I feel sick

[john mack]

ss

No worries we have all been there but I am here to tell you that the sting will go away but you will never forget it .

[reeder3]

I recently missed a nice type 98 masayuki custom sword with a 34" Nagasa for $900! It was reposted 2 weeks later for $7500, although I would have held on to that baby. I have a feeling it was the same Asian guy from NY. I bet it will be listed on eBay soon with photos of the sword sitting on a granite kitchen island. Can you tell I'm still bitter .

That is an old trick at estate sales. Next time walk it to the cash register yourself to verify. I bet he was full of it. Once you put the sword down it was fair game. Another trick I've seen is where pickers will go through the house and put "sold" stickers on everything they want to spend more time looking at later. It ain't sold until they've paid for it and if they're not carrying it, screw 'em.

[ROBB]

I would just like to add there was no shenanigans , he got there early I got there late it was as simple as that . Rob

[Death-Ace]

I would just like to add there was no shenanigans , he got there early I got there late it was as simple as that . Rob

Robb, just a thought, which part of New York are you located? I knew a dealer from Manhattan that I used to visit. Nice guy, but got most of his items from Japan. Wasn't an older gentleman, was it?

Lev

[Death-Ace]

I recently missed a nice type 98 masayuki custom sword with a 34" Nagasa for $900! It was reposted 2 weeks later for $7500, although I would have held on to that baby. I have a feeling it was the same Asian guy from NY. I bet it will be listed on eBay soon with photos of the sword sitting on a granite kitchen island. Can you tell I'm still bitter .

That is an old trick at estate sales. Next time walk it to the cash register yourself to verify. I bet he was full of it. Once you put the sword down it was fair game. Another trick I've seen is where pickers will go through the house and put "sold" stickers on everything they want to spend more time looking at later. It ain't sold until they've paid for it and if they're not carrying it, screw 'em.

Reeder,

I hear you. I used to be quick a picker and my folks own an estate sale business and in the past antique store as a side business. I used to see lots of folks switch stickers or tags and attempt to hide items under couches. Another trick was to buy a huge amount of clothing, etc to hide some items underneath.

Lev

[Alan Smith]

Sorry to hear about the missed items; it is no fun to be on the loosing end of these estate "picking" adventures! I've had losses such as yours in the past, but I've also had wins . . . so it all balances out.

An example of a win: In college, I was driving in my car listening to the radio one Saturday morning when I heard one of those on-site "live" broadcasts from the local national guard armory, where a charity benefit yard sale of donated items was being conducted. The radio voice mentioned about the wide variety of items for sale, including "an old wooden airplane propeller". I was close by so I hit the gas and hauled over to the sale location. Walking in I asked about the propeller and headed straight in its direction. As I spotted it, I noticed a cute little couple in front of me who were also walking towards the propeller, talking about how it would look nice as a decorator item in their den. I immediately walked faster, passing by them and literally beating them to the propeller (which I grabbed and tossed onto my shoulders - it weighs about 30 pounds). As I turned around, they looked a bit stunned and, when walking away, I overheard them saying "darn . . he got it first . . ." Price was $20

Turns out the propeller had been donated to the auction by my best friend's father, who had unbolted it from an abandoned radial engine in an aircraft graveyard on Kodiak Island, AK when he was up there doing underwater geology looking for gold and other minerals in the 1980's. The propeller had traveled back to Mississippi on his research vessel, which had to pass through the Panama Canal to get back to its home port on the MS Gulf Coast . . so there was quite a story behind it. My later research revealed the propeller to have come off a U.S. Navy "Flying Boat" aircraft c. 1917.

Anyway, for me it was a close call on the propeller . . . I almost missed it. It is still in my militaria collection, some 25 years later, and I think about my friend's father (now deceased) and my High School buddy every time I look at it.

Keep your chin up and keep hunting . . . you too will have some wins!

[ROBB]

Nice one Alan . Lev it was a 46 -56 ish year old fellow balding thin tall glasses he was with another guy or wife or someone . It was on Long Island Gret Nek of which there is a large Asian population . One thing I hate is queueing ( being British ) I was really counting on it being quite expensive and all the pickers giving it a wide birth cos they are all looking for cheap crap , sadly for me a collector got there before I did . I have just about got over it , but its been a fun thread and its interesting reading other peoples her misses and success stories . Rob

[Jba1973]

ouch

[Brian Robinson]

Well, if it's any consolation...the sword in shirasaya was probably infinitely more interesting and desirable than the Gunto


Brian

[GHP]

Well, if it's any consolation...the sword in shirasaya was probably infinitely more interesting and desirable than the Gunto


Brian

Wish we had a clearer image of the sayagaki!!!

[gunto]

Well, if it's any consolation...the sword in shirasaya was probably infinitely more interesting and desirable than the Gunto


Brian

The fittings looks like dark silver. Maybe very nice blade

[ROBB]

The sword was absolutely mint the fittings were dark , I had to look at it several times to make sure it was real ,and the fellow told me the blade in the wooden thing was matching , I was thinking wow if you are so interested and knowledgeable why don't you buy it ...........lol and he had and I was fidling with it and trying to take his sword to the checkout ! oh dear how I can laugh now .....sob . Rob

[charlie1]

Won a naval dirk type 2 with old blade on ebay for 340 usd. Asked for shipping price ,2 days later ,got answer his son sold it locally.

I felt sick too!

Ebay makes me sick all the time, but for other reasons...

[Jos L C]

Take a huge bottle of booze, have a few strong ones, imagine that the sword is a recent repro and that the Asian guy paid 20K for it, then empty the bottle and start singing and laughing.
Next morning you'll feel much better ..

Jos.