posted on August 15, 2001 08:48:33 AM
I mostly sell on eBay and when I buy I do word searches to find items. Today I took some time to look through some categories. No wonder sales and prices are down. Buyers probably get tired of looking at Titles that are nothing like the actual item.
Not every piece of junk is a collectible. Everything that is a little smaller than normal is not a Salesman'e Sample. It is not a one of a kind because you have not seen one. An item is not Rare when you can do a search and find 25 more for sale on eBay.
Mint Condition should not be used when the item is missing a piece or cracked or broken. I feel better now!!!
posted on August 15, 2001 09:08:47 AM
Last night as I was looking at pottery and glass I found "mint" items with chips and cracks so I did a search. There were over 19000 listings in that category with the exact phrase "mint condition".
I just did another search and now there are more than 20000 listed as "mint condition".
Some sellers say that the item is in mint condition except for the crazing or a chip on the bottom or a crack across the piece. Why do they do this? It is like an old person saying that if it wasn't for the wrinkles they would look young again.
posted on August 15, 2001 10:01:54 AM
The problem of anyone thinking they can sell on eBay without a clue of what they are trying to sell seems to be getting worse.
I have pretty much stopped buying glass or pottery because I reached my limit of titles that say Art Deco, or the worst of all, Arts and Crafts to find a 1970's orange piece of something or other glaring back at me from the auction page. (Assuming of course it is a decent image, and not IPIX). And too there is "really old" that tells me the age of the seller. The 20 something's think a piece from the 1950's is "really old".
Then there are the sellers who attribute the junk to any high end maker they happen to have heard of somewhere. I am not really sure if this stuff is misrepresented on purpose, or if it is just more amateurs without the knowledge or experience to properly identify a piece. I can usually tell the difference but what troubles me is that there are buyers, (especially new buyers) who buy this stuff and believe they are getting a piece made by X, when it was really made by Y, or a piece of junk and not worth as much as they paid in either case.
My favorite for condition are the classics, "If it wasn't for the handle that was broken and re-glued, the bottom that is chipped, and the hairline crack that runs through the center, this piece would be in mint condition". Or, "A 2 " piece is missing from the foot, the rim is chipped, and the paint is worn, but otherwise in mint condition".
Here are a few other of my favorites: "The piece is marked but I can't read it", (and no image). "Marked XXXX", (and no image).
"The color really isn't blue as in the picture, it is bright red", (HUH??) "The bottom is marked plufgrup or something like that, I will leave it to the pottery experts, ( and no image)." "I know nothing about pottery, but it looks really old." ( They think they have a find and the opening bid is 1000 times higher than it should be for a Dollar Store vase).
I think the serious buyers and collectors have a list of sellers they know and check their auctions instead of trying to surf the listings.
posted on August 15, 2001 10:36:11 AM
I hit the back button a lot yesterday after reading things like:
"See picture for condition." And, of course, the picture was of only one side and it was a small, fuzzy IPIX photo.
Copyright date of book was given in Roman Numerals with the sentence "You figure it out." Okay, I could, but why not take a minute and do the math for your buyers? Especially since there was NO picture.
"This is a nice book." Does that mean you enjoyed reading it, or that the condition is good? Thanks, at least, for the clear photo which showed the spine was cracked and the cover torn. Nice.
Then, there was "the Patriot." No description of the item, but paragraph after paragraph about how great their country is, with cute little .gifs for their flag and mascot. NO PHOTO of the item, but a huge picture of a landmark of their homeland. Okay, so are you selling the item or signing people up for guided tours?
NO photo, NO mention of whether the book was hardcover or paperback, NO copyright date given (in any numeric system), NO statement of condition, all of which means I don't know what you are selling and if you don't care, neither do I. Hit back button.
posted on August 15, 2001 11:39:11 AM
"If it wasn't for the handle that was broken and re-glued, the bottom that is chipped, and the hairline crack that runs through the center, this piece would be in mint condition".
And this would have come up on Kiara's search for "mint condition". So when you search for something you may also get those that are "not"
I think I have a point here but I'm not sure what it is....
posted on August 15, 2001 11:57:27 AM
AMEN! My complaint exactly... There are too many novices, or uninformed sellers, or crooks, or whatever out there cluttering up the categories with junk. Not to mention the big power sellers who dump using terms like "Victorian" to describe everything... In the collectibles category - how many "Titanic" items made in 1930 do I need to see, or "Civil War" items from 1910...
I know not everyone can be right all the time, but it makes the searching procedure laborious and aggravating. After 4 hours of looking you end up with a handful of items that you dare not bid on, in case another buyer who follows your actions checks to see what you have found and ends up sniping you... It might help if ebay instigated professionals to help categorize items at least by date although I doubt its a practical solution, but the fun of just looking is lost on me these days...
Ebay is a lot like the Roman empire... it will just get too big to support itself and implode - mark my words!
posted on August 15, 2001 02:55:05 PM
I buy and sell in the glass and pottery category. I guess my point is that very few pieces of glass or pottery are in "mint condition", even ones direct from the factory.
The term "mint condition" is so widely used on ebay that it doesn't mean anything at all.
For years people were whining how unscrupulous antique dealers were. Now that everyone is a dealer is it any better?
posted on August 16, 2001 08:23:53 AM
I just found another that I thought was worth adding.- Handle has been repaired, that gives it that personel touch.
posted on August 16, 2001 12:03:23 PM
ebay is not one big auction. ebay is a COLLECTION OF AUCTIONS.
Each seller and each auction have to be validated on their own merits, without the whims of other sellers taking hold. But if there is a flood of an item on the "market" that will obviously have an effect.
We just need to each be as honorable as we can in our own auctions and let the riff raff fall by the wayside.
