Turns out it was a scam... the eBay seller acknowledges that they do NOT have a pure ayam cemani on another auction site. The seller tried to tell me that the chipmunks are recessive "wild type" but in truth I suspect they are partridge leghorn crosses. Ebay customer service understood my frustration with the situation but they will not refund the money because live animals can't be returned. *shrug* live and learn.
I am so sorry you got scammed, and I would still try with
eBay...ask for a manager as the person who was helping you did not understand the difference between "live animal" guarantee and "fraud protection" guarantee...not being able to return the item has nothing to do with receiving a fradulent item. You are almost never required to return fraudulent items in most business transactions....nor received wrong item transactions.
Ebay on another Cemani hatching egg listing (no idea of seller, assuming different one) clearly states that you are protected by the
eBay purchase protection if you receive something other than what you ordered. You can see
eBay's buyer protection clauses here:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html#other-terms
You can see that Cemani listing here: (again please no one assume this is the wrongful seller...I am just pulling this as an example of how
eBay clearly shows the fraud protection is still in place):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-RARE-AYAM...256?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35e89bf3a8
Another avenue, if your husband happened to use a credit card for the purchase (which I strongly recommend doing for the buyer protection clauses with all long distance purchases), you should file a dispute with your credit card company citing the reason of fraud. They will usually refund your money and then go after the seller.
If purchased through PayPal, talk with their buyer protection, again live animal guarantee (or lack thereof) is different than fraud guarantee. See Paypal's buyer protection clause here:
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/safe-online-shopping
Ideally, your husband kept a copy of the advertisement and invoice which states what he purchased. You will need that to back up your claim. If the seller still has the ad on
eBay, print off a copy asap. I would also print off the comment and website address where the seller admits they do not have a pure blood Cemani on another site, asap before they take that down. Point that out to your credit card company or to PayPal as fraud evidence. Show your picture of the chicks as further evidence. If needed, copy and paste Greenfire Farm's photos of Cemani chickens. The Feathersite also has good photos.
As you can tell, I would fight this..that fine print of no "live animal" protection is not a license for fraud for sellers and should never be used for a loophole to scam people, and I personally would make my voice heard to
eBay and make use of all avenues for rescinding this charge. (While not to be construed as legal advice, this is what I personally would do from my experience as an ex-paralegal).
I'm not strong on the genetics of the Cemani, but I'm not buying the "wild" type...I did read that occasionally a Cemani breeding could produce a normal pigmented chick, but none of the chicks were Cemani colored. And the Cemani thread indicates you can get grey, but all my grey colored chicks are just that...grey not wild type...and produce grey or blue colored birds (I've never done any Cemani).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ni-breeders-club-open-forum/680#post_13988477 EDITED TO ADD: the chicken color calculator does indicate that wild type is part of the melanizing genetics, and some blacks can hide some of that, but I still highly doubt the presence of such clear wild type. I would check that on the BYC Cemani thread. HOWEVER practically ALL the chicks have color other than black...good breeders know their stock better than that....and those would be chicks you would have to cull from a breeding program...to sell eggs where almost all the chicks come out looking like the wrong color type is very, very suspicious and the seller should be willing to back his lines better than that.
At the very least, it would be good to give a really, really, low rating and vivid warning to others on
eBay...that ought to lower the seller's review ratings and protect other shoppers.
It is so sad that the world of poultry is riff with scammers, and it takes all of us speaking out when there has been clear fraud to protect other honest poultry enthusiasts.
Good luck with this.
LofMc
EDITED for content and to add: If I made a guess, I would guess Old English Game. Watch for comb types to help id the chicks as they grow.