Have you been getting burned on ebay lately?

[Senator Jack]

I suppose I'm just griping here, but the last two pieces of vintage I bought on ebay didn't live up to the description at all. Sellers have become all too liberal with the phrase 'well-made'. They're getting very creative with the camera too, making pieces look far better than they actually are. And it's not just the weekend tag-salers it's the power sellers too.


I did get an email back from ebay about what constitutes vintage and they claim that because it's a subjective word they can't do anything about it. Plus, it's difficult to date pieces. But certainly the law says that you can't call an item antique unless it's 100 years old, so why not the same with vintage?

I can foresee an end to my ebay addiction. I'd rather pay slightly higher prices at the vintage stores and at least be able to see what I'm getting.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[magneto]

I don't know if it's just me being more observant, but I seem to be seeing far more items in the various vintage "era" categories (under women's clothing) that are not from the era in question; worse, are patently of recent manufacture. Or for items that did sort of fall under those era categories: I did a lot of browsing this weekend looking for a spring dress and saw dresses under the vintage categories of, say, "WW2" or "New Look" that had a buried mention in the description, "repro", or "in the style of..." That's not "vintage" then, is it? *huff*

My ebay chuckle for the day is a hat described as a "wide-brimmed cloche".
(???)

 

[shamus]

But certainly the law says that you can't call an item antique unless it's 100 years old, so why not the same with vintage?

Where did you see this law? I've never heard of it? Is it a state law in NY?

I know some states classify antique autos as over 25 years old, so are they in violation of this law?

 

[John in Covina]

Organize and set standards

I don't know much about any national groups or regional groups that specialize in vintage clothes collecting, but if there are others then an invitation to come together to try to set standards as to vintage clothing could be helpful.

Vintage in it best usage is associated with wine and there are strict guidelines as to the content of wine in a Vintage. Port actual declares the vintage as not every year has the qualities to be held in such esteem.

Looking forward perhaps we need to get a law that clothing bear a year of production date along with the size and cleaning information.

Research materials are needed to help set the date of items where posible, such as advertising.

E-bay represents its own pitfalls since we rely on th knowledge of the seller, and their honesty. In mens fedoras there is a mind set by some that all hats are 1920's or 1930's when it seems obvious the hat was made in the 60's or 70's. Why? Because some people mistakenly connotate old with higher prices, the older it is the rarer it is the more expensive it should be to own it.

As a fountain pen collector, I cannot tell you how often a person with out any knowledge of pens puts a way too high starting price on a mundane everyday vintage fountain pen. Why? I think there looking for someone that is equally uneducated to make some panicky buy.

As a group it behooves us to build files of infomation and FAQ's sections that give general and specific do's and don'ts for both selling and buying.

Sincerely,

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I've only been burned on eBay a few times. A couple of sellers who didn't complete the transaction, and a couple of mismeasurements. One recently was a mismeasured suit. It returned with no problems for a full refund. I saw it just sold again. I suspect it'll get returned again because there are condition issues.

p.s. The sellers read this board. Some of them were having a good old rant about one of our threads.

bk

 

[Senator Jack]

Asked by Shamus:
Where did you see this law? I've never heard of it? Is it a state law in NY?

I had read it in an antiquing book some years back. I remember the author saying that it was not just a guideline but a law (probably not federal) enacted to control what the auction houses list as antique. Sounds valid considering the price of antiques sold at Sothebys and Christies. If they're able to call a repro an antique, someone's going to get burned.

I thought I recently read that antique autos are over 75 years old. I could be wrong

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[nightandthecity]

I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t think it has changed Jack. I have been on Ebay for several years and I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve always found plenty of misleading descriptions and misleading photos. And I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d say the majority of sellers have always given minimal and totally inadequate descriptions (though with my seller?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s hat on I am very aware that an awful lot of people don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t seem to read descriptions, so I can see why a lot of sellers don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t bother with more than a couple of token lines)

As for power sellers, they are usually the worst. The total process of listing on ebay - if you do it thoroughly and properly - is actually extremely time consuming and the people who list enough to become power sellers can only do it by going for minimal pics and minimal descriptions - also minimal research on what they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re selling.

I think what has changed is that prices are now rising as more buyers join up. So I find myself increasingly reluctant to take a chance on stuff. I was always ready to gamble on something for ?Ǭ£5, but not ?Ǭ£50. As a buyer it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a bummer but as a seller its great - the last listings I did fetched twice what I expected. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve just done a small listing of about a dozen items and three got bids within minutes, something I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve never known before. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s definitely heating up out there.

Magneto - speaking with my sellers hat on again - I understand your irritation but a lot of swing dancers and re-enactors aren?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t actually that bothered whether something is genuine vintage or merely ?¢‚Ǩ?ìvintage style?¢‚Ǩ?. They are more than happy to find 1970s Fair Isle pullys or modern welted Oxford shoes listed under 1940s as long as it is clear what they actually are - for them it makes finding what they want a lot easier.

Under British law ?¢‚Ǩ?ìantique?¢‚Ǩ? means over 100 years old?¢‚Ǩ¬¶I have an idea US law says the same. But there is no law concerning ?¢‚Ǩ?ìvintage?¢‚Ǩ?ì and there seems to be no commonly agreed definition either. Ebay UK has a ?¢‚Ǩ?ìvintage?¢‚Ǩ? category of ?¢‚Ǩ?ì1990s?¢‚Ǩ??¢‚Ǩ¬¶.

 

[nightandthecity]

I might have added that i have been burned on ebay many times, especially in the early days. Nowadays I don't buy anything until I have cruelly pestered the seller with every possible question and got proper answers.

A lot of people get carried away and bid on things without properly checking them out. Always remember that there WILL be another. Everything turns up on ebay in the end.

 

[green papaya]

yes, it does seem to be very common these days

I cancelled my Paypal account

my last Ebay purchase was not as described, but I just kept the item and didnt leave any feedback

the coat actually had cat scratches [damage] on it but the seller described it as being "mint" brand new condition

I dont even shop on ebay anymore