I was wondering what you all thought about communicating with online sellers about their merchandise and informing them of what they have...and maybe even how they should sell it. I saw this item at an ebay auction this morning with a starting bid of .99 cents, no reserve: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Korea-Coin-...7976275?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d15c900d3 I contacted him and had this to tell him, just from my own limited knowledge of these Korean "chatalaines": "I notice that your charm IS listed in my 2012 Korean DaeGwangSa catalog. Korean catalog price: 50,000,000 to 80,000,000 (fifty million to eighty million) KRW (South Korean Won). At a general exchange rate of 1,000 KRW to 1 USD, that's about $50,000 to $80,000. Now, the actual realized price will probably be much less, but very probably in the thousands of dollars. Nice piece, and good luck selling it! Initially, I mistakenly told him it was a "Mandel 107.10", but later I wrote him back that it's actually listed as "Y-45" in the Korean catalog, but at the exact same price range. The seller wrote back, saying he is "new to ebay", and he says in the item description: "International buyers ship at their own risk. I cannot be held responsible for items that disappear in a foreign post office." I feel like telling him, "ummm... yeah, actually, you CAN be held responsible (in a way)!" If a potential buyer receives the item without delivery confirmation, they can just say that they never got it, and ebay will tell him to provide a refund that the two parties "can live with". Also, I think that ebay may not be the best place to sell this item. I think Heritage would be a much better venue, considering its potential value, if it's authentic. So my question is about propriety, I guess: Is it okay for me to tell him this stuff? Or should I assume he knows what he's doing?
I think as long as you're right about the info you give him, then you're a supernice feller to tell him so! Hopefully he's honest and selling a genuine coin. I once emailed a guy selling a lot of 3 low grade flying eagle cents, & informed him one looked like an 1856. He responded, "No it isn't. It's a 1858." It bid up to $200 or so for the lot. Upon a deeper look, it appeared someone may have altered the date. But who knows? The buyer was either lucky or angry. This happened nearly a decade ago when buyer protection was almost non-existent.
Looking at the listing it IS an auction and not a BIN. I generally don't question sellers unless they make claims that just are not true about items I'm knowledgeable about.
Right. It isn't like your seller there didn't seem to know what he was selling. He seemed pretty confident that it was an 1858, and he probably felt that he didn't really want or need your counsel (even though you may have been right; his loss). With the seller of this Korean Chatelaine, it seems that he doesn't really know what he has, value-wise. It's something that should be sold at Heritage, I would think. Also, his statement on "international buyers" (and being new to online sales) makes me think that he'd wrap it up, slap some stamps on it, and send it to the highest bidder who lives in Korea or Kazakhstan or Kuwait, or wherever, WITHOUT delivery confirmation. That's a refund rip-off in the making. Ouch. But, like what BU said, it IS an auction. Maybe I should just assume that people are adults and know what they are doing and know what they want?
I have the 2009 edition of the DaeGwangSa (大光社) catalog. In my catalog, the charm is listed as "Y-42" and not "Y-45". Also, the ebay seller identifies himself as "dfifer". I'm almost certain that this is "Don Pfeiffer". Don is internationally recognized as an expert on Korean charms (and other things Korean). Gary
Cool! It seems that he DOES know what he's doing, if that's the case! Well, that's good news. And about the catalog: Right now I'm looking at the 2012 and the 2011 DK catalogs side-by-side (I guess some Koreans call it "DK", from the old transliteration "DaeKwangSa"), and you're right: In the 2011 version, it's listed as "Y-42", but my newer one says "Y-45". Hmmmm. Wonder why?
Sometimes I'll contact a seller to correct a listing (they have Irish coins listed as Australian, for example) or if they say "I don't know what this is, please help!!!!" I don't do it often because it's not my job to fix everyone's auctions, but sometimes I get the impulse.
I saw a seller of civil war relics and coins was selling an 1861 copper-nickel cent. But the title was '1857 flying eagle cent' and it was described as being composed of silver..... I informed him of the discrepancy to help him avoid a scammy buyer. He immediately ended the listing and thanked me for the help.
In general, I have come to view the attempt to offer information to be frustrating, at best, and thoroughly time consuming and worthless, at worst.
