The buyer is entitled to a complete and correct description; it must be as complete and unambiguous as is in any way possible. Whether the seller is an expert or a layman makes no difference: anyone who offers a writing instrument in good condition and delivers a fountain pen with a bent or cracked nib owes a refund of the purchase price; the excuse that, as a layman, one did not recognise the defect is immaterial. If defects are concealed – which includes the fact that parts are no longer original but were replaced at a later date – the item is defective within the meaning of §434 paragraph 1 sentence 1 of the German Civil Code (BGB). This expressly applies to second-hand items as well.
The reasoning given for this is that the buyer cannot examine the goods before the hammer falls and must therefore be able to rely on the seller's statements; defects are to be named explicitly. The relevant decisions are the judgment of the local court of Bitburg (Amtsgericht Bitburg) of 12 February 2003 (case no. 6 C 276/02) and the order of the regional court of Trier (Landgericht Trier) of 22 April 2003 (case no. IS 21/03). In the case of fraudulent misrepresentation (arglistige Täuschung), for instance about a completely bent nib, the buyer may in addition rescind the contract of sale under §123 of the German Civil Code (BGB), provided that the seller must have been aware of the incompleteness of his statements and that the deception was causal for the conclusion of the contract.
If the description and the photograph evidently differ from one another, open points are to be clarified by enquiry before the end of the auction. If the answers remain vague, restraint is called for; with high-value pieces it is advisable to have it expressly warranted that the item is an original and not a product counterfeit, and, in case of doubt, to insist on an escrow service.