Featured It's time again for Let's Play a Game!!

I say #3
One item is something good!
I think I deciphered the mark.....

But it's not good enough to drive 900 miles for.
Could you beg the seller to ship one item?

 

If I asked and they really won't ship, I'd have to pass With the price of gas, an 1800 mile round trip would be too costly I think compared to the value of the silver.

 

Even before I scrolled down far enough to see the base of the items, I was interested in the candlestick. Not enough to drive 1800 miles for, but I'd consider paying $50. and shipping for the one item

 

My nose twitched at the candy dish and the candlestick. The rest looks like plate. (edit: so does the candy dish; I see the silver marks on the candlestick) Revere bowls are almost never solid silver. Discounted those right off the bat and can see brass coming through on the big one If it's really pickup only, or they really won't break up the set ...hard pass. It'll cost more to ship than the silver is worth unless that candle stick is crazy money. Then you're golden.

 

Thank you for everyone who played along, and bravo for those that spotted the candlestick. Once you see a few Mexico silver marks they stand out quickly. So here's the full story..I figured the game was still worth playing even if the outcome wasn't what I hoped for...

As mentioned, the entire listing was $50, and the seller stated clearly in the listing that they are only selling the entire set together and only locally. Now some may read that info and abandon a listing, but I can tell you from personal experience I've made quite a few shipping deals from sellers who original said they are only looking for a local purchase. The name of the game is making a great offer, and being as flexible as possible. At the end of the day, many sellers say no, but many also say yes.

For this listing, I didn't see anything other than the candlestick worth my time or energy (plus I didn't want a big/heavy package to pay for). I got the three photos, and I asked the buyer if they would consider selling the candlestick holder on it's own for $50 plus shipping. They agreed quickly, and we settled on a method of payment. They confirmed they would send me the tracking number the next day and all was good! When making deals like this, I tend to keep the 'small talk' limited, for obvious reasons. I did wince a little bit when I got a message towards the end of the conversation that said "You are welcome! I'm glad someone could get some use out of these pieces. If it's some treasure, consider it a blessing"...

I thanked the seller and told them it's a great piece and left it at that. After that point, all I can do is wait. I found a listing with some potential treasure, I asked the right questions to get the info I needed, I found a hidden gem, I made a good offer, my offer was accepted, and I made a full payment...All that's left is the item going in the mail...

Well, that never happened. 20 minutes after our conversation ended, I got another message from the seller. I won't repeat the message word for word out of respect to the seller, because it was clearly a lie about why they needed to cancel the order, and I never want to make a seller feel weird when they decide to cancel. After the message the seller refunded me fully and deleted the listing. I'm not throwing a pity party for myself, and it definitely comes with the territory of this hobby that you are going to hit a homerun that just wasn't meant to be, I just want to be up front about what actually happened.

So while my outcome wasn't what I hoped for, the lesson on silver hunting is concrete: if a seller says they don't split up a listing, or they don't ship (or both), get creative and make them an offer they might not have considered. If they say no, be polite and move along, but I think you will find a few more people say yes if your offer is right.

 

Same thing happened to me Mr. Nate. A few weeks ago a lady had a silver box listed under dollhouse miniatures and I thought the marks looked Middle Eastern so I made an offer. She accepted,got paid and even marked it as shipped. Then she pops up with some BS excuse and canceled the order and listing. I sent her an email wich she responded rather curtly to and i negged her . Thats like the 3rd time thats happened to me on ebay and its always small silver items !

 

Yeah. It's super frustrating Johnny, and when it happens to me I feel instantly upset. But I also have mixed emotions about it in general...a few thoughts:

-Above all else, I don't want someone to feel bad about the deal afterwards. I've got one rule that if a seller were ever to contact me after the deal, or after something was shipped or picked up, and they wanted it back, I'm sending it back for a refund, because I believe this can be a moral pursuit of treasure.

-I'm also a bit old school, and personally when I agree to a deal, even if I realized it was a bad deal for me, I follow through on my commitment. I've had instances where I quickly made an offer to buy something, and later that night my research reveals I just agreed to purchase a dud silverplate piece, but I still make those purchases even though I could easily back out of the deal.

-So while I don't want someone to feel bad about the deal afterwards (a moral standard I place on myself), I also don't believe backing out of deals is proper (another moral standard I place on myself), I can't control for the belief system of others. Furthermore, I recognize that my belief system probably isn't perfect either. The person who realizes they are about to give away treasure for too cheap is fully within their rights to back out of a deal. Personally, I believe that sticking with the deal is a lesson in itself....like sheesh I'll look more carefully before I start listing stuff to make sure I don't make that mistake again.

 

The person who realizes they are about to give away treasure for too cheap is fully within their rights to back out of a deal

specially, if u show them where the treasure is..

 

Normally I wouldnt have negged her but she really annoyed me. You are a much nicer person than me Mr. Nate. I too believe a deal is a deal and someone basically gives their word when a deal is made,but perhaps Im just cynical now . I think people just dont care about their "word" anymore and will lie in a heartbeat. So I automatically assume they are ! Sad but 59 years on this earth have made me suspect most folks true motives.

 

Oh gosh! Too bad it turned it this way.
I noticed the Mexican sterling marks on the candlestick. It looked like a heavy and well made piece.
I'm sure that when you asked for just the candlestick, the seller looked at it more carefully and then realized that it was a treasure.
I suppose it was not meant to be.

 

I wish I could say I was surprised, but by singling it out it made her take a second look. The rest follows.

 

sucks it didn't work out Mr Nate

thanks for the game Mr Nate, these are always fun and a learning experience

 

Ha, I played and lost. I didn't even notice the candle stick...lol

I remember buying an art deco 10K mens ring for 40 bucks plus shipping off of etsy. I thought for sure the seller was going to back out - and wouldn't have blamed her one bit if she had. I figured when I bought it, worst case, they'd refund the money, though I have to admit, I did feel a little guilty I after I received it in a nice fancy gift box with a bow, and I normally never do

I have a rule when it comes to buying treasures - when it makes sense $ wise, always walk out with the treasure and some cheap non-treasure items. It doesn't allow the seller to really focus on the one item you really want, if you walk, you leave everything else. I understand your position though. You might have gotten away with the candle stick if you mixed in the small bowls with a nice short story about loving to upcycle. (if the money was right value wise relative to shipping). Those plated bowls make nice decorative fancy planter pots, and using them that way, would be upcycling...lol.

I've just always had the mindset picking is really hard work and takes time, effort and money... and it has never been my job to educate a seller who is selling something to cheap because they didn't bother to research what they should sell an item for to begin with. Heck, I know I have sold items to cheap, but frankly, so long as they get the price they wanted, everyone wins.

There is nothing worse than stepping up to the plate to buy something at the price someone wants and all of a sudden because you are interested in it, the items not for sale, or triples in price... had that exact thing happen to me at the flea market a while back...I asked how much a brooch was, looked at and said 30 bucks, I asked to look at it and after looking it over, said I would take it, they immediately got out a loop, looked it over and said oh no, I need to have at least 75 dollars for that.... SOB...!!!

 

Buyer's remorse is real, and so is seller's remorse. I've sold a few things over the years that I wasn't using/wouldn't use use, didn't have room for, wanted something else instead, any number of reasons. A few of those I wish I had back, because I realized I could have sold for more, I can't replace them . . .

However, if I've agreed to sell something, I follow through with the sale, unless the buyer changes their mind.

 

I've got to brush up on my Mexican silver marks. Even with the photos provided, I missed it!

Great games Mr. Nate, really fun to hear the before and after. Sorry the sale didn't work out, was interesting to hear about it, though.

I'd be nervous asking about one piece. I sometimes use the trick that George mentioned, throw in a few lesser items, but I'm not doing that online, more at in person sales.

Love these games!

 

This reminds me of the time I was at an estate sale with a friend and I found a bag of hallmarked English forks and spoons. They obviously didnt realze as it was $20 for the bag ! I excitedly told my friend about the find,and some old witch overheard me and told the seller.When I went to pay she claimed they were mismarked and took them and stuck them under the table. I was ill,but i learned a VERY valuable lesson that day about hiding my excitement at a sale !

 

Old witch....hahaha!!!
Never ever ever let on, if you can help it.
I was chastised on another forum for buying a 14k gold watch chain for $2.00 at a yard sale.
But I say that's how the game is played.
Finders keepers, etc.

 

Next time you go to a sale with a friend work out a coding system so if someone hears you they won't understand what you are saying!

 

"I can use these." (LOL) It's one reason I tend to fly solo, AND only talk about the stuff I'm not buying.