vajo Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 I sold a sword over a auction plattform - starting price 1 EUR. I described what i know about the sword and give a lot pictures at the auction. There where a lot of different bidders in the auction and the sword goes for a relative cheap price to italy. The offer was a private offer - no return and exclusion of warranty and liability for defects Some days later i got mail from the buyer, that the sword is beautiful but not sharp. Because it is not sharp he want give it back. I said to him that sharpness was not described in the offer, and he didn't asked about anything. I don't take it back. Now he wrote tons of mails and offend me. I got a mail from him from the auction house in which they said he should make a report because of fraud. Crazy? Quote
Alex A Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Just tell him they dont polish them sharp as there is no need to and that its a myth that all Samurai swords are sharp, and grow up Quote
16k Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Tell him to buy an accusharp! Does miracles on Shinken. Quote
Austus Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Fraud involves deception with intent, usually in order to profit unfairly. You did none of that. Unfortunately, the buyer is not being fair. The auction house should know that. 1 Quote
Wayben Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Auction houses generally side with buyers. That's how they keep people comfortable with bidding. Unfortunately, sellers are held to a higher standard of fairness than buyers. Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 He probably has his fingerprints all over the blade now, too! 3 Quote
Blazeaglory Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 WTF? I wonder how the buyer tested for sharpness? Or what he is thinking as a supposed collector of Nihonto? Since when is "sharpness" a thing in modern antique collecting? I mean, I could see if this was circa 1500 but today? This entire thing just makes me angry for some reason. I can picture that person showing off the sword to friends..."Hey check out the beautiful Sugata and the detailed Hada and Hamon. The forging is flawless! BUT IT'S NOT SHARP SO IT'S CRAP" Given, I must have gotten lucky because several Nihonto I have found in the past are O-Wazimono (or at the least really freaking sharp) but I wouldn't hate them if they weren't sharp. They're antiques, not modern swords meant for action. Please keep us informed on this and if the auction house tries giving you problems, contact me and I'll help you walk through it. I've been dealing with unruly buyers for many years now. 1 Quote
Fuuten Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 One could try and say sharp is a subjective term. Like beautiful. 4 Quote
Stephen Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Description should have stated not alive blade. sorry 1 Quote
vajo Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Posted January 13, 2020 I found it sharp. I cut myself during making pictures. I have posted it here in the forum But i think he awaits a o-wazamono blade And the pictures shows clearly out of polish... Btw: I never have looked or tested if one of my blades are sharp. Thats not important for me. I never touch a blade with bare hands. 1 Quote
Ganko Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Most of us don't care how sharp the sword is unless it is to be used for Batto. I knew a fellow once who used a wakizashi to cut his wedding cake, buy it didn't need to be too sharp for that.:-) Quote
16k Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 On 1/13/2020 at 8:32 PM, vajo said: I found it sharp. I cut myself during making pictures. I have posted it here in the forum But i think he awaits a o-wazamono blade And the pictures shows clearly out of polish... Btw: I never have looked or tested if one of my blades are sharp. Thats not important for me. I never touch a blade with bare hands. That was the mystery blade much commented here, right? how could he expect a sharp sword from such an out of polish blade? The stupidity of some people baffles me! Quote
vajo Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Posted January 13, 2020 Yes JP it was that mystery blade. Quote
16k Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Well, in that case, I don’t know how it sold for, but he probably had a great deal on a mysterious yet genuine blade. He should be happy. 1 Quote
Stephen Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 Guess im not up to date. Ill butt out. Quote
ChrisW Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 I agree with Steve, offer to test it for sharpness on him! Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 He probably tried slicing strips of paper or something. Japanese swords don't particularly require being "razor" sharp, a sword that feels blunt will still cut you deeply with a drawing motion. Perhaps 3 of my swords would be "razor" sharp, the rest would still be plenty sharp enough for their intended purpose. Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 Maybe adding the phrase, "Sold as-is," might address this problem in the future, Chris. 2 Quote
vajo Posted January 14, 2020 Author Report Posted January 14, 2020 This gone like muppet show. Buyer says it don't cut paper. Auction house "egun" gives him right, that a katana must be sharp. They didn't correspond with me and gave me no names or answers, only the webmaster e-mail. They rated me as a defrauder. So beware only sell swords that cut paper easy. He bid the sword up to 565 EUR + shipping (47 bids and 12 bidder) https://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=7772644 Quote
EastCoast Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 Good to know! Looks like I will include videos cutting paper and my dinner to ensure buyer satisfaction. Best, James 4 Quote
Dave R Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 That is bloody ridiculous, a perfectly decent katana at what I would consider a bargain price, and he complains! Both buyer and auction house are idiots. 4 Quote
raynor Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 This is silly. And a katana was made to cut people not paper.. theres a reason why the edge is appleseed not razor shape.. Uneducated buyer and apparently auction house too. 2 Quote
Greg F Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 I kinda wish you got it back and sell it to someone you know will appreciate it and not ruin it. He doesnt deserve real Nihonto imho. Greg 2 Quote
Brian Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 Just tell him to lay his finger down on the table and holding only the very back (kashira) of the sword, drag the sword back over his finger.If there is no cut, you will refund him in full. 4 Quote
vajo Posted January 14, 2020 Author Report Posted January 14, 2020 I explained the auction house the collectors view on Japanese katana and what sharpness is. They removed the fraud rating. Second issue is solved. Haha Brian 6 Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 You could have offered to do Kaishaku...if his head didn't roll, you'd refund him. 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 I'm glad they cleared your reputation Chris. So many auction houses sell obvious fakes and ignore our input when we try to let them know, yet here is a guy selling a legit sword and gets harrassed by a nincompoop. Very frustrating. 7 Quote
Tom Darling Posted January 18, 2020 Report Posted January 18, 2020 Do you all agree this is a genuine (hand made) samurai sword? Did you critique it correctly? I wonder. Peace. Tom D. Quote
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