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The reason I ask is that age is hard to tell from pictures. Is it just a product of one of hundreds of obscure art potters working post-WWII in the US and England? Why would an art potter make something with a bunghole?
As you know some really old things can still come out of New England attics and basements. The base looks like it’s made of red earthenware, the decoration looks like sgraffito, the letters are in an old style, and it has a bunghole. With all that, it could be a water cooler from the 1700s – 1800s even if it doesn’t look exactly like known examples. If it were mine I’d send pictures to Sotheby’s , Christie’s, etc. and try and find an early American pottery expert to see what they think.
That’s a bunghole into which is inserted a bung, stopper, cork, or spout. Indicating it was intended for potable liquids, perhaps for use in brewing or winemaking.
Did where you found it give any indication of its possible age or what country it may have come from?
Thanks! Just clueless buyers in my case I guess. I’ll push harder to get it from them next time.
Good info Jay and Retro. So far I’ve been using Sharyn’s method of requiring payment but allowing an inspection. My listing says payment is required before arranging pickup and that I am happy to cancel the sale and provide a full refund if the buyer or their representative is dissatisfied upon inspection at the time of pickup and prior to preparing the item for removal. Otherwise, sale is final. I also say that I require pickup within 30 days of the original sale, having had problems with buyers assuming they could leave something with me for a long while. I would not allow that long but between my schedule, the buyer’s schedule, and Uship scheduling it can sometimes take several weeks.
Speaking of local pickup, has anyone used the eBay Proof of Delivery feature or know whether it has been rolled out? I recall hearing about it in April but nothing since then and recent local pickup buyers said they didn’t get any codes.
I take it case by case as far as responding to buyers but basically it’s the same as you’re doing. File the search and appeal to reason, asking them to wait for as long as I think I can get away with asking for depending on the item and situation. The missing mail process has worked well for me as it seems to knock things loose and get them on their way. I have not had any domestic first class packages completely lost but a 6×9 padded mailer is the smallest flat I use, or 6×6 boxes either 2 or 4 inches thick. No losses with my postcard or DVD envelopes with stamps either.
I did have a recent Priority package get stuck at a distribution center for over a week before I noticed it (nothing from the buyer on that one). I submitted a search on a Sunday that got it delivered that Tuesday. USPS also called me to let me know it was delivered.
I’ve found USPS service issues to be local and they predate the pandemic. From 2017 – 2020 in Southeast DC with very few exceptions the quality of service from carriers, local management, and counter staff was universally abysmal. Now in Jacksonville since June it’s been quite the opposite across the board, but when I was here 2014 – 2017 in a different zip code it was hit or miss. I’ve had problems with FedEx – they’ve got their own issues. And they don’t always pick up at residences or drop boxes outside of downtown.
08/26/2020 at 5:17 pm in reply to: Shipsaver not insuring packages shipped via eBay International Shipping #81026I have not done that – I now recall seeing it on SL and had forgot about it. I need to do it. I just sent a 2 lb box to Israel that would have been $5 less to ship! Thanks for the reminder!
08/26/2020 at 1:54 pm in reply to: Shipsaver not insuring packages shipped via eBay International Shipping #81022Thanks for update on ShipSaver’s reply. I have occasionally checked Pirate Ship’s prices when I was ready to ship but I found that they were exactly the same as eBay’s, so I just used eBay’s label. I should probably continue to spot check, though. Perhaps the destination country makes a difference.
08/26/2020 at 11:37 am in reply to: Shipsaver not insuring packages shipped via eBay International Shipping #81018Hmmm that’s not good. There was just a thread here recently about a seller having to pay more for that shipping method than was charged the buyer. It may be the wave of the future but this is another reason I’m happy to stick with First Class Mail International for the time being. I did have issues with two FCMI different shipments with issues in March-April (to Poland and Italy that resolved themselves) but everything has been fine since then.
Please do let us know what Shipsaver says. Knock on wood your package should be fine; I’ve always found it to be a low drama shipping destination.
8/16/20-8/22/20
Total Items Listed (3 different IDs): 251
Items Sold: 6
Gross Sales (not incl shipping): $63
Highest Price Sold: $20 – Navy challenge coin on consignment
Returns: 0
New Items Listed: 4
$ Spent on New Inventory: $8 (eBay snipe)Although I’m not full time, I’m going to try to be better about posting my numbers so as to embarrass myself into putting some more work into eBay as moving-in taskers, kids-at-home distractions, box unpacking, etc. slow down now into the fall. (Also, I cherry pick items from back over a longer period of time for my infrequent posts in What Sold! so those posts are not at all indicative of my average week.) Last week was slower than usual and all low-dollar sales. It shows what happens when you’ve got mid-200s in listed items and don’t do anything, unlike some other forum participants who inspire us with what can be done with a smaller inventory and hard work.
08/25/2020 at 11:33 am in reply to: Didn’t See Buyer’s Change of Address Email and Shipped to Old #80993If she still has a forwarding order in effect then the package should be forwarded to her. (I think package forwarding is shorter than first class letter forwarding, though.) I would reply to the email apologetically, ask her about that and if that’s the case, let her know you’ll keep an eye on the tracking.
If she doesn’t have a forwarding order in effect and/or you want to be more proactive, the USPS has a redirect service here that costs $14.65:
08/22/2020 at 10:19 am in reply to: Model cars, Mouse Trap game piece, DJ Mixer, Empty boxes, Starbucks mug #80916Frankenstein on quadrophonic stereo! That brings back memories.
This Harvard Class of 1952 Anniversary Report of 1977 with bios and photos was a family estate item. It sold for $23 plus shipping.
This is a Czech army rifle magazine pouch from the 1970’s. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have to use and carry leather gear like this as a soldier. Thank goodness the US Army had gone to nylon by the time I joined in 1979, though I recall that some National Guard units still had the old canvas equipment from the 1950s at that time. This sold for $24 plus shipping.
This Nikon Nikkor Ai 43-86 Zoom Lens took a couple year to sell for $30 plus shipping. I have found that photographic equipment buyers to be a bit high maintenance but this sale went off without a hitch.
This Sears Shotgun cleaning kit sold for $20 plus shipping. For you youngsters, Sears was the Amazon of my generation and those previous. You could buy just about anything there and they dominated retail. Prior to 1940 you could even buy a kit to build an entire house.
This is a reproduction cast iron fireplace fire starter with pumice stone wand. It was filled with kerosene which soaked the pumice stone, which you then lit and placed under the wood to start the fire. Not exactly child-proof, this was a common fireplace accessory in the 1960s – 1970s with colonial decor. It went to Southern California (???) for $40 free shipping, which wasn’t too bad by FedEx Home.
08/18/2020 at 2:04 pm in reply to: Help Identifying a logo on double deck of vintage playing cards? #80797That’s great! Now why didn’t it come up in my Google Image search? It’s not that obscure.
08/17/2020 at 8:26 pm in reply to: Anyone else having their international packages undercharged by Ebay? #80769I did have a similar problem a couple years ago with eBay only charging domestic buyers who bought multiple items a single flat rate envelope or small box price (that was a shipping option in one of the listings) when all the items would not fit. I fixed it by shutting off automatic combined shipping. Now a buyer pays individual shipping for each item and I manually refund the excess, which is explained in my listings. I’ve only had one buyer balk at that, that I recall.
My default shipping method is International First Class (or Priority) with DHL is an option that no foreign buyer of mine has yet chosen.
08/17/2020 at 4:51 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 476: #SaveTheUSPS and Crocs are Cool again #80763I doubt it. Even a pair of the lowest ones at like +1.00 make things blurry at about 4 or 5 feet out. But you can get half frame or half lens readers that you can peer over the top and really look like an old man.
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