Thread: The meaning of "rare"

First English is just my 3rd language so excuse me if my English is bad.

Looking at the dictionary online "rare" is:
Rare | Define Rare at Dictionary.com

— adj 1. not widely known; not frequently used or experienced; uncommon or unusual: a rare word 2. occurring seldom: a rare appearance 3. not widely distributed; not generally occurring: a rare herb 4. (of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin; rarefied 5. uncommonly great; extreme: kind to a rare degree 6. exhibiting uncommon excellence; superlatively good or fine: rare skill 7. highly valued because of its uncommonness: a rare prize

—Antonyms
1. common. 2. frequent. 5. inferior.

I think if a hone is available online its no more rare.
Because it is commonly available to anybody.

I think its one of the bla-bla the seller say to sell it at a higher price.

Or its just 7 :
highly valued because of its uncommonness: a rare prize
Any thoughts?

Are the following usage for rare correct?

A fairly and budged prices good Nakayama are rare.

About 10years ago fairly priced good Nakayama and Esher had not been rare.

Rare on ebay means that there's not many of them. Whether that's true or not is an entirely different matter. It is just the opinion of the seller. Not everything that is called rare is rare. Sellers often use the word rare when they actually mean to say: "Please bid generously because I want to sell this item at a high price."

Eschers aren't rare, it seldom happens there's not at least one listed. Same applies to Nakayamas.

I remember a pocket knife collector/author defining rare, in terms of Case XX vintage knives, as less than 500 known to exist. Very rare was less than 50 IIRC. I guess anyone can come up with a definition. Some items may be ubiquitous, such as Fillarmonica straight razors, and command a premium price, while others are few and far between and go for practically nothing. The issue is supply and demand, like any commodity. "Rare" on ebay is about equivalent to "shave ready". IOW, it may or may not be an accurate representation of the item.

The term is totally subjective so it means nothing as it is commonly used. There are some collectible items where they have tried to objectively rate things with certain terms such as rare but those are the exceptions.

Originally Posted by Kees

Eschers aren't rare, it seldom happens there's not at least one listed. Same applies to Nakayamas.

Just pointing out...I think he said rare and cheap. And yea, both are subjective terms, but if you think of cheap as 20 bucks-100 bucks, he's right. It's hard to get a good Nakayama or Escher in that price range

This is a great example of why people must read, and shop, with a critical eye.

Rare and pricey is not the same. There's quite a few Eschers around but they are in great demand. Non-aficionados will think they are rare as they cannot understand why they fetch such enormous prices. IMHO there's even more Fillies around and they fetch even higher prices.

Morale of the story: check the quality of the item, check the completed listings to get a picture of what prices are paid for similar items and then make up your mind as to how much you wanna pay.

Originally Posted by heirkb

Just pointing out...I think he said rare and cheap. And yea, both are subjective terms, but if you think of cheap as 20 bucks-100 bucks, he's right. It's hard to get a good Nakayama or Escher in that price range

Ty.
That what I wanted to say.