I hate to come out and say someone is a dishonest thief, so I will let you make up your own mind.
I saw this listing
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370907583873&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370907583873&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123)
for a Vintage Articulated Human Skull Medical Anatomy Forensic Model Halloween Prop
and took a look.
Now, I used to sell Bucky skulls, for over a decade. I am intimately familiar with them.
As soon as I saw this skull I realized it was a 3rd class Bucky that had been aged with varnish and possibly shoe polish. In the photos you can see a few areas whey the stain didn't reach.
I informed the seller that this was not an antique, and instead a Bucky worth around $10-20 instead and he responded back:
"Sorry, still not convinced. Just looked at a Budget Bucky and it really lacks the detail that this one has. Unless there are different models of Budget Bucky."
He describes the item in the listing as "For sale is a vintage, life size articulated human skull model from a doctor's office. This could be used for medical study, forensics or even a Halloween prop. In great condition." I can tell you with authority, that while many Docs use plastic skulls for teaching and demonstrations, and many use antique skulls, I have never seen a Dr use a plastic skull made to look like an antique, especially since the process obscures details.
Also, I should add, the skull is NOT in excellent condition, the teeth clearly have issues, the skull cap does not fit properly, and it is missing the top latch.
I can understand a seller being upset when someone corrects him on an item he thought had value, but to continue hoping for a sucker when you know an item isn't what you say it is...well, that just gives everyone on ebay a bad name.
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Vintage-Articulated-Human-Skull-Medical-Anatomy-Forensic-Model-Halloween-Prop-/00/s/MTA4MFgxMDY0/z/idwAAOxyFjNSREqk/$T2eC16JHJHcFFkSM25(7BSREqj1L9!~~60_57.JPG)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Vintage-Articulated-Human-Skull-Medical-Anatomy-Forensic-Model-Halloween-Prop-/00/s/OTAxWDEwODA=/z/ul0AAOxydyxSRErD/$T2eC16VHJIIFHJc-OVFVBSRErC4Pyw~~60_57.JPG?rt=nc)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Vintage-Articulated-Human-Skull-Medical-Anatomy-Forensic-Model-Halloween-Prop-/00/s/OTExWDEwODA=/z/AkQAAOxyNSVSRErJ/$T2eC16ZHJGYE9noojc(oBSRErIlPF!~~60_57.JPG?rt=nc)
Quote from: Gillfan on October 02, 2013, 10:26:22 PMI can understand a seller being upset when someone corrects him on an item he thought had value....
I can understand him being particularly upset when someone points out that all the work he did wasn't done correctly. Very annoying.
:o
To be honest, this may have been a case of a guy picking this up at a yard sale, and thinking he found a treasure. He isn't claiming it to be a real skull (which I don't think you can sell on Ebay anyway.) and I honestly don't think the guy is that deceptive, since he may know nothing about what he's selling. I can also see where he may not care to be told what he's selling really hasn't much value.
It's been blowtorched!
Gillfan, for what's worth. Dishonest people always lose, in the long run.
There's also the possibility that a reputable seller has gotten mixed up by an inaccurate provenance. 99 percent of what I buy are stills and head shots. It is NOT unusual to buy a photo from an obscure film, that has a printed border with the title and stars listed, Then you have a poor gofer who has no idea who or what he's looking at, and just scribbles one of the star's names on the back. The main goof is that the picture is NOT OF THE STAR.
Two of my most prized pictures are goofs like that: A portrait of Character actress Henrietta Crossman, that had a scrawled "Josephine Hutchinson" on the back.
The other was a sepia portrait of Colin Clive, that was marked as "Ronald Colman". I got it for $20.00. If it had been correctly listed, it probably would have gone for $100. I'd give your seller a little bit of slack, he literally might not have known he'd been had.
"E" ededed
Cluelessness isn't a crime. But I still wish stupidity was literally painful.
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I rad some of your comments and I thought "Wow, perhaps you are being harsh, perhaps he just innocently made a mistake and doesn't understand what you pointed out to him"
Then i saw he was also selling a fake shrunken head made of goatskin, carefully worded to avoid total fraud but without saying it is fake,and I realized, this guy knows exactly what he is doing and isn't some misinformed babe in the woods.
Quote from: Gillfan on October 03, 2013, 07:18:56 PMI read some of your comments and I thought "Wow, perhaps you are being harsh, perhaps he just innocently made a mistake and doesn't understand what you pointed out to him"
Then i saw he was also selling a fake shrunken head made of goatskin, carefully worded to avoid total fraud but without saying it is fake,and I realized, this guy knows exactly what he is doing and isn't some misinformed babe in the woods.
Well, then, can you report him? I'm pretty clueless about eBay, so I don't know what the SOP for this kinda thing is. But, if he's scamming in multiple auctions, he should be banned.
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