Your opinion on current eBay swords FS

[alon3232]

Hi,

 

I would appreciate your professional and personal opinion for these items that on eBay auctions:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-14th-Ce ... 3f26e38a7f

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Shinto- ... 3f26e3d31d

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Shinshi ... 3f26e408cb

 

Are they good quality blades ? what is considered to be a goof price for each to buy

 

Thanks

[CSM101]

Hi,

 

it is policy of this board not to comment actual auctions on ebay. I think, that everything can be seen and that the description is as good as possible. Look t the photos and then decide.

 

 

Uwe G.

 

 

PS: Don´t forget to sign your posts.

[J Reid]

Deleted my opinion..forgot about that rule

[Brian]

That's because there is no such rule :?

This is one of the few forums that does allow such discussion with the aim of education or assistance with buying. The guidelines are that the conversation shouldn't be about price primarily, and we try not to influence the sale. But advice and a little discussion is allowed.

 

Brian

[Veli]

NMB for sale or trade section often has nice deals, which can be useful when estimating what is a good quality-to-price ratio

for example this one: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16065

 

Veli

[Marius]

Veli,

 

thanks for the plug :-) It is still for sale. A massive, healthy tanto from the late Muromachi period. And no reserve price, LOL

[Stephen]

the ol rule comes to mind you get what you pay for.

[kunitaro]

the ol rule comes to mind you get what you pay for.

Yes, That is the basic

 

Just a small tip for beginner collectors.

 

the buyers can always ask question,

so, Ask if the seller GUARANTEE his item as its description,

You can ask "Could you guarantee the item, that will receive NBTHK Hozon ?"

signed blade and unsigned as well.

or for unsigned item, If He descrip age, school or smith,. you can ask Guarantee Hozon paper attribute so,

If it doesn't get Hozon, you will get refund, and confirm the condition,

so you can buy without risk.

If the seller can not guarantee, then you can buy them without expectation.

This is common in Japan.

also we must remember that most of un-restored items are on sale "as this" because the restoration (and papering) will cost more than its value.

 

also, you should ask same question for items with old papers.

Many items (not all) with other papers on sale, because. they could get NBTHK Hozon, If the item has Hozon paper, it doesn't need other papers.

 

Furthermore, If you want to progress fast.

Not to buy quickly, save good money, and buy a SIGNED (polished) healthy blade with Hozon paper, and Start/study from there.

Wakizashi, maybe a bit Suriage, (at least some parts of signature must be remained, so, Hozon paper guarantee the the blade made by the smith) It is the cheapest and quickest way of studying to reach the standard level.

(Standard level : you can recognize Age and school of Unsigned blade, you can judge shoshin/gimei of Signed blade by yourself)

[John A Stuart]

I can not emphasise more the agreement I have for the previous statement. Without some guarantee that you are spending your money wisely and safely, avoid out of polish doubtful swords that really will prove to reduce monies for sword/s that you will really covet and learn from in the future. My thought is this as well. If you are buying the sword for what the blade is, buy in shirasaya to reduce money spent on koshirae which hold lesser interest. There are a lot of lower end swords that are in koshirae that are of little worth that inflate the value of the sword above what it is truly worth. This is something I did not do at the start and I regret some of the purchases of reasonable blades in poor koshirae. Some koshirae were OK to good as well, but, more by accident than skill. John

[Adrian]

Just one more thing to add: always ask the ebay seller if he would guarantee that the sword doesn't have fatal flaws (as in money back guarantee). If you don't get any answer or if the seller claims to have no in-depth knowledge but the listing and the account history seem to suggest otherwise simply forget about it.

 

If the sword seems to have at least an old polish, the seller seems to know what he's doing but the answer is "sold as is because bla-bla" simply forget about it.

 

If the sword is in rough condition (basement find) AND the seller doesn't seem (from the listing, account history and so on) to have nihonto knowledge AND if you feel like gambling, just keep in mind that you may actually have a chance to find a real bargain but the odds are still VERY slim.

 

But hey, it's your money :D

[micko]

hi, it seems a lot of collectors frown upon ebay I tend to disagree there are a lot of good swords thet flow through ebay swords picked up from vets,estates ect. it's the dealers I don't trust and probably wouldn't buy from because they are only interested in profit anyway. ivé bought and sold several swords on ebay and have been happy with my deals,it's like anything you buy take a good look ask questions and do a deal if you wan't.

micko.

[paulb]

Dear Micko

The subject of buying from Ebay, its merits and risks have been discussed here to the point of tedium. If you run a search you will find every opinion expressed many times over.

Are there good swords sold on Ebay? depends on your definition of good, but certainly there are some reasonable blades which appear from time to time. These are far outweighed by the poor and the downright fraudulent.

Should the novice buy from Ebay?... No

Are all dealers corrupt and only out o make a fast buck?...no

If you feel sufficiently knowledgable and confident to buy swords on ebay and enjoy it then carry on but it is not something I personally would recommend to beginners. Equally I could certainly not buy there in preference to buying from a reputable dealer.

Regards

Paul

[Dr Fox]

Micko

 

Its great you are so happy, lady luck has more than smiled on you, but the reality is, that you will find that you are in a tiny minority of success stories. Do as suggested, and search the forum on this subject, Folks with the same aspirations as you have stories of total misery.

I for one don't find your guide to EBay success, sound in a couple of respects.

 

ivé bought and sold several swords on ebay and have been happy with my deals,it's like anything you buy take a good look ask questions and do a deal if you wan't.

micko.

 

Its not like anything you buy, swords are unique in themselves.

Take a good look, at what? a photographic representation, presented to you by the seller.

Ask questions, you are in trust of the sellers integrity.

Do a deal, again not exact, you could be in a bidding war with who? some times the seller himself.

 

You don,t trust dealers! Now you really have me at a loss, you are stood in front of the seller, sword item in hand, able to see and clarify any points you might have, receiving guarantees that are based on reputation, and state "they are only in it for profit anyway" I must beg to differ with your assertions.

 

Long may your personal successes continue, but I won't recommend it as a text for others.

 

Regards Denis.

[micko]

hi, dr and pauly for one I meant dealers on ebay,for 2 aspirations?,don't dealers sell swords for profit? oh that's right they just wan't to help you out ,some of the sword dealers on ebay are asking double their real value and further more that's just your opinions as is mine. ebay success? looks like ivé hit a couple of dealers.

micko

[paulb]

Dear Micko

My name is not Pauly nor am I dealer.

Of course dealers need to make a profit otherise they wouldnt be able to survive. Guess what that is pretty much the aim of those selling on Ebay too. I think the problem I have with your original post is that you are prepared to question and believe some faceless supplier on ebay, be they dealer or not but are then writing off all other dealers. I dont know if thats what you intended to suggest but thats how it read.

Over numerous years people have posted their Ebay purchases here in great hope only to be roundly dissappointed to find that their national treasure is in fact a fake.

Can you buy good swords on Ebay I am sure you can as I am equally sure you can win the lottery.

To suggest Ebay offers a better or safer route to purchase than a dealer of good reutation (and I repeat I am not a dealer) is wrong.

[Marius]

Micko - people come here to ask for advice. I don't think you will be in the position to benefit from advice if you don't want to listen to it. What you seem to prefer is to try to convince others that you are right.

 

I am happy that eBay works for you. It does not work for me and many Forum members. But we don't want to argue about that, OK? The topic has been discussed many times. No point to continue. I don't know if alon3232, the original poster, has benefitted from the discussion, but he has been given advice, too. No need to continue that, there is nothing more to say.

 

I suggest to close this thread.

[micko]

hi, i'm not trying to convince anyone of anything,just offering my own personal opinion and got hammered for it so who's right and who's wrong? just too add I also collect Burmese/thai dao which are near impossible to find here in Australia and ebay has given me a good window too them..

my last writing on the subject I agree.

micko.

[Dr Fox]

Micko

 

I am not a dealer.

 

Also it was not my intention to 'hammer' you. You expressed an opinion, and I hope you accept a measured response from me.

 

Regards Denis.

[Brian]

Micko is no longer with us.

He chose to insult a member with such vile language via pm that I made the decision to suspend his membership.

 

Brian

[Marius]

Thanks Brian. I don't think he will be missed.

[Dr Fox]

As a responder to Mico I just want to say, I am disappointed in the turn that the discussion took. This member has been with the forum since 2006, certainly not a newbie.

He has had the opportunity to read more posts, than a lot of us here, and would most certainly have known what constitutes ‘acceptable’ behaviour.

Amen to that.

Denis.