A Truly Honest Seller
As the world of WWII German Militaria collecting is full of dishonest sellers and so many fakes that we almost have to consult experts on Fora like this one before buying the simplest of items, I think it's important to share the good stories to show that there are definitely honest people out there.
I became acquainted with Vladimir Filipenko (ebaY ID: vlad2308, ePier ID: koshundr) as a result of winning one of his first ebaY auctions for a German identity disc that he found in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). Right from the outset, I was very pleased with his items and the way he did business. Over the last year I've bought numerous discs from him and have examined the images of every one of his offerings, and I can say, without a doubt, they're all 100% authentic. Even on the odd occasion that I felt there was a mistake in his one of his auction descriptions (such as misidentifying an abbreviation), Vlad has always made the appropriate corrections so as to ensure the bidders were not unintentionally mislead- something not too many sellers would do.
The real proof of his honesty occurred last night; two of his most recent auctions were for SS identity discs- something he's never had before- but disappointingly, I recognized them right away as being fakes. When I asked about them, Vlad told me that he himself had not found them, but that they had come from a collector he knows. When I explained that I thought they were fakes and why, his reply was that he had absolutely no idea and that he would of course end the auctions immediately- and he did. Now I've encountered many sellers who take great offense when the authenticity of their items is questioned, but Vladimir is not one of them. He ended the auctions despite the fact that one of them had a high bid of over $80, and that he would lose the listing fees he paid- simply because he does not want to cheat anyone and he doesn't want to do anything to damage his reputation. In my mind he's actually improved his reputation significantly, and I would recommend him as a great source without reservation.
Matt
I became acquainted with Vladimir Filipenko (ebaY ID: vlad2308, ePier ID: koshundr) as a result of winning one of his first ebaY auctions for a German identity disc that he found in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). Right from the outset, I was very pleased with his items and the way he did business. Over the last year I've bought numerous discs from him and have examined the images of every one of his offerings, and I can say, without a doubt, they're all 100% authentic. Even on the odd occasion that I felt there was a mistake in his one of his auction descriptions (such as misidentifying an abbreviation), Vlad has always made the appropriate corrections so as to ensure the bidders were not unintentionally mislead- something not too many sellers would do.
The real proof of his honesty occurred last night; two of his most recent auctions were for SS identity discs- something he's never had before- but disappointingly, I recognized them right away as being fakes. When I asked about them, Vlad told me that he himself had not found them, but that they had come from a collector he knows. When I explained that I thought they were fakes and why, his reply was that he had absolutely no idea and that he would of course end the auctions immediately- and he did. Now I've encountered many sellers who take great offense when the authenticity of their items is questioned, but Vladimir is not one of them. He ended the auctions despite the fact that one of them had a high bid of over $80, and that he would lose the listing fees he paid- simply because he does not want to cheat anyone and he doesn't want to do anything to damage his reputation. In my mind he's actually improved his reputation significantly, and I would recommend him as a great source without reservation.
Matt
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