The word is abused and overused here on eBay. I would not consider using it unless the item is at least 20 years old and then with a date. IE: 1950's vintage. You can also say circa 1970's, etc.
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~~Albert Pike, Freemason
If I claim to have a vintage stamp collection for sale, how old do you think it is? It could be anywhere from 150 years old to 10 years old, for example. The word vintage by itself is meaningless until everyone agrees with an accepted definition. To me, vintage must have a time period (year, decade) attached to it.
Agree with milestone - the word "vintage" should be used only in context with a particular vintage/age/era from which something originates. By itself, with no reference to which vintage something is from, the term is misleading if not totally useless.
There is no hard and fast rule to the use of "Vintage".
A bottle of wine bottled yesterday is vintage 2008.
A Chevy that is a classic may be a vintage 1957.
a doll Shirley Temple doll is a vintage 1935 (or so).
As bubblegum says, a year is always attached to the word "Vintage". And as hisong says, the word is widely mis-used here on eBay.
Is not true. ........your right! it is not true. On eBay, the word is not used with a date. That's why the word is so abused and over used. It should always be used with a date. The word 'vintage' means absolutely nothing unless you use it with a date.
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~~Albert Pike, Freemason
I hate the ebay Antiques category. Everything from 150 years old to 1970's stuff is posted there. I can see maybe 75 years old being called antique but this 50's 60's and 70's stuff is ridiculous.
To be absolutely correct, a year should always, ALWAYS be used.
But as used now, vintage refers to an era, not necessarily a specific date.
In other words, one may have a "Vintage Widget".
Or, to be more correct, you may have a widget, Vintage 1955.
Seems most people are using the word vintage for anything not contemporary, currently made and still available in stores.
Also seems wrong to use vintage for items out of production only 10 years. Even 20 sometimes...
I think the older we get the more we frown at the word being used for things from the last couple generations.
To see the toys I played with as a kid labeled as vintage is both an annoyance and a wake-up call to my age?
At 45, I guess that makes me vintage 😛
the usage varies as much as the education of the seller.
Buyer beware as always!
I have noticed a trend for sellers to put every desciptive term they can in their lisiting. The worst one I have seen is "EAPG Vintage Depression Glass". I'm sure, with time they will also get "collectable" worked in there also.
