We're not THAT stupid ... Are we?

[Sam Craig]

Just a rant, I suppose, but I just got off Ebay ... and I don't really blame them, understand ... but I cannot believe how many people on there completely misrepresent all sorts of stuff about "vintage" and "antique" hats.

OK, this will seem strange, but the one that really rankles me is the description of "beaver" top hats.

Only 1 in 100 shown are really beaver.
They are almost all old, worn out, balding silks, which is easy to understand when you consider just how many formal and semi-formal silks were sold from the mid-1880s to the Great Depression.

"Lots" is the correct answer.

And even with that STUPID song, "Frosty the Snowman" who must have gotten some magic from that old silk hat they found ... there are still plenty of old silk hats in varying ranges of dissolution floating around out there.

But they are NOT beaver!

For crying out loud.

There, I said it.
Thanks for listening ... or not!

Sam

 

[scottyrocks]

Yes, it is amazing how many people have no idea what they have, especially when they just happen to pick it up somewhere and have no real interest in it.

 

[tonyb]

But, as has been observed many times before, that ignorance can be flipped to the savvy buyer's advantage. I'll always remember the lightweight Borsalino rollup I bought, complete with little wedge-shaped box, for the $10 minimum bid. The seller had it listed as a woman's French-made wool hat. Wrong on all accounts. (Well, it was a hat. One out of four, give him that.)

On the other hand, there was the guy whose measurement of a block's circumference was off by a full inch. He didn't understand why a person would think that was such a big deal. I don't think the fellow was dishonest, just terribly uninformed as to the goods he was selling. He eventually made things right, but I would have rather been spared the hassle.

What's frustrating (to put it mildly) is when the seller is politely informed, privately, that he or she is making materially inaccurate assertions, and then ignores that information or argues about it.

 

[John in Covina]

Sam, I read your post and about 4 different things went through my head in the course of a few seconds.

People simply don't know much about the past and most aren't willing to educate themselves about what they have. Also the truth gets lost over time if it's not written down by those who know. Details get lost, explanations get skewed, stories get embellished over time but all the while people are insistent that they know what they have. "This Bulova Accutron was worn by Mark Twain when he escaped the Titanic sinking."

One thing I thought about is when we watch the Antiques Roadshow 9 times out of 10 we see a triumph where someone thinks something maybe important or valuable and the appraiser takes them through an explanation and reveals it is pretty cool or really wonderful. Now and again we get the unfortunate person that bought a fake or it is not what they thought it was. What I'd like to see is when some one comes in all haughty about an item and the appraiser reveals that what they thought was a real Flugenhiemer worth a zillion dollars is a crummy five and dime knick-knack that isn't worth a buck.
Maybe it that people simply don't know but will assume they know because: "Hey I am living in 2011 and we are the most enlightened people ever to walk the earth, man!"

Others may have read something but their knowledge is incomplete. Like antique stores and fountain pens, the guy has a book with prices published in 1989 when the prices were at there highest as reference. He has a price that's for one in perfect condition at the old inflated price and the one he has is a lower quality model in really poor condition. Try and tell that guy anything, you can't because he considers himself an expert and he has a book!
The assumption then becomes you are trying to cheat him.

Ebay is fraught with bad descriptions, fuzzy pictures and wrong information. I once came across a guy that had an East German "Come-Along" (which is a chain with little handles almost like a garrott for the wrist that the police used like a hand cuff) listed as some sort of tie bar with chain!

Yikes!

However sometimes as listed above, you can capitalize on their lack of understanding and poor listing info which camoflages the true gem putting it with the dross as written above.

It is an imperfect world populated but even more imperfect people -listing stuff on Ebay.

 

[4spurs]

What's frustrating (to put it mildly) is when the seller is politely informed, privately, that he or she is making materially inaccurate assertions, and then ignores that information or argues about it.

Yep, and what is also frustrating is eBay not taking any action after you report the seller.

I think in its efforts to drive up profits ebay cut staff who would handle complaints about misrepresentations; I've noticed many more headline misrepresentations in the past few years, and no action taken when I've reported the misrepresentation [after contacting seller and asking them to make a change]. One more reason why I have lost confidence in eBay.

 

[John in Covina]

On the other hand, there was the guy whose measurement of a block's circumference was off by a full inch. He didn't understand why a person would think that was such a big deal. I don't think the fellow was dishonest, just terribly uninformed as to the goods he was selling. He eventually made things right, but I would have rather been spared the hassle.

What's frustrating (to put it mildly) is when the seller is politely informed, privately, that he or she is making materially inaccurate assertions, and then ignores that information or argues about it.

It is not a totally new thing but many see a growing pattern where ignorance in action expects to be is rewarded with having no consequence afterwards. It is a cousin to "good intentions pave the way to hell."

 

[Sam Craig]

Several years ago when I was still doing Indian Wars living history with a group of really serious historians ... many of whom worked with the National Park Service ... someone actually took the time to mash up a joke ad for a "historic" antique gun, beginning with the description of a great example of a .50/70 Springfield Officer's Rifle.

Then they began to list the faults and by the time it was done, you could tell that what you would "buy" would be a broken stick of wood and a rusted hunk of iron ... but it was a genuine Officer's Rifle!

We've all seen the person who has a piece of junk they are fully convinced is worth a fortune if only the right person comes along. I know entire antique shops filled with the stuff.

That's why I note: This particular issue is not really Ebay's fault. Nor even the fault of the Internet. You can experience the same thing by walking in most small town junk stores ... oops, excuse me, "Antique Shoppes"

Sam

 

[DudeInBlack]

These sellers are just ignorant and don't possess the same passion as we do. I can't really fault them for that, as this is a pretty niche subject.

 

[John in Covina]

We've all seen the person who has a piece of junk they are fully convinced is worth a fortune if only the right person comes along. I know entire antique shops filled with the stuff.

When I used to go to the local gun shows there were some remarkable examples of that on display. There were items that i had seen dragged to and from gun shows by the same vendor with a price on it that was nuts! I always said that they were waiting for some one that was drunk or crazy to come in and buy the item.

 

[dhermann1]

I just messaged a vendor on Ebay about an antique TV he was listing, describing it as a 1944 Zenith. I was able to find the actual model, dating from 1953, and sent the guy a polite message. He sent an equally polite reply thanking me for enlightening him. So I think there are lots of people out there perfectly willing to be told the truth about these things. Just maybe not everybody.

 

[John in Covina]

Ebay has all sorts of wonderful people posting. Even honest people make mistakes. The important part has more to do with being able to take the correction without it being an end of the world event.

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

I pointed out an error to a lady on Etsy and she was grateful for the information. She fixed the description.

 

[Espee]

At the humor site "Regretsy" there is a continuing campaign, "This Is Not Steampunk"