Okay, in my last post I raved on a bit about the incredibly high prices being asked and being paid for Sherman jewelry lately, especially when the jewelry is a bracelet. I also suggested that just maybe sellers are getting a bit greedy and trying to capitalize on this rush to acquire Shermans. I need to make one thing clear in case any of my fellow associates thought I was pointing a finger at them: I wasn't. I know, one in particular, is selling off an estate on consignment. So her prices are what the person she is selling for wants to get. That's just fine by me. And let me just add, that both the seller and owner are doing fantastically with their sales. This owner certainly has a collection to die for.So now that's out of the way, let me address the rest: the ones I believe are jumping on the band wagon and looking to score bigtime, like the person selling the bracelet shown in the photo above. It's a gorgeous bracelet, and Sherman bracelets being as hard to get as they are, most of us would jump at this one, especially since it's 6-row piece and hence wide, even more desirable.
But, and it's a big BUT, this seller has simply shown a few small photos and in his/her description states nothing more than "I'll let the pictures do the talking". Well, for starters, if the photos were terrific, like the ones in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE, where you see 9 photos of a piece from various angles, front and back, and super close-up, the pictures might indeed do the talking. But even then, a seller asking a lot for a piece owes the buyers a bit more than just good photos. They need to really tell the buyer about the piece and disclose any issues that might impact on the purchaser's decision to buy.
So what might have happened here if a buyer hadn't asked a few questions? Someone might just have paid the starting price of $4000!! Yes, you read right: this seller is asking $4000 for this bracelet! So, big deal you say: folks are paying in the thousands now for Sherman bracelets. Yeah, sure they are for those rare as hen's teeth rigid cuff bracelets in popular colors (such as my aforementioned colleague is selling!) But not for the very much more common regular blue Sherman bracelets. Those go for between $200 - $300!
But there's more. When an interested buyer asked this seller for more information i.e. how about some dimensions, e.g. width, length, any missing stones etc. that's when we found out what the pictures didn't tell us: there are 4 small stones missing, 2 on either side. 'Scuse me? You're asking $4000 for a Sherman bracelet with missing stones yet? Did I say something about sellers becoming greedy? How about being dishonest too. Yes, he/she answered the question and thankfully posted the reply, but not disclosing that information to start with is just a tad deceitful don't you agree? Just imagine the disappointment and anger a buyer would feel if they were foolish enough to pay the opening price only to find missing stones! ARRRRGGGHHH! That kind of thing makes me mad and it happens far too often when folks don't make informed purchases and don't query the seller.
In this case, there's one more thing that most of us who do shop on ebay would look at besides the price and the item: the seller's feedback. Guess what? This seller has ZERO feedback! Again, sure, all sellers start with zero feedback if they've never bought or sold on ebay before (though most buy up for a while to establish their good reputations). But when you look at this seller's other listings (there are only 4 of them), three of them have thousand dollar price-tags. Now this seller could be 100% honest and well-intended, but all their descriptions are one-liners with little information and big asking prices. Methinks this seller needs some basic training in how to sell honestly and well before some angry ebay buyer comes down on him/her like a ton of bricks. Of course, odds are he/she won't sell anything either. Buyers are leery of new sellers asking massive dollars.
That's my rant for this week ... except to remind you where you can find Sherman jewelry at affordable prices from an honest seller: SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE and VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE at RUBY LANE.
