eBay

vintagewares · ‎12-27-2022

I've been a member of Ebay for 24 years. I buy and sell antique and vintage jewelry. This category is one of the largest listings on Ebay and, unfortunately, rife with misinformation and improper listing practices.

The more common is identifying pieces as "Victorian" and/or "vintage" when they are not.

I am asking Ebay to include prominently, a category that asks the seller if what they are selling is genuine antique/vintage or a look-alike or reproduction and say so in their headings. If they don't know, then have that option as well and insist that information appear in their headings.

I sift through hundreds of listings daily to buy, and it is a complete waste of time to view items that are new, that look vintage but were made in a foreign country the day before yesterday or are listed to deceive. Sellers must take responsibility and find out what they are selling instead of obviously looking for a quick buck by guessing, or worse, downright lying about what they have.

soh.maryl · ‎12-27-2022

Understand your frustration with the situation as it relates to jewelry; however, let's think about this for a moment: If a seller KNOWS that what he is listing is a reproduction (which BTW, isn't supposed to be listed per eBay rules), is he likely to admit that? Also, I have a feeling that a lot of us have received jewelry from a relative or friend and have no idea of its provenance. The best recommendation I can make for you is that you ask questions of a seller before you purchase.

vintagewares · ‎12-27-2022

You are new to Ebay. Do you honestly think that all sellers play by Ebay rules?

I know provenance because I am a professional dealer and I just have to look at a piece. It is my business.

My complaint is that sellers should and must describe what they are selling honestly. If they don't know, then they must say so IN THE HEADING, and Ebay should insist on this, especially in the antique/vintage category.

By the way, this rule should apply to every category on Ebay.

Thanks for your input.

soh.maryl · ‎12-27-2022

"You are new to eBay."

Can you explain how you came to that conclusion about me?

bonjourami · ‎12-27-2022

After twenty four years here,you are not familiar with a posting id?

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“Never pick a fight with an ugly person. They don’t have anything to lose.” ~Robin Williams

old.crows.nest · ‎12-27-2022

@soh.maryl wrote:
Understand your frustration with the situation as it relates to jewelry; however, let's think about this for a moment: If a seller KNOWS that what he is listing is a reproduction (which BTW, isn't supposed to be listed per eBay rules), is he likely to admit that? Also, I have a feeling that a lot of us have received jewelry from a relative or friend and have no idea of its provenance. The best recommendation I can make for you is that you ask questions of a seller before you purchase.

Really? It is against the rules to list jewelry items which look like something from a time gone by?

Ever heard of Etruscan Revival?

Yup the Victorians were copying earlier jewelry styles long before the Chinese were copying the Victorians.

By the way, it isn't really that hard to identify the mass produced reproduction jewelry pretending to be something it isn't.

But don't get me started on popular modern day jewelry designers getting away with making money by making copies of golden age costume jewelry makers claiming they are their original designs.

gurlcat · ‎12-27-2022

@vintagewares wrote:

I am asking Ebay to include prominently, a category that asks the seller if what they are selling is genuine antique/vintage or a look-alike or reproduction and say so in their headings. If they don't know, then have that option as well and insist that information appear in their headings.

By "category" do you mean an item specific? And by "headings" do you mean titles? Don't take this personally but despite selling for 24 years I don't think anyone at Ebay headquarters will understand your request without the right terminology. And by the way when you say "I am asking" do you mean you have contacted them somehow and are just sharing that fact here, or is this post is meant to ask someone at Ebay who can address requests? --These forums are just for Ebay members to talk among ourselves.
Finally, I don't even get the point of the item specific you want to see in the listing page. If the person is listing a piece that isn't truly vintage in the Vintage Jewelry category, it's because they either don't know it it's modern or they do know and intend to fool people. Either way, that's what photos are for, and if the photos deceive the eye, that's what returns are for. Adding an item specific that basically asks "Is this REALLY vintage?" would just get everyone checking 'yes' or they wouldn't be trying to list it in the Vintage Jewelry category in the first place. So then what? Another item specific asking "Are you sure?" Then, "Really sure?" LOL!

gurlcat · ‎12-27-2022

@vintagewares wrote:
You are new to Ebay. Do you honestly think that all sellers play by Ebay rules?

soh.maryl has been here a long time and is very active in helping people in the Community.
Of course not all sellers play by Ebay rules, but how would another item specific stop that? It would just be another "rule" to not play by. Buyer returns based on "item not as described" is the built-in punishment that already exists to dissuade dishonesty. Heck people lie about things that are worse and more defined than whether something is 'vintage' or not. I once bought a lot of supposed sterling jewelry, and not a single piece was sterling. I immediately filed a return, and the (new) seller thought she could just refuse to accept a return, by writing me an email saying "Sorry I don't accept returns." Ha, yes she did, she just didn't know it yet.

old.crows.nest · ‎12-27-2022

Sometimes I swear that some sellers use the terms Vintage or Antique as if they are words like Purple or Red.

gurlcat · ‎12-28-2022

Well, at least people who wrongly label jewelry as vintage or antique might be excused because the piece LOOKS vintage or antique. People calling things purple or red, not so much. LOL!

flipping_treasures · ‎12-28-2022

I don't care where you buy, in an "antique store", a thrift store, an estate sale, a yard sale, the Goodwill, or anywhere on the internet, you, the buyer, needs to know what to look for if you want the real deal. It has always been and will always be ... Caveat emptor, let the buyer beware and never more so than online where you don't hold the item in hand until you have bought it.

Dealing with sellers that have a good reputation when buying online is a must. Also remember, if it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. Lots of people scroll through eBay hoping to buy cheap. Most reputable sellers know what they have and prices it that way. So, if you see an antique/vintage piece for $1.00 you might want to take a second look.

Though the beauty may be in the butterfly, the struggle and growth occur in the cocoon.

gurlcat · ‎12-28-2022

@flipping_treasures wrote:
Most reputable sellers know what they have and prices it that way. So, if you see an antique/vintage piece for $1.00 you might want to take a second look.

Exactly, and if you take a chance then you're only out $1.00! Alternatively, if it was stated to be a genuine old piece and you paid $100 but holding it in-person you discover it's modern junk, returning it is easy as pie on ebay, even if the seller resists (in which case you might end up getting to keep the junk AND get your money back).

Now to be fair, and upon re-reading the OP's post, she wasn't actually complaining about the risk of purchasing fakes, just the fact that she has to scroll through hundreds of listings, many of them fake. And I get that; I'm a jewelry buyer/seller too, and it does get kind of mind-numbing sifting through listings. But you know ..... I'm doing it in my pajamas and house slippers for goodness sake, I can take a break whenever I want, get up and stretch or go for a walk, watch a youtube video, chat with friends, etc. It's work that's a far cry from my last job of hustling pizzas to people's houses and working in the restaurant in-between, with managers ordering me around and making sure to get every penny's worth out of my wages ("You got time to lean, you got time to clean!"), ha.

And here's the funny thing. For every piece of used jewelry that someone wrongly identifies as 'vintage' or 'antique', there's a piece that actually IS old and collectible but the seller doesn't recognize it as such. Many of the best old pieces I've ever bought on ebay were in the 'Fashion' jewelry category, 'Collectibles' or in mixed 'junk drawer' lots, along with pocket knives and coins and such. Take for example these earrings, they were in 'Fashion Jewelry' for $8 if I recall, but I could tell they were special somehow, so I took an $8 gamble and bought them. See result below.

I would just say to the OP, if this isn't fun anymore, it might be time to move on to something else.

gurlcat · ‎12-28-2022

I should add, I was able to narrow the date down so specifically because two different parts of the hardware had different maker's marks, and from exhaustive research I learned there was only a narrow period of time (I think 1895 to 1915) when they were both in operation, so I guessed about in the middle, 1905. And of course I tested to make sure I wasn't lying about the gold, diamonds or pearls. Those pearls were so flawless they utterly mesmerized me, and I bet the seller I bought from assumed they were just plastic!

old.crows.nest · ‎12-28-2022

Great Find! Extra special as that was when White Gold was first being used.

I found a pair of 14k White Gold Fronts Cuff Links at a Thrift. Research helped me date them due to the Company and their being one of the first to develop the process in the early 19th Century. That was when I first started so all I remember is they sold well because I knew what they were.

As a foreigner though, due to S&H and Brokerage costs, I was never able to purchase the deals I would find on ebay. I would share with US friends and sometimes they would go for it.