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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2009 23:45:14 GMT
April fools
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2009 0:09:22 GMT
The sword is obviously a semi-modern piece, there is a slight chance that it could be a Victorian reproduction; but I doubt it. Even an authentic antique would not sell for that kind of money. The guy offers no provance whatsoever, no apprisal, not certified, no origin, no papers, nothing. And, he is selling this a couple low res photos and a picture of his family and his kid. WTF? I have seen real swords sell for a fraction of this price with literally dozen of high res photos and a website dedicated to the auction with all copies of official paperwork for review. Pretty typical eBay criminal. He would have had more respect from me had he been trying to sell a grilled cheese sandwich with Mother Mary burned onto the back of it. Our aspiring sword seller is right up the same alley as this guy: stores.ebay.com/GERMAN-MEDIEVAL-ARTEFACTSThis dude has made about $300,000 on auctions in the last six months, and nothing he sells is authentic. Everytime he earns a negative feedback, he pays SquareTrade to take it off (something eBay allows, BTW). A fool and their money are quickly parted. I need to get into a different line of work.
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Apr 2, 2009 0:14:55 GMT
Hey Odingaard,
I agree completely... in fact thats basically what I was trying to say a bit more subtly...
This entire thread is kind of tip toeing all around the slander policy....
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2009 0:26:13 GMT
No slander intended. I feel that it is our duty to inform our fellow sword buyers of sellers which may not be selling on the up and up. Any sword collector in the world can tell that these items are fake as hell. If they did not want to be called on it, then they should have not posted it...der...
This is a sword buyer's guide. My respectful opinion is be on the lookout for people trying to take advantage of you by selling fake antiquities.
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Post by Dave(utilityslave) on Apr 2, 2009 0:34:25 GMT
Well, this guy was really tough, stuck to his guns on the price until I told him I new someone that has 17 invisible Albion's and could put him in touch........so for contact info I got this $80,000 sword.........I hope I got a good deal!
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Marc Ridgeway
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"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Apr 2, 2009 0:41:36 GMT
Well, this guy was really tough, stuck to his guns on the price until I told him I new someone that has 17 invisible Albion's and could put him in touch........so for contact info I got this $80,000 sword.........I hope I got a good deal! LOL well if he can find them he can have them.I've looked everywhere I suppose eventually I'll accidentally sever a body part and find one .... LOL
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Post by Dave(utilityslave) on Apr 2, 2009 0:51:33 GMT
Just tell him you'll drop it off by his front door! lol
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2009 1:53:02 GMT
The main point I was trying to make is that without quality pictures of a very expensive item, the seller is losing many potential buyers because many people will lose interest in the item, even if it is indeed a fine one, if they can't get a good look at it. You know what they say about first impressions?!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2009 16:29:44 GMT
Mogur, agreed. Here's what the seller had to say:
============ Dear J. Diggs, Many thanks for your nice email and comments. I have received a number of remarks. Some say nice things, others are not so sure and Yes...a few think I must be crazy. As I mentioned in the auction..I am not an expert on swords. A great deal of money was paid for this sword about 20 years ago and I totally understand this can have nothing to do with the real value. I've been on ebay since 1998 and sold lots of rare items at times.....some I was told were worthless.....yet ended up selling for many thousands above the starting price. I just didn't want to take a chance on this one and I felt it was worth listing on ebay at a high price to see if anyone out here can assist with the actual value. I live in a very small town in Liberty, South Carolina. We have no source that could even begin to authenticate something like this. I would like to find a way to get it to a shop in a large city such as NY or CA by maybe mailing it ahead of our flight. All of your details are very interesting.Points well taken! I will print this to keep with the sword as I'm certain it will not sell anyway. I mainly listed this time just to get attention on the piece from experts such as yourself. Stranger things have happened though and I suppose items are worth what people are willing to pay for them..... IF it's something they really desire. A few years back I sold an item I felt had little value to the specific writers foundation and found what I thought was worth only $700.00 or so.......turned out to be $32K. With that said....do you know of any sword shops in New York that might assist in authenticating this piece if presented to them in-person. Again....many thanks for your time and attention to my auction. Oh......the wood is under the wire wrap but it is definitely in very poor condition last time I looked. I do have one question you can most likely answer.... and I've searched google for conflicting answers. When were threads invented or used on swords? Regards, Greg ============
So, anyone know who to speak to? I was going to send him to NYHFA to start but if there's someone on here who can assist, by all means- that is, if you're even interested in finding out.
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Marc Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Ridgeway on Apr 3, 2009 16:42:37 GMT
NY seems a long way to go... Maybe someone at the USC dept. of medieval studies can assist? I know I wouldn't ship ANYTHING "worth" $70,000 anywhere....
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2009 16:53:27 GMT
Neither will he, I don't think...at least, I would hope not! But no, he did mention delivering it in-person which is the only way when talking about a piece (if authentic) worth this much; he might even want an armed escort for all of that. I'll let him know about USC, never thought about the university history department.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2009 1:12:29 GMT
Or, the nearest reputable museum. Of course, if he realy thinks it's worth that much then a trip to NY is small price to pay for knowing for sure. If he doesn't think it's worth it then it's just another scam. There is no middle ground. That reply he gave you looked like a well rehearsed evasion to avoid any incrimination!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2009 13:46:13 GMT
Did he seriously ask when they started using threads on swords? As in....rat-tail threads?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2009 16:38:44 GMT
LOL
Yes, he did...and soon as he said it was threaded (that is, soon as I understood the significance) I was done. Seeing as he's dropped the starting price to $200, I'm sure I'm not the only one to point out the glaring impossibilities of that sword being worth 80 grand. Hell, I'm not even sure its worth the $200 he's posted it for...I mean, sure, it could be a 100 years old, but if it was built as a wallhanger then it is a 100 year old wall hanger. That can't be worth much.
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