance' correctly :ROFLMAO:

Although my eBay listing does have 'and' AI description, I assure you I know a great deal on what I am offering, also as someone who has worked in IT for 30 years I also understand the importance of identifying and utilising the right tools to make my life easier.
 
Just for a laugh I put your response to ChatGPT and this was its response:

“Don’t worry, your buying habits are safe — I don’t sell anything at your price range.” and “Artificial Ignorance? Bold talk from someone typing like they’re chewing the keyboard.”

:ROFLMAO:
 
Hanley said:
I've been using ChatGPT to help me write eBay descriptions for a few items I'm selling, and I'm considering selling my Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L so asked it to do the same, and laughed at the recommended price :ROFLMAO:

View attachment 468758

So I had to respond with - "You know this lens is £10K new and was only released a year or so ago?"

View attachment 468760

:ROFLMAO:
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I think Chat gpt was spot on with the first price which I am happy to pay in full!!
Shall we move to DM ???
 
Hanley said:
To you maybe, to others not so much. Some people realise AI is just a tool like everything else, maybe if you'd used AI you'd have spelt 'Artificial' and 'Ignorance' correctly :ROFLMAO:

Although my eBay listing does have 'and' AI description, I assure you I know a great deal on what I am offering, also as someone who has worked in IT for 30 years I also understand the importance of identifying and utilising the right tools to make my life easier.
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Honestly in my world, there are 2 approaches to AI, old farts like me who seethe every time they see an email or piece of code or meeting transcription* that might have saved some time but adds little value.

And the people like you who swear they’re getting great results from it one minute, and the next they’re showing you some ‘funny’ ridiculous results. Meanwhile senior managers are encouraging its use cos it’s new and innovative.

*the point at which it becomes ridiculous is when sifting job applications, or worse still doing on line job interviews where it’s obvious the applicant is being ‘helped’ by AI. I genuinely lose all respect for anyone who believes that’s a good thing. And anyone who thinks that people able to spot AI drivel in those situations are an exception? That really does raise concerns, because the consequences are at best expensive and at worst catastrophic.
 
If/as traditional methods of web searching get replaced by AI than any new AI will be tainted by past AI. A tightening spiral of impressive ignorance.
 
Phil V said:
Honestly in my world, there are 2 approaches to AI, old farts like me who seethe every time they see an email or piece of code or meeting transcription* that might have saved some time but adds little value.

And the people like you who swear they’re getting great results from it one minute, and the next they’re showing you some ‘funny’ ridiculous results. Meanwhile senior managers are encouraging its use cos it’s new and innovative.

*the point at which it becomes ridiculous is when sifting job applications, or worse still doing on line job interviews where it’s obvious the applicant is being ‘helped’ by AI. I genuinely lose all respect for anyone who believes that’s a good thing. And anyone who thinks that people able to spot AI drivel in those situations are an exception? That really does raise concerns, because the consequences are at best expensive and at worst catastrophic.
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Okay Phil I'll bite, if I can see you up there on your soap box......where did I swear I'm getting great results from it?
 
Pound Coin said:
If/as traditional methods of web searching get replaced by AI than any new AI will be tainted by past AI. A tightening spiral of impressive ignorance.
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So called "artificial intelligence" is no more than just another programme that writes other programmes.

The old warning about the problems of computing: "garbage in -garbage out" - applies just as much to the latest software and the policy of ignoring that warning continues to create misinformation.

Once again: C'est la vie ...
 
One issue with AI is it's trying to be helpful, and in some cases will lie. I was told recently about some medical advice online, it turned out this advice was not only wrong, but the medical papers sources it quotes dont exist either, it made thse up to "make it" sound expert.

I know it's good for reducing image noise or making funny cat videos, but I honestly dont think it's ready for doing anything "serious" like legal or medical, or vetting job applicants. I dread to think where that could go wrong...... :)
 
You definitely need to ask ai the right questions and be able to verify and iterate.
Chatgpt is reasonably manageable, while gemini is seriously unreliable and annoying. Between the two i got recommended completely different part numbers for the car, with opposing reasoning and i believe so far Gemini is wrong
 
LongLensPhotography said:
You definitely need to ask ai the right questions and be able to verify and iterate.
Chatgpt is reasonably manageable, while gemini is seriously unreliable and annoying. Between the two i got recommended completely different part numbers for the car, with opposing reasoning and i believe so far Gemini is wrong
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Agree completely. I've used ChatGPT since early iterations, I use it for things that take me too long, normally helping me generate keywords for images. I used to use a Lightroom plugin which ultimately works in the exact same way, looks at the image and works out keywords. I then pick and choose the ones I want to use.

Like any tool, you just need to be careful how you use it.

This post was meant to be a fun little poke at it, not a serious debate on the impact of AI on society. :)
 
Hanley said:
Okay Phil I'll bite, if I can see you up there on your soap box......where did I swear I'm getting great results from it?
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Don’t make it personal.
You regularly post Chat GPT content.

Surely you wouldn’t persist if you always thought it was pants.
 
Hanley said:
This post was meant as a bit of tongue in cheek fun, a laugh at how ChatGPT had misunderstood the value of my lens, nothing more nothing less.
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We understand your point, but the underlying story is that AI clearly didn’t know the correct value, but instead of saying that, it chose to make s*** up.

And surely, whilst ‘funny’ to you on this occasion, this could lead to serious issues. Surely you see that?
 
Phil V said:
Don’t make it personal.
You regularly post Chat GPT content.

Surely you wouldn’t persist if you always thought it was pants.
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I didn't make it personal, I was reacting to your "people like you" statement which could be taken personally.

As for me regularly posting ChatGPT content......do I?
I've gone through my posts, albeit I've only gone back to the beginning of 2025 so far and I can't find any, want to help me out with this regular ChatGPT content I post with some links?
 
Hanley said:
Also, you still haven't identified where I 'swear I'm getting great results from it' - want to help me out with that? :)
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so you have chosen to read ‘people like you’ not simply as regular users of chat gpt? But that I meant you personally.

I’ll bow out now, I have no desire to get into a personal spat.
 
Phil V said:
so you have chosen to read ‘people like you’ not simply as regular users of chat gpt? But that I meant you personally.

I’ll bow out now, I have no desire to get into a personal spat.
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No I didn't take it personally, I said it 'could have' been taken personally.

So a couple of points here Phil, please read and understand posts and replies correctly, and when you use sweeping statements or suggest a person does something, or says something a lot, be prepared to be called out on it.

I called you out on 2 of your statements which you're ignoring, don't forget attention to detail is important.

You said, and I quote, "people like you who swear they're getting good results out of it" - I have asked you to point to where I said that. Nothing.
You said, and I quote, "You regularly post Chat GPT content" _ I have asked you to point to these regular Chat GPT posts, because I certainly can't find them. Nothing.

Have a great day and try not to be so condescending in future. :)
 
Hanley said:
Just for a laugh I put your response to ChatGPT and this was its response:

“Don’t worry, your buying habits are safe — I don’t sell anything at your price range.” and “Artificial Ignorance? Bold talk from someone typing like they’re chewing the keyboard.”

:ROFLMAO:
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Savage haha
 
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Hanley said:
Just for a laugh I put your response to ChatGPT and this was its response:

“Don’t worry, your buying habits are safe — I don’t sell anything at your price range.” and “Artificial Ignorance? Bold talk from someone typing like they’re chewing the keyboard.”
Click to expand...
A surprisingly human type response - hurl insults at anyone who dares to criticise.

Pity it's not clever enough to recognise satirics.
 
I am deeply distrusting of AI, but I am currently working on a highly specialised, very technical project with a number of the worlds leading subject-matter experts. They are using Grok to produce incredibly complicated, but highly competent, summaries and defences of methodologies,

I am now thinking that, like all computer software, the quality of the output is hugely dependent on the 'input'....and the ability of the user(s) to scrutinise for mistakes.
 
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whyone said:
I am deeply distrusting of AI, but I am currently working on a highly specialised, very technical project with a number of the worlds leading subject-matter experts. They are using Grok to produce incredibly complicated, but highly competent, summaries and defences of methodologies,

I am now thinking that, like all computer software, the quality of the output is hugely dependent on the 'input'....and the ability of the use(s) to scrutinise for mistakes.
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Agree, it's a tool, just like other tools when they were first introduced that we now see as normal - spell checker, Google etc.

The quality of AI relies on the quality of prompting, analysing results, identifying and notifying it of mistakes and re-prompting, it's how it learns.
The company I work for, one of the biggest banks in the world, now has internal AI training modules, teaching how to maximise output through quality of prompts / input.

For this particular activity, selling a lens on eBay, I'd normally write the item description, heading off to Canon's website to pull out any relevant info I need for the lens, now I can let ChatGPT do that, I just extract the information I need for my listing. I don't simply copy and paste the entire output from ChatGPT into my listing.
Work smarter, not harder. :)
 
whyone said:
I am deeply distrusting of AI, but I am currently working on a highly specialised, very technical project with a number of the worlds leading subject-matter experts. They are using Grok to produce incredibly complicated, but highly competent, summaries and defences of methodologies,

I am now thinking that, like all computer software, the quality of the output is hugely dependent on the 'input'....and the ability of the user(s) to scrutinise for mistakes.
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As someone much smarter reframed it is garbage in - garbage out. It has never been more important to ask the right questions
 
If by using AI to write an ebay description for an item saves time, that you can then use to spend with family or or shooting, or something else then I'm all for it. It seems like the correct user case for for AI to me - as long as you have the prompts that get the reponse you need and verify the output.
 
The best advice I've ever heard regarding AI is to "Treat it like a conversation". Don't take it as an authority with all the answers. Instead, bounce ideas off it, and if an answer doesn't seem quite right, clarify your position and probe further.

In the same way I explain technical problems to my Mrs who isn't technical at all - just spelling it out in simple terms for a layman can help. She might also reply with something that while isn't technically helpful, it is conceptually helpful which gives me a new viewpoint on the problem.
 
We use certain Ai apps in the lawfirm I work at.

Think of ChatGPT as the Aldi version. There are Ai apps way better than that (Legora, Spellbook, Practical Law etc.)
 
benc98 said:
If by using AI to write an ebay description for an item saves time, that you can then use to spend with family or or shooting, or something else then I'm all for it. It seems like the correct user case for for AI to me - as long as you have the prompts that get the reponse you need and verify the output.
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I agree with your sentiment.

However in the case of ebay, if I read an AI description....and it is very easy to tell when AI has been used there...I just move on to an alternative where someone could be bothered to write a short description.
 
GreenNinja67 said:
We use certain Ai apps in the lawfirm I work at.

Think of ChatGPT as the Aldi version. There are Ai apps way better than that (Legora, Spellbook, Practical Law etc.)
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You reference apps not AI models.
Of course the apps you mention are all specifically designed for your industry, but Legaro and Spellbook both run on the Aldi version, they use OpenAI's (ChatGPT) GPT5 model :)
 
Hanley said:
You reference apps not AI models.
Of course the apps you mention are all specifically designed for your industry, but Legaro and Spellbook both run on the Aldi version, they use OpenAI's GPT5 model :)
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I bow to your superior knowledge there Paul.

I'm only a lowly legal IT guy on the front end.

I don't do dev.
 
Looks good to me.

Plenty of detail re. your ownership / experiences, which is what is missing from purely ebay-AI generated item descriptions.
 
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