Thread: eBay 101

Here's one that caught my eye. It's a 8/8's the seller is asking $400+ for and is noted as shave ready.

First, the seller is coping one of our most popular restorers by adding some dice to display how good a finish is on the razor. Problem is that the razor is heavily pitted and all that was done to the razor was knock the high spots off and polish what ever reached the buffer. Next, if you look at the toe, the point of the bevel is rounded off from one side of the bevel to the other. Obviously the toe is not sharp and w/ a near wedge it will take a year of Sundays to set the bevel to the toe. A close inspection will expose more than one bevel near the tow. I do see a bevel down the rest of the blade but I do not see any hone wear near the spine to match the width of the bevel. If this razor was sharpened to shave ready it was not done on a hone by any method we recognize or it was not sharpened on a hone. These are the most obvious traits I can spot. Can anyone else see anything else that would not make this razor a wise purchase? Please disregard the price, we are only talking about the traits of razors in this thread and I only mentioned price to get a feel for the auction of this razor. The seller should not be mentioned if you know who it is.

Originally Posted by Joed

Here's one that caught my eye. It's a 8/8's the seller is asking $400+ for and is noted as shave ready.

First, the seller is coping one of our most popular restorers by adding some dice to display how good a finish is on the razor. Problem is that the razor is heavily pitted and all that was done to the razor was knock the high spots off and polish what ever reached the buffer. Next, if you look at the toe, the point of the bevel is rounded off from one side of the bevel to the other. Obviously the toe is not sharp and w/ a near wedge it will take a year of Sundays to set the bevel to the toe. A close inspection will expose more than one bevel near the tow. I do see a bevel down the rest of the blade but I do not see any hone wear near the spine to match the width of the bevel. If this razor was sharpened to shave ready it was not done on a hone by any method we recognize or it was not sharpened on a hone. These are the most obvious traits I can spot. Can anyone else see anything else that would not make this razor a wise purchase? Please disregard the price, we are only talking about the traits of razors in this thread and I only mentioned price to get a feel for the auction of this razor. The seller should not be mentioned if you know who it is.

I looked at the other pics and I am not seeing any buffing marks, this might be just hand polish job for 400 bucks.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I looked at the other pics and I am not seeing any buffing marks, this might be just hand polish job for 400 bucks.

The reason I think it was done w/ a power tool is due to the amount the bevel is rounded off from side to side and the condition of the scales near the damage. It's just my interpretation of the pics and I may be wrong.

This one has 3 bids however the edge is totally eaten by corrosion.

Just saw this one. Shame.

Gentlemen,
What are your thoughts on this practice? You see a nice razor a 100% positive feedback high volume razor seller has listed and ask him the history of the razor. He tells you he got it on trade. You do a little investigation and discover that in the same month, he purchased that same razor as the highest bidder but for 125$ less. The seller even tells me that he didn't have to do anything to the razor when he received it as it was already honed and almost new.

Another seller whom I shall not name posted a razor on the classified section claiming it is in great condition with no issues and that he is asking what he paid for it a few months ago. He was honest in telling me he got it off eBay from a specific seller. I find his feedback with regards to the transaction and his feedback to the seller states: " ok razor, but uneven bevel and uneven spine with lots of hone wear ". He also paid 40$ less for it on eBay.

It is amazing what the feedback and transaction history can reveal.

Sounds like normal capitalism, the guy is just trying to make a profit. You don't have to bid on it and remember there will always be another razor.

Originally Posted by Badgister

Gentleman,
What are your thoughts on this practice? You see a nice razor a 100% positive feedback high volume razor seller has listed and ask him the history of the razor. He tells you he got it on trade. You do a little investigation and discover that in the same month, he purchased that same razor as the highest bidder but for 125$ less. The seller even tells me that he didn't have to do anything to the razor when he received it as it was already honed and almost new.

Another seller whom I shall not name posted a razor on the classified section claiming it is in great condition with no issues and that he is asking what je paid for it a few months ago. He was honest in telling me he got it of eBay from a specific seller. I find his feedback with regards to the transaction and he says " ok razor, but uneven bevel and uneven spine with lots of hone wear " he also paid 40$ less for it on eBay.

It is amazing what the feedback and transaction history can reveal.

you do not buy it and wait for the next one to come up that does not cost a fortune.

Good research pays off, though the results aren't always pretty. There are a lot of dishonest people out there, you snuck a peek into their psyche. Nothing wrong with trying to make a profit, but no reason to misrepresent yourself or the product (lie). Personally, I would avoid those sellers and move on.

I see that all the time. Its frustrating, but doesnt really hurt me any. The reality is, if you found a picaso in a yard sale, would you sell it for the same 5 dollars you paid? or would you ask what you think its value is?
The value of anything is only as much as you pay for it!