"
As someone who has some experience selling vintage designer jewelry, however I would not put myself in the same class as gifts_of_elegance, the difference in the 2 brooches was immediately obvious to me. 73rhc, no offence to you but you missed this entirely and then with your statement "Of course the other seller's can't be right. I can't be another version." you basically proved that you know little to nothing about this genre of item and are therefor woefully unqualified to comment on the pricing. The other seller's brooch has, in my opinion, had those stones replaced. The brooch is quite an uncommon piece but I have seen one or 2 in my day and the stones in question have always been, and are all supposed to be, so far as I know and have found through my own research, of the same color and in particular light amethyst. There is also quite a significant difference in the cost to replace the stones with "original authentic" pieces in the amethyst color vs the clear ones either authentic or knock-off.
Even if the 2 pieces were identical, and again they are significantly not, if one seller chooses to sell their piece for substantially less than it is worth that is their business and IMHO does nothing but hurt the market for everyone, including themselves. Should they find another piece of the same type, for example, with perfect stones, they will have a tough time justifying a higher price after setting somewhat of a precedent with their earlier piece, especially after making no mention of the off color stones.
I see this quite often with sellers who panic after they have been unable to move a piece that they may have significant investment in or perhaps the seller is in need of a fast influx of cash, who knows.Myself, I have dropped the price on an item I probably should have had more patience with and regretted it later but such is life and I know full well that I did myself no service by lowering my price standard. Less significant, less expensive items have the pricing fluctuate all over the place quite often, and especially with those that are in no shortage of supply it has very little effect on the market if you have to dump one once in a while for whatever reason.
As far as the second example of the Minton china set is concerned, my opinion, again having some experience in this area, is that the set that sold, the one you used as an example, was seriously undervalued. With very little effort you can find similar sets that have sold and newer listings being offered in the same price range as gifts is offering their set.
At this point to me anyway, this appears to have become more about you trying to find any means possible with which to attack gifts_of_elegance. I'm at a loss as to what your motivations might be but I'm sure I am not the only one that sees it this way. You are trolling gifts' listings and commenting on items that you obviously have little or no knowledge of. That is not meant as any sort of insult, as we all have our areas of expertise, but the direction of your questions and your responses make it obvious that you are out of your depth questioning gifts on the pricing of these items. The simple fact alone that you question the pricing as being too high based on ONE other selling item without 1) noticing the huge difference in the jewelry pieces and 2) not even bothering to look for and find china sets having sold and now being offered in the very same price range as gifts' set does nothing more than add solid credence to my statement that you are now just grasping at straws to attack gifts_of_elegance.
I'm not going to get into an argument with you over this. I have said my piece where I feel it needed to be said and have done it without needing to be snide or insulting. The facts, in this case, speak for themselves.
All the best to everyone that has voiced their opinion in this thread.
Cheers,
thD"
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Dear Mr. thD,
As you were able to say your peace. And that the thread was closed. Please allow me the same opportunity.
I have been in the antique and collectable world for nearly 40 years. And in those 40 or so years. I have come to learn that there are often many variations of items. And this is true with the brooch. The other poster has one with all the same coloured stones in the wings. A Google search can bring you to a website were a previous dealer in Swarovski has one that has a mix of pink and lavender stones. I can supply the link if you would like. So therefore, why can't the other one listed on eBay be a variation? The other seller seems to have many Swarovski and might be an expert in the jewelry field as well. Maybe not. But why would such an astute seller not mention this. And list it as New with Tags?
As for the Minton, please supply the links to the comparable listings that sold for the same price. I looked very quickly and couldn't find any. I Googled and found a bigger set on another site with the starting bid of $4000 USD that went unsold. And please don't show Wedgwood Bentley as a comparable. If anyone wants to say they are comparable in price and collectability is way off.
To answer another part of your post. I'm not attacking anyone. I am merely replying to statements made by other sellers. When I Google Minton Dynasty set. The first thing that comes up is the other posters eBay link. So I mentioned that because she complained that her sales were low. Due to low visibility. That it might be that the prices were too high. She denied so I found a couple of comparables. I am not on a mission to attack other posters. But my experience allows me to disagree with what other people say. And because of this I'm the bad guy. So be it.
You say that you sold items that were underpriced. I hear that all of the time. But the market dictates the price, not what some self proclaimed expert thinks it should sell for. This statement is not directed at you, but as a generalization. Basic supply and demand.
So with keeping with the original thread. I don't believe that Google can be blamed. Through many searches, eBay comes up first. eBay's figures show that there is traffic and plenty of buyers. The password hack may have had an effect, but that was short lived.
So what's left? One has to look in ones own backyard after all of the other options has been exhausted. Certain categories and items are cyclic and some peeter out due to a shrinking fan/collector base. Many antique and collectable areas die because the younger buyer has no interest in what the older buyer was into. And many sellers cannot come to grips with this because they can't separate their love and passion for their items from their business sense. And thus, throw good money after bad.
