posted on August 16, 2001 04:37:23 AM
Local News Yesterday Here in CT.....I xed out the guys name; wasnt sure if I could post it here.....
Dealer Gives Woman $500 For Toy Worth $16,600
August 14, 2001
STONINGTON, Conn. (AP) - After receiving what she may have thought was a hefty $500 for one of her childhood toys, a 74-year-old woman now says she's planning to sue the antiques dealer who sold it for her.
The problem? The dealer auctioned it off on the Internet for $16,600.
The elderly woman, who did not want to be named, asked prominent Stonington antiques dealer xxxxx last month to sell her 24-inch-long Buddy "L" Jr. dairy truck from the 1930s on consignment.
xxxxx, owner of xxxxx, turned to the popular Internet site eBay and received 59 bids between July 3 and July 10. xxxxx, a Florida collector, submitted the winning bid 12 seconds before the auction ended, beating a rival bidder by a mere $1 and 31 seconds.
xxxxx then told the woman, who lives in Norwich and Groton, that the truck sold for only $650 on eBay and gave her a check for $500 - the sales price less his commission, The Day of New London reported Tuesday.
xxxxx says the whole case is a misunderstanding. He says he did not disclose the actual selling price because the deal was not finalized. He also says he plans to give the woman her money this week, more than a month after the bidding ended.
"When something sells, it's not actually sold until we make sure it's gone," he said. "I'm trying to protect myself in a situation like this. I've had people send things back and I've already paid the consignor."
Stonington police are investigating the matter.
"As far as what direction it's going to go, if we're going to continue to pursue it criminally, hasn't been determined yet," said Stonington Detective Cody Floyd.
On Monday, the woman hired a lawyer with the intent of suing xxxxx for fraud.
"Obviously, I plan to institute a suit on behalf of my client," Norwich attorney Milton Jacobson said.
Jacobson said the woman went to police after a friend told her that she had noticed the toy truck had sold on eBay for $16,600. She had received the toy as a gift from her parents when she was 4 years old.
Buddy "L" toys have escalated in value in recent years. Early models in good condition can be valued well into the four-figure range on the auction block. The toys were first produced in 1921 by the Moline Pressed Steel Co. in East Moline, Ill.
According to "Schroeder's Collectible Toys - Antiques to Modern - Price Guide," Fred Lundahl, who started the Moline Pressed Steel Co., first designed toys for his young son, Buddy. They were "guaranteed indestructible."
In his eBay listing, xxxxx described the woman's toy as "the best Buddy 'L' milk truck I have ever seen."
He wrote that the paint was nearly perfect, as well as the original decals and the small Firestone Supreme Buddy "L" tires. The six original milk cans were still with the truck, as well as the original chain guard on the rear.
"You will never find another in this kind of condition again," xxxxx wrote.
xxxxx admits what he did doesn't look good.
"It's definitely not anything criminal," xxxxx said. "It's a misunderstanding. ... I was not intentionally trying to harm anybody. ... I run an honest shop. I have for 10 years."
xxxxx, who still owns the truck, was contacted by Floyd last month and heard the story about xxxxx deal with the woman. He has since posted negative feedback on xxxxx eBay profile, and now he's planning to sell the toy truck.
"The thing just had bad karma," he said.
[ edited by pumpkinhead on Aug 16, 2001 04:54 AM ]
[ edited by pumpkinhead on Aug 16, 2001 04:58 AM ]
posted on August 16, 2001 04:49:53 AM
Hello pumpkinhead,
Sorry, there is no way to edit the title...and also, you missed xxxxing out the buyer's name in your post and the seller's name is towards the bottom also - can you xxx those also?
posted on August 16, 2001 05:08:46 AM
My verdict's out on this one. He sold it a month ago but as he states in the story, that doesn't mean he has the money in hand yet. Given the $$$ amount involved, this one probably went into escrow and has some time period involved.
I can easily buy his story that he's trying to protect himself in case the sale does go south.
Of course, had he EXPLAINED all this to the lady, perhaps this wouldn't be a newspaper story so there could be some merit in it.
posted on August 16, 2001 06:12:39 AM
sounds like another case of someone trying to con the elderly and uninformed. I would have asked what the auction number was so i could watch it, if he told her it was going on ebay that is......ALSO why would he turn over $500 before it cleared escrow or before he recv'd all the money????? i think it is quite clear what he was trying to do, the greedy no goodnik
posted on August 16, 2001 06:35:59 AM
Aside from the fact that this was obviously a rip-off, I would like to know the reason for the buyer posting negative feedback for the seller.
posted on August 16, 2001 09:53:55 AM
It appears from the story that the consignor had already received the money and the buyer already had the toy and was satisfied.
However, if it was a credit card deal, he shouldn't pay the lady for at least 190 days.
It is also fishy that he gave her the $500 and took $150 commission BEFORE the deal was supposedly closed, and told her the toy only brought $650.
It looks like the consignor got caught with his/her hand in the Cookie Jar, and better find some good excuses quick. I hope the police check all of his/her consigment deals. There may be other problems.
posted on August 16, 2001 08:11:23 PMxxxxx, who still owns the truck, was contacted by Floyd last month and heard the story about xxxxx deal with the woman. He has since posted negative feedback on xxxxx eBay profile, and now he's planning to sell the toy truck. "The thing just had bad karma," he said.
So the current owner wants to unload it now, because of karma???
He spends 16 Grand to get ahold of this thing, and now wants to dump it.
posted on August 16, 2001 08:41:37 PM
What's to understand?
The reporter was simply stating a fact. He used the word "mere" to emphasize how such a high price was settled on by the high bidder only pledging $1 more than the 2nd highest bidder.
posted on August 17, 2001 12:27:45 AM
Maybe the reporter can explain it better than me, but I'll give it a try
Even if the bid increment is up to $100 a pop, if the high bid is (for example) $9,000 but the current high bidder's max is $10,000, if the winning bidder came along in the last few seconds and bid $10,001, he would win by $1--even though the bid increment was $100 at that stage. This is because the enforcement of the bid increment requirement is based on the current high bid--NOT the maximum of the current high bidder.
If the winning bidder had bid $11,000, the bid would have kicked up to one FULL increment above the other bidder's max, which would be $10,000 plus the $100, making the winning bid $10,100.
