Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
You need to become very good if not expert at three things:
Photography – Proper lighting, good color balance, IN FOCUS, relevant photos highlighting pros and cons of the item. Good photos sell product more so than any other factor IMHO. One aside, Steven Schultz does an outstanding job with his embedded videos, check them out. Videos add a layer of buyer confidence especially with electronics.
Titles – Forget wordy, blowhard descriptions. Well written keyword rich titles are a close second to good photos. This is purely anecdotal from a random guy on the interwebs (me) but I’m convinced 70% to 80% of buyers base their buying decision on the title and photos, ain’t nobody got time to read descriptions.
Shipping – The most daunting of all. Buy a decent quality digital scale, understand how to properly cushion and pack items and most importantly understand how to calculate shipping to the various zones around the country which is based on dimensions and weight.
“Improved Order of Redmen” They have an interesting history that dates back to the late 1700’s. Almost all fraternal organizations kept detailed records and a quick search for HA Fourcy shows he was from Massachusetts and active early 1900’s. “Great Sachem” Henry A Fourcy.
These organizations are always good for a bit of unintentional comedy and this one doesn’t disappoint. Google them and check out some of the old group photos. LOL
… you look around and realize you’ve bought most of the things you own at estate sales, garage sales and auctions.
Walk up to your nemesis, give them the 1000 yard stare and say THIS as menacingly as you can.
As many found out too late, Walt don’t play.
Has a Shel Silverstein or Tom Wilson (Ziggy) type feel to it. I believe you’re right about it being 1970’s ish, this stick figure type of illustration was popular back then. Great color.
Yes, likely early 20th/late 19th century chinese export vase with hunt scene. Common ware for the European market with a popular theme for the time. Hard to be sure of course without in person examination. I don’t think yours elevates to the artistry of the referenced sold item, however this type of ware is doing well in the market right now. Examine it carefully for brush strokes indicating hand painting (it most likely is hand painted) and any damage.
If you have an antique store near you have them take a look to confirm or refute, nice item!
Is it beryllium copper? Read this article to get more info (it includes a magazine ad for Warren Rods):
http://fishinghistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/deconstructing-old-ads-different-sort.htmlLikely 1950’s era. I doubt this has any military connection, maybe someone found one amongst some military gear and assumed.
Just an aside, but Germany is known to have one of the best Parcel/Postal delivery systems in the world. The GSP is a very good program for reasons J&R have stated here many times, but I purposely exclude Canada, Germany, UK and Japan from the GSP and ship direct. Awesome buyers with deep pockets. The key is to properly package with a sturdy plain brown box, common sense padding depending on item, correct formatting of address on label (include a packing slip!) and no falsifying info on the customs form. It’s easier than it sounds. The idea is to make your package as nondescript as possible so it will fly through customs.
OP, you may have already recognized the metal hang tag but if not it is an old radio which is the logo for “Thomas Pacconi” ornaments. Some ornament dealers use these tags to ID their wares; Radko uses a compass rose, Dept. 56 uses a clock face, etc.
Steven, I picked up THIS freebie at the dump the other day and it was all about the timing. I was tossing my trash into the compactor just as an old boy pulled up to offload some electronics. It was all he could do to pick this beast up and set it down on an old TV. Kenwood KR-9400, non-working but complete, heavy as @%$!
Appears to be a Betel Nut Box or Betel Nut Chew box. Almost certainly made for the tourist trade, a popular souvenir or gift from someone’s travels. Not antique.
ThriftShift, I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a minute. I had a similar situation that I wrote about above. In my case I claimed “pricing error” and I believe J&R mentioned this as well in their case. But here’s the rub in both cases…. there was no pricing error. In my case, my partner and I are professionals, we do this for a substantial part of our living. Therefore when we research an item, price it and put it up for sale to the general public it becomes “fair” game. There were no typos or misclicks. The price is exactly what we intended to ask for the item at the time.
Ryanne mentioned a week or two back that she could find no comparables and went with her gut on price. I would also consider J&R professionals with extensive experience in vintage clothing and therefore it would be hard to truthfully argue “pricing error”.
The buyer of my item was threatening legal action based on “grievous financial harm” or some such mumbo jumbo. I briefly consulted with a lawyer friend and he laughed about the eBay guideline/policy agreement. He felt certain eBay would quickly wash their hands of any involvement and leave it up to the two parties involved to settle things. He advised me to tread carefully because in his opinion I was clearly in the wrong. Anyway, things worked themselves out and realistically nobody is going to invest time and money into a relatively smallish matter like this.
These situations are on shaky ground when it comes to ethics and I think we all know what the right thing to do is. But I’m no saint as I stated above. I just learned a valuable lesson and vowed to do everything I could to never be in that position again.
Jay, as a related side note, when you guys begin buying and selling more expensive things, especially if you wade into the murky waters of antiques and collectibles you will bump up against these ethical dilemmas. It is amazing how trusting some people can be and the opportunities to take advantage of them just because you can will come up. I know you guys won’t because I think you’re good people, but the temptations are strong.
