Originally Posted by
clubman
I think otherwise. Frank has made the choice of selling a sealed item that he won't open. You have the choice of bidding or not. You can't tell him he has to open it but you can return it if the box doesn't contain the described item. You don't have the right to change the terms of the offer.
I love this. It's my first post to attract more than 10 replies, y'all!
Completely understand
clubman . It's genuinely helpful to help
me understand the perspective of sellers who are experienced with vintage items. I'm calling on this community to help me understand whether I'm being reasonable or not. You say "no."
FWIW, I'm more interested in the discussion than spending $20, though I should add that, in these times, $20 may be a lot for some folks. So far, I count 14 replies in support of not opening the box and 2 in favor of opening the box. Those 14 should be qualified: 7 of those mention Frank's reputation on this forum, which an ordinary buyer might not know. I appreciate the veteran vintage sellers' perspectives on a sealed box. Clearly, many of you feel that a sealed box trumps a photo of the item inside for the purposes of resale value on eBay.
I'll reiterate my earlier observation, which I know because I happened to ride these levers in the 80s: they came in multiple colors and coatings. Also, Google. These details are not made clear in the auction. Many who rebuild vintage bikes as a hobby are fond of color coordinating, so I thought this was not an unimportant point, though no one has responded to it.
Is there an eBay admin here who could offer some statistics? What, if any, difference is there in final sale price between auctions which display the item and those which don't but which are NIB? The mitigating factors in
this particular case are: I'm a potential buyer who is looking for a specific color which is not specified on the box. Thus, the buyer is losing my bid, which would drive up the price. Also, there are a lot of prospective buyers out there who don't know of Frank the Welder's fine reputation on this forum.
Personally, I love it when a seller takes a photo of the item in the box. I get that dopamine hit that, let's face it, we all feel when we see a brand-spanking new vintage item. I mean, we're here because we love vintage bikes, so part of the sale is seeing the stuff, right? Does anyone here buy parts in a new, sealed box and NOT open the darn thing?
Then again, maybe I've just answered my own question...getting to be the first person to open the box. Is that a vintage fetish I have yet to discover?
Cheers,
Oliver H.