eBay

mozartbach1971 · ‎08-31-2021

I have some letters listed and a person messaged me and said they are his great aunt and uncle, and says I don't know who you are or how you got these, but I would like to know if we are kin and says my mom wants them please let me know how we can get them back to our family. Later they sent another message and asked if I'm getting the e-mails and the family is anxious to know how they are on here. I do from time to time get messages somewhat similar to this, however not that often. I usually try to ignore these messages. Would that be the right thing to do in this case?

7794heather · ‎09-10-2021

@mozartbach1971

I'd love to hear the outcome of this. Did the messenger bid on your items or did you end up selling them to someone else?

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jayjaspersgarage · ‎08-31-2021

I think the best thing to do is tell them to bid on the items they want and wish them well. You are not obligated to respond but the less you write the better.

caldreamer · ‎08-31-2021

If you want to be a hero...you should give the letters back to the family.

toysaver · ‎08-31-2021

my mom wants them please let me know how we can get them back to our family

I'd tell them once they have bids you're ethically obligated to sell them to the highest bidder. As to how you got them - people collect what other people throw away.

albertabrightalberta · ‎08-31-2021

I'm cynical but I smell a rat.

I'm betting the person who emailed you is a brand new account with 0-feedback.

ETA: I'd also block the person.

albertabrightalberta
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katzrul15 · ‎08-31-2021

You have some neat items.

Wonder how they know they are listed on here?

Probably best to let them just bid on whatever strikes their fancy vs responding. If they really want these items back in their family, they need to bid their max and hope for the best. If you respond, they are going to want them sent to them for free. You have the right as a Seller to let the auction runs its' course.

Good luck.

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toysaver · ‎08-31-2021

.... and a teenager to boot

reallynicestamps · ‎08-31-2021

Invite them to bid.

Someone with access to the letters took them and sold them. There is a great interest in postal history at the moment as philatelists get more sophisticated.

When we had our store we often found complete letters in philatelic estates we were buying. It was our practice to offer the seller the contents since the collector interest was in the envelopes and postal markings. Most refused and the correspondence remained complete.

You have no compelling reason to believe the person messaging you is connected to the family in any way.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎08-31-2021

You have no way of knowing if this person is telling the truth, or is after a free set of letters that they can resell. If they want them, they must bid for them. I would send one short note out of politeness and then drop the matter. Something along the lines of:

"Dear Buyer, I have received your recent inquiries, and regret we cannot accommodate your request.

Sincerely, The Seller"

mozartbach1971 · ‎08-31-2021

I'm cynical but I smell a rat.

I'm betting the person who emailed you is a brand new account with 0-feedback.

ETA: I'd also block the person.

The person does in fact have no feedback. However, they are from the same state the letters were sent to.

toysaver · ‎09-01-2021

As it's against eBay policy to share contact information the only way to get them back is to buy them back.

lamber9347 · ‎09-01-2021

@mozartbach1971 Well I suppose their asking can be presumed to be naïve at best, but you certainly have no obligations to send them. You have every right to sell these letters. If they want them in their family they are certainly welcome to bid.

If I were you, I would send one reply, partly out of hospitality and partly out of getting them to bid higher. I would say something short and vague about how I came across the letters and kindly suggest they place a bid if they would like them back in their family archives. I would not bother to reply again after that. Best of luck to you....

jayjaspersgarage · ‎09-01-2021

"If you want to be a hero...you should give the letters back to the family."

Dear seller of the classic Malibu beach house my grandfather built in the 1950's. We owned that house and demand that you give it to us because we want it back in the family.

Uh, no they wouldn't be a hero for falling for a potential scheme. Now if the person writing had the same exact return address that the letters were sent from or received at you might be on to something.

soh.maryl · ‎09-01-2021

Personally, I'd skip the details of how I obtained the letters. You do not owe anyone that information.

maxine*j · ‎09-01-2021

@caldreamer wrote:
If you want to be a hero...you should give the letters back to the family.

Your heart is in the right place but, personally, I would not even consider such a thing unless I had proof positive the person behind the emails is family. Even then I might not do it, but I would at least consider it.

This is an old, old ploy in the antiques trade and it is naive to take such claims at face value.

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