posted on January 9, 2001 11:29:02 AM
One of the things I deal in are Civil War bottles. Now I'm seeing a glut of late-Victorian bottles being sold on eBay for Civil War and going for $30-$30-$40!! (These are bottles you can order in bulk from England at $3.00 each or less, including the cost of air fare!).
I refuse to list these because they were not made until long after the Civil War, but apparently many Civil War collectors don't know this, especially novices, and are being taken to the cleaners by unscrupulous eBay dealers.
I could post these things all day and make a killing but I won't because it would be dishonest.
posted on January 9, 2001 11:34:54 AM
Good for you!You will no doubt sleep better at night than they do!
Why don't you list one of these bottles and put the true description in.This may not make you alot of money but it will help to educate some novice collectors on the subject.
--------------------------------- If I had money I'd be rich!
--------------------------------- My Bit
posted on January 9, 2001 11:57:14 AM
I do, but because I list them as Victorian, the Civil War folks don't buy it. I've even tried Post-Civil War. Honesty ain't profitable and the crooks are cleanin up.
posted on January 9, 2001 01:05:52 PMrebelguns, this sort of marketing BS goes on in every category. I stumbled on a dozen or more "19th Century Victorian" quilts by one seller that were in loud '50s-60's plaids and prints. They were absolutely hideous besides - poor worksmanship, truly nasty colors. All got snapped up by the same handful of low FB bidders (FB party? Shill ring?) There was a remarkable quilt auction awhile back that featured an ostensibly mid-19th-century piece that several of us dealers agreed was probably a repro and if not, its workmanship certainly wasn't worth the $15,000+ that was the high bid (didn't reach the reserve, BTW). Looked like some shilling going on there too, but I digress. I see stuff in my category not just grossly but brazenly, ludicrously misrepresented every day. (Since when is poly doubleknit "antique"?) Sells anyway.
My point is that, just as there is a market for, say, ugly furniture (just think, somebody actually gets paid to design Herculon-plaid sofas!), somebody will always get hoodwinked into buying less than the real thing, and a good chunk of that "somebody" population honestly won't care. They can't tell the difference, and if you pointed it out to them they'd give you a blank stare. Conversely, there is always a market for the good stuff too. It can be galling knowing that people are falling all over themselves to buy junk or be flim-flammed, but that's why Mr. Barnum made such a killing, after all
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Jan 9, 2001 01:07 PM ]
posted on January 9, 2001 02:15:19 PM
The best thing to do here is to put just a little effort into educating your market by linking to informational web pages (use a small font font size=-1 ) It wouldn't hurt to write a short one yourself and stick it in your hosting space. All my auctions contain a small link to poscard collecting informational sites, and many buyers thank me for it.
posted on January 9, 2001 04:45:01 PM
Thanks for the insightful input. You have given me some ideas, including developing a web page on what is and what isn't a Civil War bottle, the link to which I could include in my postings.
