Use of the word vintage and antique when used in seller descriptions
Is there a policy in place, and if not, I suggest there be one due to using these two words loosely and even fraudulently so as to protect buyers.
32 comments
Is there a policy in place, and if not, I suggest there be one due to using these two words loosely and even fraudulently so as to protect buyers.
simba6
·2 years agoWords like vintage and antique do sound better than old and musty. Most of the time they mean little.
jg.mason
·2 years agoBeing in my upper 50's, if some one says vintage I automatically think 50's 60's or 70's. So when I see someone calling a 1990's item vintage I think they're crazy, then it comes to me that the item is at least 24 years old so yeh it is vintage.
Well that was depressing, now I feel old. 😀
gurlcat
·2 years agoYup, something from 2000 is about to turn a quarter-century old!
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoI saw a car just like the one I drove as a teenager driving around with antique tags and felt ancient! Then, I realized it had already been an antique for over 10 years by the time I noticed one with that tag! Then again, antique in cars (here in Florida at least) only means 25 years old apparently.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoYet collector cars run on their own timeline, as well, it seems. I drive a 1997 Subaru wagon. So hey, Collector car! Imma shine it up and drive around in the next collector car parade and see how long I last. 😒
gurlcat
·2 years agoI drive a 2003 Honda Accord. -No way I would wash it for a parade or any reason. 1. I would feel terrible destroying the whole ecosystem of algae, moss and lichens on the left side (the left side faces North in my driveway), and 2. Pretty sure the filth is all that's holding it together.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoYour car is old enough to drink in many states, though.
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoWe frequently use both words, though since they also can appear in the item specifics, often we use VTG in the title instead (years ago, I found something indicating that people actually search for that on eBay, plus I've found the search engine seems to substitute VTG for Vintage and vice-versa). No policy against it that I know of, but use it properly please.
lgl11
·2 years agoI guess it depends on what you're collecting. Since I collect dolls, I define vintage and antique myself which fits my purpose.
IMO, as of this writing, a doll made in the 1970's or newer is modern. Dolls from the early 1960's to the 1940's are vintage, but there's different versions of vintage. When you get to the dolls made in the 1930's, it gets a little blurry. Those dolls could go either way, depending on the seller. (Antique-vintage) Dolls made in the 1920 or earlier are antique. Popular examples of an antique doll would be a Jumeau.
For me, when I purchase a doll, I know what the time frame was when it was made. That's more important to me than clasifying it as vintage or antique.
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@lgl11
"I guess it depends on what you're collecting. Since I collect dolls, I define vintage and antique myself which fits my purpose. "
I have to agree: In the early 1980s, when I began dealing in old paperbacks, the term that was used for ALL paperbacks from the 1930s through the 1950s was "vintage," without reference to a particular decade (e.g., "vintage Pop Lib," "vintage Pocket," "vintage Ballantine," etc.).
duffy4444
·2 years agoOn a side note, I once was at a huge yard sale where the owner had an item with a note on it that dated it "Original - 1930". Only problem was that the address of the manufacturer on the back of the item had a zip code in it... ZIP codes began on July 1, 1963. When I brought it to his attention, he turned red and kicked me off his property.
Cheers, Duffy
gurlcat
·2 years agoWhat kind of item was it?
adamcartwright
·2 years ago@chapeau-noir
I agree on both counts.
I've seen on prior posts one guy said vintage means 40 years, but I think 20 years is widely accepted and that's what we use for eBay. I think to be more precise you would say "vintage 1940s."
Sellers do abuse dating items, I've noticed. In getting ready to list something, I noticed a comp dated at 80+ years old. Problem with that is, mine still bears the original bar code. 😂
jhem5678
OP2 years agoI just recently purchased a sterling souvenir spoon from a seller who described it as being vintage-in fact, it was the first word used. Upon receiving the item it was clearly obvious the spoon was falsely aged to make it appear aged with patina. The spoon was not vintage-not even close and the seller does not accept returns . It made me angry and so inspired me to ask the community to ask Ebay to set a policy in place with clear guidelines for sellers to use the words vintage and antique in their descriptions.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoYou can return that spoon as it is not as described - I'm sorry you got stuck with fake vintage.
gurlcat
·2 years agoThere's no such policy. Just imagine the nightmare of overseas employees trying to decide if a seller is lying about whether something is really "vintage" by looking at photographs. 🤣 Even if there's something visibly verifiable like which letter 'e' in Levi's was used to determine the age of a pair of jeans, they don't have time or expertise to field complaints like that.
I personally would be curious to see your proof of fake patina induction, considering I'm pretty familiar with it myself. Basically if you can see it in-hand, it would be hard not to see in the seller's photos. I mean it it tends to produce extremely gaudy vivid colors, in patterns that don't happen with natural aging.
Natural Artificial
Anyway it doesn't matter if the seller "accepts" returns or not. If you don't want this spoon, just click 'return item' and say whatever you want about it. Say it's actually a fork if you want, and you'll get a return label to use. Seriously eBay is not nearly as hands-on as you are imagining.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoWhat "Indonesian employees" are you talking about, eBay doesn't have any there.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI'm not sure there's an actual policy, but custom here has vintage 20 years and older, antique 100 years and older. That has also been the case on several other sites I've sold on.
Yes, both words are frequently abused.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoI know it's custom around here and for "antique" I think that is the official duration that is used by Customs pretty much worldwide (antiques are often duty free at 100 tears).
Vintage on the other does not have any time period attached. In October of this year if you go to a wine store this coming October and ask for Beaujolais Nouveau they are going to hand you a bottle 2024 Vintage (every previous years vintage is long sold out and I don't think it worth the money unless it is from the current year) also no longer a "nouveau".
Vintage is a French word adapted from a Latin word then used and abused by the English where it's really lost all of it's original meaning.
If you bought a Rolling Stones t-shirt at the 1972 tour it's vintage, if you bought the same shirt made in 1982 it's more than 20 years old but not technically "vintage" (I guess you could call it a 1982 vintage replica t-shirt).
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI know it's custom around here and for "antique" I think that is the official duration that is used by Customs pretty much worldwide (antiques are often duty free at 100 tears).
I'm obviously not crying hard enough at the CBP office.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoThat is why I don't proof read....I would miss some friendly "abuse". That WOULD bring me to tears! 😂
adamcartwright
·2 years ago@slippinjimmy
@slippinjimmy Agreed that "vintage" technically means "from the time period," and then you state the year or range of years.
That's how I actually use it in listings -- "vintage 1960s..."
But I've noticed here on eBay it seems to be acceptable for people to use that word to describe items 20+ years old and not less than that.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoIt's also acceptable on other web sites where I've sold (I sold vintage for years, lots of it) IIRC. I find the argument about vintage/year versus vintage/classification-for-online-sales to be irrelevant as the two are very different uses of the word. Trying to apply the first definition to the second operation would be almost as confusing as this sentence you just read.
adamcartwright
·2 years ago@chapeau-noir
Haha -- yes, I'm agreeing with you.
gurlcat
·2 years agoCertainly with fashion and jewelry 90's is absolutely in play for the vintage descriptor. And I think the only reason you don't see it used for something made after that is because the turn of the millennium .... I dunno, it seems more like the start of "the" modern period, unlike the turning of a mere century, let alone decade. I'm probably not making sense. But we also don't even have a consensus on what to call the first decade after 2000. I know some people say "otts" or something like that, but that doesn't seem like a good listing title term, lol.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoY2K or oughts.
90s are back and I dragged out all of my old Pipes and JNCO jeans to wear lol. Those things go for a fortune and I'm thinking I should sell them instead.
gurlcat
·2 years agoWhat kind of fitness routine are you doing where you can still wear jeans you wore in the 90's?!!!
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI'm just a bog standard medium sized person - there's not much back and forth with that.
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@adamcartwright
"Agreed that "vintage" technically means "from the time period," and then you state the year or range of years.
That's how I actually use it in listings -- "vintage 1960s..."
But I've noticed here on eBay it seems to be acceptable for people to use that word to describe items 20+ years old and not less than that."
When creating an eBay listing for some items (such as books), one of the item description check-off boxes simply reads "vintage," with no reference to any particular timeline -- so eBay is very much to blame for this misunderstanding, as well.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoIf you bought a Rolling Stones t-shirt at the 1972 tour it's vintage, if you bought the same shirt made in 1982 it's more than 20 years old but not technically "vintage" (I guess you could call it a 1982 vintage replica t-shirt).
IMHO vintage means "of a period" and it means nothing unless you state what the period is.
IMHO every Rolling Stones shirt has a vintage, but none of them are a "vintage shirt" unless it states the vintage.
A tee shirt from 1972 shirt is "1972 vintage".
A tee shirt from 1982 shirt is "1982 vintage".
A tee shirt from 1992 shirt is "1992 vintage".
A tee shirt from 2002 shirt is "2002 vintage".
etc.