Jorgensen Posted January 30, 2012 Report Posted January 30, 2012 In the begining og december I bought a wakizashi on ebay from seller Fujisan Black (Carmen Altomonte). I wrote to him if he had possibility to ship it, so I would have it before Christmas, as I was going for vacation in the christmas. Answer was he was without car for a couple days, but would be no problem to have it before Christmas. However, when I got back from my christmas holiday, my kids have received the package for me and you know the feeling... Exited to open it to see the sword I bought =) The blade itself is quite descent, thick, heavy and in fair (older) polish. But then I noticed 2 small nicks on the blade. Also I quickly noticed that the tsuba was a reproduction. On saya, the kurikata and kojiri is missing. Saya was cracked in the laquer all the way both in top and bottom (cant see this on pictures and Fujisan black states saya as "Nice lacquerwork on saya, almost fully intact"... Looking further, I could se a lot of glue on tsuka, between the ito and same... Separated the tsuka, seppas and tsuba from the blade... Yes, the tsuba is reproduction and so is the one seppa (yes, I noticed seppas was not the equal on the pictures in the auction), but did not expect tsuba was reproduction (picture of tsuba is taken on distance, not possible to see... All in all... a lot of dissapointments that was either very difficult or impossible to judge from the pictures I think. Also, I have traded with Fujisan Black / Carmen Altomonte before (very long time ago and was satisfied then) and honestly I must say I did not expect did from this - experienced in nihonto - seller. Now the fun begins! -I wrote Carmen that I got home from vacation, have gotten the sword and pointed out all the mistakes. This is what I wrote to Fujisan Black on ebay: ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Saya. The Kurikata is missing and pictures hides this well. Also Saya is cracked all the way both in the top and bottom. (You write: Saya is old, quite possibly the original, yet still very solid and fully functional. Nice lacquerwork on saya, almost fully intact.) I do not agree with your description and you do not state in auction Saya is cracked all the way in top and bottom, nor that the kurikata is missing. Also the Kojiri is missing and not possible to see on pictures and should have been described. The Sageo is of poor quality, but I dont find this so important as the other issues. 2. Tsuba/Seppas. The Tsuba is not old and original, neither is the one seppa. (You state in the auction: Pre-1800 and write: Very good koshirae overall.) Tsuba/Seppa is not old/original at all and I think its a big mistake overall and you absolutely cannot state its a "Very good koshirae overall"! as Tsuba is a very important part of the Koshirae and it should clearly have been stated in auction that Tsuba/Seppa is not original and again, photos are not showing well. 3. The blade is overall a nice blade. But there are two small nicks and again you write (Overall a flawless blade.... A completely healthy blade in exceptional condition... There are of course some extremely minor scratches and surface marks, etc., but overall a very clean blade in good polish...). Again it should have been stated in auction that there are two small nicks in the blade, one near Habaki and one on Kissaki. And again pictures angle makes it impossible to see this. 4. Tsuka. There are several places on Tsuka and under Fuchi, that there has been used super glue. (You write: Strong tsuka, in superb condition.) ------------------------------------------------------------------- I finished the mail writing that overall, my conclusion is that there are a lot of mistakes in the description/missing important information and wanted some refund. To buy a new Tsuba and Seppas that match the age of rest of Koshirae + mounting easily costs 500 usd or more... + there was the other mistakes in description. I wrote he to let me know his conclusion of a reasonable refund. Also that he should notice that I have been a customer at his business before. Carmen replied that item was as decribed in auction!? and that he had this tsuba mounted, because sword was on consignment and tsuba that was with the sword (not mounted) didnt fit at all for this sword and it was a 500 usd tsuba. He would like to send me this tsuba instead of refund. I told him I wanted to see pics first... 4-5 days went, still no pics. Then I wrote I wanted money refund instead and he replied that I have not asked for refund within 3 days and it states in his return policy and sword was exactly as described. Again I explained Carmen that I was on vacation and I actually wrote him the very next day after I (me, myself) received the package, opened it and inspected the sword. He wrote the same back... return policy 3 days... item as described... bla bla bla... At the end I gave it up, told him to forget refund and the tsuba and left neg feedback... So... next time I buy on ebay, I will surely be more cautious and ask for better pictures before I buy. Luckily this sword was not so expensive, but the asthetics of the sword was appealing to me... however i anoys me the seller is dishonest and item is not as described/photos are manipulated to only show the best angle and also that he under no circumstances will admit his mastakes. Question. Did any of you have had bad experiences with this seller Fujisan Black / Carmen Altomonte? Heres a link for the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400260215680&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123#ht_500wt_1180 I hope you are not offended by this topic, just felt I would write about this case and tell you other guys about this experience and seller. And of course what I learnt - ask for better pictures //J. Jorgensen Quote
Jorgensen Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Posted January 30, 2012 Just realize I posted this on the wrong board. Dont know how to move the topic. I apologize for this. //J. Jorgensen Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 30, 2012 Report Posted January 30, 2012 This guy offends me immensely. I spent a considerable amount on some Goto menuki that when I received them they were reproduction FAKES. He is in my opinion an out and out CROOK. I e-mailed him the same day I got them and even went through a dispute process. I would have had to send them to Japan and spend more time and effort to get proof which although would vindicate me would not get my money back from this SHYSTER, in my opinion. AVOID HIM!!! John Quote
uwe Posted January 30, 2012 Report Posted January 30, 2012 Hi Jorgensen, sellers pics telling nothing about the blade, except that the tsuka is much too long for the sword Sorry to state that..... Uwe Quote
drbvac Posted January 30, 2012 Report Posted January 30, 2012 I used him several years ago and no too bad considering the cost of the item I finally received. Hard to get anything in the koto age for $1000.00 BUT as stated buyer beware and I just got ripped on another e-bay purchase nothing to do with nihonto but i guess a couple out of 400 transactions is a pretty good average. It is weird that some seem to go to the dark side over time so it is good to let others know of poor experiences as you have. Quote
Steve Waszak Posted January 31, 2012 Report Posted January 31, 2012 I had a very bad experience with fujisan black (Carmen Altomonte) some years ago. Item was NOT as described (to say the least: the blade was described as in flawless condition; when I inspected it after it arrived, there were TWO fatal flaws...). Need I say that he refused to take the piece back, even with photos documenting the flaws? I would never consider buying from him again. Steve Quote
Grey Doffin Posted January 31, 2012 Report Posted January 31, 2012 When you buy on ebay be sure to pay Paypal with a credit card. No matter what the seller says about not accepting returns, if the item isn't as described your credit card company will tell you to return it, they'll refund your money (all of it, purchase and postage), and they'll go after the seller. If you explain this to the seller he might agree to a return and refund so he won't be out postage and the sale price and ebay final value fee. Few sellers, no matter how underhanded, figure they'll come out ahead in a one on one with Master Card. Grey Quote
Jorgensen Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Posted January 31, 2012 Thank you for all the quick responses. Im sorry to hear that Im not alone with this experience, but it tells a lot about what kind of seller Fujisan Black/Carmen Altomonte is. I pointed out to him that my oppinion of fair trade is to TELL if you mount a reprodution tsuba on an original item, but his opinion is, if you dont tell, you cant complain about it heheh... Also Carmen wrote this: "Mei is good. I didnt guarantee the mei in the listing, but I will for you. If you go to get it papered and it turns out gimei, I will issue a refund (or I'll just send you the money directly after receiving the sword and proof from NTHK or NBTHK). A non issue though, as I am certain the mei is good. Now which Sukesada it is, dont know. Way too many for me to narrow down to one smith, but again, NTHK or NBTHK probably could." My big wondering... Above tells me that Carmen absolutely knows something about Japanese swords... Anyhow, he chooses to sell reproduction and fakes and blades with fatal flaws, stating its original and flawless... No doubt he does it with purpose and knowing it... Could be interesting to do, but I hardly believe it is worth get papered... ----------------------------------------------------- John: Im really sorry to hear about that rip-off, with fake menukis... I made a search on the board and found the topic with the menukis and that one is a really fraud, done with purpose I think! I'm glad that I managed to leave neg. feedback. When I did that I got a really angry mail from Carmen, but my patience was up... Uwe: Yes, you are right, that tsuka is too long for the blade, however it actually doesnt look so bad or wrong irl. drbvac: You're right about that. The price itself is not so bad and Im actually quite happy with the blade, has really nice curvature and is thick and healthy... Could easily get a polish and with fine result. Its just the princip, selling the whole thing as original and it is not. Steven: Im sorry to hear that. So even that you lived up to his return policy and took photos, he wouldnt refund you... Very sad and cheating... makes me angry... Did you open dispute on ebay? A wonder nobody have left neg. feedback before or did you do this? Grey: Thats a good tip, thank you. And I actually do use my creditcard on Paypal. In my case, I was happy about the blade and some other things, but unhappy with the reproduction parts and (very reasonable I think) I wanted some refund for this only. Im just glad it was not a 10K sword in this case. //J.Jorgensen Quote
estcrh Posted January 31, 2012 Report Posted January 31, 2012 "Mei is good. I didnt guarantee the mei in the listing, but I will for you. If you go to get it papered and it turns out gimei, I will issue a refund (or I'll just send you the money directly after receiving the sword and proof from NTHK or NBTHK). A non issue though, as I am certain the mei is good. Now which Sukesada it is, dont know. Way too many for me to narrow down to one smith, but again, NTHK or NBTHK probably could." The swords descriptions states "signed on omote "Bizen Kuni ju Osafune Sukesada", and dated on the ura "eiroku ju ichi....hachigatsu" (A day in the 8th month of 1568)." doent that narrow it down a bit? Just wondering. Quote
Jorgensen Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Posted January 31, 2012 Hi Eric, You're indeed right. It will narrow it down a lot. However (did not do much research yet), when looking at the Swordsmith database, there are a couple "Bizen Kuni ju Osafune Sukesada" that it could be, when compared the date/year and honestly Im not sure which one it exactly could be. If anybody has an idea, I will be happy if you let me know. //J. Jorgensen Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 31, 2012 Report Posted January 31, 2012 I would have left negative feed back, but, by the time all my dispute processes ended it was too late. John Quote
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