Antique-shop.com
Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: hosman321 on September 02, 2010, 09:12:56 PM
-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160466072119&ssPageName=ADME:B:BCA:US:1123
I'm currently bidding on this table. Been wanting (and needing) a space saving table. But there are no pictures of the underneath, which makes me nervous. Can anybody tell the age from the pictures? If all else fails, I'll just bid on it like it's a new table and will only bid what I would pay for a newer table. But I'd be pretty PO'd if I drive a few hours for a newer/not so old table. Any advice?
-
Hosman, that link takes me to a yahoo mail error.
-
lol whooops! I fixed it.
-
Have you tried requesting a photo of the table's bottom from the seller?
I would print out the items description so you have some type of documentation that it's being sold as a antique.
I do like how he words his write ups with "I understand what I sell and I only sell genuine antique items and guarantee them as described" and "A good antique early Georgian oak drop leaf gateleg table circa 1740".
That IMO would leave little doubt in Paypal's eyes, if there was a issue, that it could be interpreted for anything other than what he says it is and although his feedback is far from perfect it seems as most of the negative issues were not regarding a misrepresented item.
I guess the burden of proving it is or is not a antique would be a real pain if there was a issue though and especially if the seller doesn't believe in 100% customer satisfaction.
Photos that would make you comfortable with the transaction would be a plus and if he/she doesn't respond to this I would not bid.JMO & GL
-
Yeah, I read his feedback before I bid and the complants seem to do more with shipping issues. And it wouldn't be shipped. I emailed and asked for pics of the underneath. If he doesn't send any I'll stop my bidding now. Because that'd be a good deal for a new or vintage gateleg. I'll let ya'll know what happens.
-
Response:
Sure I will take some images of the underside, however I might remove the table from sale, the bidding is pathetic I should never started the table at $0.99, this table would be $4,000-$5,000+ in a good antique store! Please feel free to call me with any questions on 503-380-6452. Best regards, Frank
Then I responded:
Dear francisc3634,
I think the lack of underneath pictures are why the bids are so low. For something so old, people (myself included) want to see the construction. Otherwise, people can't tell if it's 18th or 19th century. I hope you'll add the pics to the auction, I think you'll get much better bids. Thanks again!
-
Well now, it might be Georgian ....... but I don't think it is made of oak.
-
It looks Georgian in style….are there drawers? I really like this article and the part 'Buying Antique Drop Leaf Table" mid way down….it might help you with your decision to keep bidding.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Buy-A-Drop-Leaf-Dining-Table (http://hubpages.com/hub/Buy-A-Drop-Leaf-Dining-Table)
i would really be hesitant if the seller won't post pics of the underside/construction. With that many sales…they would know that the underside/construction is needed for serious buyers!
-
For someone who claims that the table is circa 1740, they haven't gone out of their way to prove it, so far. I think they should. I also wonder how they might be able to take it out of auction unless they reserved the right to do so when the auction began. Just like a bid binds you as a contract, I believe that putting something up for auction does the same. I also think that unless they have a reserve price that is not met, an eBay seller HAS to follow through with selling the item. It's certainly not the fault of those bidding if the seller is not getting the $4,000 or $5,000 they had been hoping for. I have no idea if it's worth that much but it would be nice if you won, could turn around and sell it for a bunch of dough and get yourself exactly what you want, plus make a substantial profit. It's all part of the game.
-
I agree! But I read the rules and he has up until 12 hours before the auction ends to remove the item without penalty. That's crazy to me and very frustrating. Why in the world did he start it at $.99? He sent me another email and was fairly rude, saying he spends more than the bid on the wine he drinks every night. So, I quit bidding. He keeps telling me he'll email pics of the underneath but hasn't. I bought a different antique table today that I like but it's not exactly what I wanted. Ebay is so frustrating, I think a bid should be a binding contract for both ends. In an auction house, these things would not happen.
-
Craziness. What's the point of an auction if the seller can just retract within 12 hours of the item being sold? Someone can just get nervous that their auction isn't going so well for them, grab his/her crap and run the other way without looking back? Nothing like the virtual world of eBay! (That's not to say that I haven't spent many a day and dollar in that world!)
-
Hosman, are you saying eBay allows any seller to pull their item if it is 12 hours before the auction's end? I was not aware of this. I will have to go through the rules again and read them closely. However, most bids come in at the last second even though the item just sits there for 6+ days. People love to snipe or not show their hand. A seller would be crazy to pull an item. Of course, a seller would also have to be crazy to start a $4000+ (?) table at 99c too with no reserve. What is he thinking? A reserve would protect him but also deter bidders.
-
Well put Mr. Wayward. . .
-
It's very frustrating wayward but here's the rules. GRRRR!
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/end_early.html
If there are 12 hours or more, he can cancel the bids. If there are less than 12 hours, he must sell it to the highest bidder.
-
Hell hath no fury like a consignee who is not getting the "bids" he was figuring on getting.
-
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/end_early.html
If there are 12 hours or more, he can cancel the bids. If there are less than 12 hours, he must sell it to the highest bidder.
This or if he decides to see the bidding through and is still not happy with the auction results he can simply claim it's been lost or stolen.Just another good ol loophole that benefits the wrong doers and snakes in the money hungry US of A.
I would love to see a rule that benefits decency and honesty for a change but am not counting on it, not in this world at least.
-
Being a Hobby seller on E-bay, I would have to agree with the group here. I have a couple of times wanted, but feel if it is posted then you are committed to follow through. I had one recently, I messed up on the shipping cost, and lost money, someone caught it and bidded, I just sold it anyway and lost a couple of bucks. As for the Lost or Broken thing, I can see if you did mess up you should be able to pull your bid, maybe Ebay needs a counter letting the buyer know how many times they have pulled a bid early. Also the same can be said the other way, I just had a buyer pull their bid yesterday. An little dishearting, cause as soon as it sells I pack it, now I have a item that is packed and no sell. I can understand the need sometimes to pull your bid also, but once you hit that buy button, the buyer should be just as committed. No reason was left, and really not that big of a deal as I make it sound. I guess it is a needed rule, that can create a loop hole for less then perfect sellers and buyer, at least these thing are exceptions, and just make a bit of a nuience.
-
Looks like he let it stay on, it only has a few hours left. The bids have jumped quite a bit to the $400's, I wonder what he'll do if it ends at like...$490. I think sellers should be fined a certain amount of money if they remove an item after it already has bids. They won't do it again. I understand that sometimes things get broken or lost. But whose fault is it if they break or lose an item? I don't sit and bid on ebay just for the fun of it. I'm there to make purchases. And I may pass up a good deal on another item to bid on another person's. If that item gets pulled, I'll be pissed. I don't know, just frustrating dealing with online purchases of any kind!
-
Nice eBay link hosman. I do not like it but there it is. I can see ending an auction if the glass vase that was listed got knocked off the shelf by your dog's tail and is not a vase anymore but just because the bids are not there is no reason. It is after all, an auction.
I have listed items and then had buyers (?) contact me to end it early but that never happened with me. If I list it, it is going to ride to the end. If someone wants it, they can bid as easy as anyone else.
-
Yea but did you noticed that the bidder that jumped the price up was one person, new with 0 feedbacks, and kept pushing the price up until it got to 400.00. Mmmmmm Suspicious of a seller bid up it looks like to me.
-
It's pretty obvious he jumped the bid himself ironlord, good catch. Glad I quit my bidding, wouldn't want to deal with him anyways.
-
Now, did I sleep for years or is it a rule you can't pop the bids up like that?
What happened?
-
Seems to me like he could get in big trouble for making a fake account just to prevent the item from getting low bids. Hmmm
I guess there's a TINY chance that somebody saw the table on ebay and wanted it, so they created a new account. But I doubt it.
-
It is indeed against policy to bump bids. This is called padding the auction or shill bidding. Here is the page regarding it, straight from eBay.
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html
According to that, if you suspect a seller to be padding the auction, they recommend reporting them.
-
Ya, a couple of years back I was busted for doing just that. A friend of mine contacted me through E-bay email and ask me to bid up a camera he was selling. Duh, wonder how ebay figured that one out :D We both was kicked off Ebay for 3 months. Since then he has shared with me a few other ways he cheats the system. I have not ever done that as a seller and never will. But having a friend without a ebay account start one is a good way. as long as the address and money is linked to another person, it will easily go by without notice, and very hard to prove.
-
I am thinking the current high bidder is the owner. Check that bidder's history. He has bid 9 times in the last 30 days and 77% (or 8) were with this seller. The newbie with 0 feedback bid 17 times on this table. I do not think he is bidding the high bidder up because he could have done it with one bid and not 17. I could be totally wrong but the high bidders history is more suspicious than the newbie's.
-
Ebay should be able to check if the IP address is the same as the seller's IP address. Definitely looks suspicious to me.
-
The high bidder was consume_mass_quanti ties. This buyer has "bought" 15 times from francisc3634 going back to 2009.
-
I'm interested in how this one turns out. I'm not exactly sure what's going on but it does seem quite odd. For what reason(s) might the same person bid multiple times in a row when no one else is competing with them? The only real reasons I can think of are:
- to meet a reserve.
- for fear that the last maximum bid I put in wasn't high enough to hold out and win.
- to "pad the auction."
Can anybody else think of any other reasons? Was there even a reserve on this table to begin with? Would one bidder fear um-teen times that the bid wasn't high enough? Seems like option #3 is probably the case. Maybe I'm missing something. I've spent a lot of time on eBay and hadn't ever even thought about people doing the latter. Crazy world we live in and it's going down the tube.
-
A 4th reason: an idiot is bidding and only bids the next increment repeatedly until it gets past his limit and he drops out. There was no reserve on this auction. Letting a "$4000-$5000" table go for $430 makes one wonder what is really going on.
-
There is another option for a new bidder. Often, new bidders don't understand the proxy bid system - I've talked to a few people who think they have to babysit the auction, or think that they have to bid by the minimum bid increment.