Sorry not to be posting much. I sold a perfectly good item on eBay and have someone being increasingly nasty and demanding dry cleaning costs when there was nothing wrong with it when it left me. I shall not be selling any more of my clothing on eBay again - there are some horrid people out there. It's bad enough when you sell something and someone never pays . . . I shouldn't let it get me down so, but it is - the unfairness of it I suppose.
Anyway, we've just been watching the Antiques Roadtrip, as we do every weekday evening. Today they were in Wiltshire and ending up in Wareham - at Cottees sale room, where we started off buying stuff (for our house) at auction. It still looked pretty much the same, though different faces there. So many happy memories of days there with T in her push-chair (she was a very obliging baby!) We still have quite a few of the pieces we bought then.
We have enjoyed going to auction so much over the years, and seen some real fluctuations in prices and demand. Boxes of fairly ordinary china went from £3 or £4 up to £20 or more over the years. They're going back down now - it's Winter and not so many car boot sales so demand is less. We have seen the zenith of Victorian furniture (never popular due to its size) and now it is in the duldrums again. Nobody wants ordinary prints and paintings - you can get half a dozen for a fiver at one sale we go to. Some things (the nice chairs we have collected in the past) keep their money better. Good Welsh dressers tend to hold their money too. We are just getting back into auction-going again after several years away so it is interesting to see what prices things are making. Of course, it depends on what auction you go to as some are more expensive than others as they have a different quality of items in the sale. The last one I went to the boxes of china had a mixture of ordinary and very nice desirable china in and were beyond my pocket.
Well, the cold is getting to my fingers again - away from the fire it is perishing - once the house gets cold it takes a lot to warm it up again and we daren't have the central heating on. Keep warm everyone.
I shall always think of you now BB when we watch Antiques Road Trip over our tea. We have it on a tray and aim to be sitting down well before it begins - it is one of our favourite programmes and you can never predict what things will make. I do think some auction houses are better than others at selling things. We live close to Tennants which is called the christies of the North.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm sorry you have ebay trouble, the same thing happened to me last year, I haven't sold anything on there since ..it upset me so much, totally undeserved and yes some people are just blumin horrible.
ReplyDeleteI use to go to wareham all the time! had some great things from there and then it went ridiculously expensive!! and I havent been for a while, used to really enjoy the adrenalin buzz of bidding!! very dangerous :-)
Theo is looking very butch and handsome x
Our fire is roaring and the hood is up on my dressing gown.
ReplyDeleteI once sent two people the wrong things when selling two similar items on ebay. One person was lovely but the other never got back to me and I ended up losing money over it. Some people defy belief.
Wrap up in a blanket!
Maybe we should have an afternoon out to the auction house in Wareham. It sounds a very interesting one.
ReplyDeleteI do hope your ebay troubles soon get sorted out. It really is not fair when you sell something in good faith and get this kind of treatment.
I'm glad you've reappeared--I was beginning to fear you were ill again.
ReplyDeleteBuyers can be very demanding and dishonest people--the 'something for nothing' approach.
Your house sounds similar to the old farmhouse where we lived in Vermont years ago. From November til April our living space condensed down to life in the big kitchen/living room--with hurried dashes through unheated areas to reach the bedrooms.
Theo is looking so much better. Love the way his little paw is holding his dish.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
Morning folks. Words fail me over how despicable people can be on eBay. I am fed up with the character assassination tbh and want to go and hide (I have a large ironing mountain to hand . . .)
ReplyDeleteparsnip - he is the cutest lad. He puts his paw in the water bowl too, and "plays" (e.g. makes a mess!) and when he is eating, if there is a bit of meat at the edge of the dish, he pulls it towards him with his paw. Altogether now, awwwwwwww bless!
MM - I am thoroughly down in the dumps over it - can't get to sleep, can't stay asleep and my brain just keeps doing reruns of the latest nasties said to me . . . The cold house isn't helping either - that really gets me down. Oh for a cosy cottage next time . . .
DW - you'd love Cottees - it was always a good auction and all sorts of goodies on offer. They used to hold a produce auction on a Saturday too, which was worth going to.
Em - my hotty botty is now cold, so off to find my crocheted throw (the Sweet Pea coloured one I made when I was ill in the summer).
Fading Grace - there was a period when EVERYTHING went very dear, and then suddenly (seemingly in the wake of 9/11) everything took a hit and antiques fell greatly in demand and value. Stuff's much cheaper these days again. Well, it is in Wales at any rate. Have a day out at Cottees and sit on your hands!
Weaver - snap - tea on trays and Antiques Road Trip - what a lovely habit to have : ) Some of the stuff they buy has us thinking ??????? We wouldn't have gone near it but I think it's all part of the "story" they are telling in the programme, and handy hints to buyers or something . . . e.g. do NOT buy anything broken, cracked, chipped, or hideous . . .
ooops lost a comment.
ReplyDeleteSome ebay people are truly vile. I sold a few items recently and one lady didn't pay so I took out a non payment buyer action. She paid, I sent her the item the following day and she bombed my star rating! Marked me down for communication and dispatch time.
I banned her from future auctions. Do the same with your buyer. You really don't need people like that tormenting you.
I watch Antiques roadtrip when I get the chance. So interesting to watch the prices.
Keep warm and well Hun.
sharie - sorry to hear about your awful eBay experience too. They seem to happen regularly to various folks - I suspect the nicest ones get picked on - there are some nasty wotsits out there (out of politeness I shall not call them what I would like to!) Believe me, I shall be banning this particular troll from anything I may be selling in future.
ReplyDeleteWhen I sit down to watch Antiques Roadtrip tonight, I shall budge up on the sofa to let all you good folks on here join me : )
Firstly, {{{{{HUG}}}} to chase off hurt & harm by the cruel ebayer
ReplyDeleteWhenever the random public is encountered, it seems inevitable that sooner (or later) such personalities will find you/me/any seller. Hopefully you can draw comfort from reading here how many (myself included) have had similar encounters. I've no clue what causes anyone to behave in such unreasonable ways - and have finally come to believe there is no point in attempting to sort it. They are unhappy souls - and unhappiness is never inclined to remain in its' own dooryard. You (and we all here) know that you did everything proper and right. There simply is no pleasing some folks.
Think instead of all the happy sales you've had and the kind folks you have (or will!) encounter selling your lovely wares ~ and carry on! Should you back away, do it because you want, not because of the crabby-pants-complainer lol (otherwise she/he wins and directs your course - poo on that!)
I'm reminded of one of my favored Mark Twain quips as it applies to some of the more difficult people in the world:
The worst advice you can give some people is 'to be themselves' roflmao
So (please!) try to let it vex you no more :-)
Hugs
Issy