Buyer says Gemini judged a marketplace gamepad genuine from listing photos, but the delivered one was counterfeit (first-person)
In a first-person article published by the Russian personal-finance magazine T—Zh on 29 April 2026, a buyer says they wanted a limited-edition Xbox controller from a long-established seller on the Ozon marketplace and, unsure about judging colours, uploaded photos from the listing and reviews to Gemini, asking it to compare them with Microsoft's original photos and give a verdict. The buyer says Gemini was completely certain the controller was original, which strengthened their own assumption, and they bought it. The delivered controller's left stick drifted from the first use; a repairer's programmer would not connect to it, showing it was not made by Microsoft. The seller first refused a return without a service-centre report; the buyer paid 500 roubles for one, then received a refund, but the marketplace did not reimburse the 500 roubles. The buyer acknowledges the listing photos may have shown a genuine unit and that the counterfeit may have been sent only to them.
- AI system
- Gemini (reported)
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 29 April 2026
- Event location
- Russia
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Financial Loss
- Whose AI use
- Their own AI use
- Setting
- Everyday life · Finance
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Gemini, to which the buyer uploaded listing and review photos of the controller and asked for a verdict on whether it was original, as named in the buyer's article
What Happened
The check. The buyer writes that guides to spotting fakes advised looking at the shade of the d-pad, the shine of the buttons and the stick colours. Having trouble judging colours, the buyer uploaded photos from the reviews and the product card to Gemini, asked it to analyse them, compare them with Microsoft's original photos and give a verdict, and says Gemini was completely certain the controller was original, which only strengthened their assumptions. At the pick-up point the buyer also showed the packaging to the neural network, and both concluded it matched genuine Microsoft packaging.
The counterfeit. On first connection the left stick drifted badly. A repairer could not reflash the controller because his programmer would not work with it, meaning it was not made by Microsoft. The seller refused the return within half an hour and demanded a service-centre report. A service centre charged 500 roubles for a diagnosis stating it was not an original Microsoft product; the return was then approved and the money refunded, but the 500 roubles were not reimbursed.
The buyer's own caveat. The buyer writes that there is a chance the photos really showed an original controller and that the fake was sent only to them, but says they will not trust neural networks on purchases and money for the next five years. A caption in the article says the fake could not be identified from its appearance and that even the specialist had to connect the controller to a programmer. The buyer also mentions that ChatGPT had once recommended a car battery with the wrong polarity; that earlier episode is context only.
What is not known. The date of the purchase, the seller, the price and whether Gemini's verdict was wrong about the photos it was shown.
Reported harm
The buyer says Gemini's verdict that a listed controller was original reinforced the purchase; the delivered controller was counterfeit and faulty, the return was first refused, and a 500-rouble diagnostic fee was not reimbursed (first-person; uncorroborated).
How Harm Occurred
According to the buyer, Gemini's confident verdict on listing photos that a controller was genuine reinforced the buyer's decision to buy; the delivered controller was counterfeit and faulty, and the refund required a paid report.
Outcome
ResolvedThe buyer obtained a refund for the controller after sending a service-centre report; the marketplace did not reimburse the 500-rouble diagnostic fee because the check was not done at a partner service centre (buyer's account).
What remains unknown
- The date of the purchase, which listed price was paid (the listing offered 8,000 roubles new or 6,000 roubles with a cosmetic defect on the box) and the seller.
- Whether the listing photos showed a genuine controller, and so whether Gemini's verdict was wrong about what it was shown.
- The exact wording of Gemini's answer.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The buyer says they asked Gemini to compare the listing and review photos with Microsoft's originals and give a verdict, and that Gemini was completely certain the controller was original, which strengthened the buyer's assumption before buying; the controller delivered was counterfeit and faulty, leading to a refused return and an unreimbursed 500-rouble report. The account is first-person and uncorroborated, and the buyer acknowledges the listing photos may have shown a genuine unit, so whether Gemini's verdict was wrong about what it was shown is not established.
4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The buyer says they uploaded photos from the listing and its reviews to Gemini, asked it to compare them with Microsoft's original photos and give a verdict, and that Gemini was completely certain the controller was original, which strengthened their own assumption.
Causal attribution. The buyer's own account of Gemini's answer and its effect on the decision; the exchange itself is not reproduced.
- t-j.ru(opens in new tab) supports · Russian
'поэтому я решил закинуть фото из отзывов и карточки товара в нейросеть Gemini. Попросил ее проанализировать изображения, сравнить их с оригинальными фото от Microsoft и вынести вердикт.'; 'Но Gemini была полностью уверена, что геймпад оригинальный, и это только укрепило мои предположения.'
Reported The buyer says the delivered controller was counterfeit and faulty: its left stick drifted from the first connection, and a repairer's programmer would not work with it, showing it was not made by Microsoft.
Causal attribution. The buyer's account; the service-centre report was not seen.
- t-j.ru(opens in new tab) supports · Russian
'Несмотря на все проверки, мне достался контрафактный товар, к тому же бракованный.'; 'При первом же подключении геймпада к консоли я понял, что играть на нем невозможно: левый стик жутко дрейфовал'; 'Но его программатор отказался работать с оранжевым геймпадом — значит, он сделан не Microsoft.'
Reported The buyer says the seller first refused the return and demanded a service-centre report; after paying 500 roubles for a diagnosis saying it was not an original Microsoft product, the buyer received a refund, but the 500 roubles were not reimbursed.
Causal attribution. The buyer's account of the return process.
- t-j.ru(opens in new tab) supports · Russian
'Через полчаса мне пришел отказ: продавец не согласовал возврат.'; 'Деньги за геймпад вернулись на карту почти сразу. Но 500 ₽ за диагностику Ozon мне не компенсировал'
Reported The buyer acknowledges there is a chance the photos did show an original controller and that the counterfeit was sent only to them.
Causal attribution. The buyer's own qualification of Gemini's role.
- t-j.ru(opens in new tab) supports · Russian
'Конечно, есть шанс, что на фото действительно был оригинальный геймпад, а подделку прислали исключительно мне.'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- T—Zh, 29 April 2026: I bought a collectible gamepad on Ozon on a neural network's advice and it turned out to be fake(opens in new tab)
s1 · t-j.ru · First person account · Russian · Inspected · 29 April 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. First-person article by the buyer in T—Zh, 29 April 2026 (article:published_time); read in full, HTTP 200. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Russia. Affected-person countries: Russia. Court countries: Unknown.
The buyer writes that Xbox controllers reach Russia through parallel import because Microsoft left the Russian market, bought on Ozon and returned the item at a pick-up point after travelling by metro; the purchase took place in Russia. No city is given.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-28: Published under the charter's first-person rule as a consumer case: the buyer describes asking Gemini for a verdict on listing photos, Gemini's certainty that the controller was original, and buying a counterfeit, faulty controller whose refund required a paid report. The account is the buyer's alone and includes the buyer's own caveat about the photos.
People described
A buyer in Russia who purchased a collectible game controller on an online marketplace
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
One person: the buyer who wrote the account. No other harmed person is described.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Buyer says Gemini judged a marketplace gamepad genuine from listing photos, but the delivered one was counterfeit (first-person). AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-russian-buyer-says-gemini-judged-marketplace-gamepad-genuine-from-photos-but-delivered-one-was-counterfeit-first-person
BibTeX
@misc{2026_russian_buyer_says_gemini_judged_marketplace_gamepad_genuine_from_photos_but_delivered_one_was_counterfeit_first_person,
title = {Buyer says Gemini judged a marketplace gamepad genuine from listing photos, but the delivered one was counterfeit (first-person)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-russian-buyer-says-gemini-judged-marketplace-gamepad-genuine-from-photos-but-delivered-one-was-counterfeit-first-person}
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