bobtail44

People seem to keep complaining about the same sellers. You know what would be beneficial? This does not apply to every seller, but does seem to reoccur regarding the same ones. If we had names of sellers who can be proven to have done the wrong thing, a tally on a sticky post could be maintained. For instance, I have bought a many blades online and the sellers description can be quoted as being perfectly straight or has no edge damage. When the item arrives, it is a mess and photos have hidden the problems. If I can post cut and dry evidence stating that a seller said a sword was dead straight and it is bent like a banana, they should get a black mark for wasting my time and money. If a seller constantly runs auctions then refuses to sell the item because it didn't go high enough, then this is reflected in the tally, which can save people staying up late at night to bid on poor sellers. If people can prove that it obviously occurred, they should get a mark against their name. That way people can see who to stay away from. Many of these sellers have zero ethics and do more harm to the hobby than good. If its a one off, then the numbers will show that. If nothing happens for six months of a year, it could be cleared. The latest mark could have a date attached. This would NOT apply to things like shipping taking too long or they said it was shiner than it actually is or the signature was fake ,but would be chalked up at the discretion a Moderator. This should only apply to specific things and not be subjective. The blade either has rust or doesn't, it is either straight or bent, it either has a perfect edge or has edge damage to some degree People keep saying read feedback or ask around for opinions, but that is rubbish. Negative feedback is easily and readily removed from auction sites these days to promote more sales. To get negative feedback removed by eBay is very easy. Also asking random people around the world what they think of someones business ethics is hardly a reliable gauge of what they are like overall. Just some ideas, better than the current system of trial and error, with many people bagging out online auction systems as a whole due to the behaviour of a few. Trent

I won an auction on one of his blades a while ago and he straight out said that he sold it off of eBay for a higher price. He then tried to sell me some other piece of junk for the same high price. No business ethics what so ever. He doesn't care. I reported him, but evidently eBay doesn't care either. Trent

Hes the one who I bought a sword off and he admitted to overlooking the poor condition it was in due to his "high volume of sales", so I had to pay around $100 to ship it back to him for a refund. In my opinion anyone with a bit of self respect would have covered the return shipping. All he tried to do was offer me something else instead. What makes it worse was that I messaged him first to double check its condition, so he didn't even care enough to check it properly. Trent S

Use firefox then you won't have to worry. I used chrome extensively and had too many issues with it. Trent S

Yes I know, but I don't agree with that. I think to save situations like this it would help. Trent S

I'm more concerned about the "dead beat" sellers. The amount of blades that I have bought from known dealers on ebay to have to waste my money shipping it back is rediculous. If they say the edge has no chips or cracks or hesitations then that is what it should be. Perfectly straight does not equal "a slight bend" in reality. Pathetic excuses like, "oh I overlooked that one because I sell so many blades is a joke". Then when confronted about paying the return shipping price they stop contact and block your bids on future items. Im looking in Komonjo's direction.... Regardless of ebays policy, I believe that if you were careless and at fault then you should man up and pay to make it right. More people should learn to leave negative feedback for buyers and sellers. Ive spoken to people who were stuffed around by the same people I have, here in WA and they didn't even bother to leave feedback for them. Irresponsible in my opinion. I guess that if you can't afford to waste time and money, don't swim in the shark tank Trent S

I don't think that you are actually going to purchase this blade, I think that your question is designed to produce educational answers. My five cents without repeating what others have meantioned is that you need to check out the person offering the item. If they are a dealer then you have zero chance of finding a "treasure" for a cheap price. There is the exception of a couple of people that sell mass blades on ebay set to auction. You won't find the next Juyo blade but you might find a very significant discount on dealer prices on papered blades. You can get some good deals from them but also a lot of junk and these sellers rarely check for damage or even view half of what they sell on commission so it is still a gamble. This is not speculation I have email proof. If you want to hunt for treasure, learn Japanese like I am, then go to Japanese auctions or sites. You have a far better chance then paddling through ebay. That way you are more likely to get the prices that dealers do. Too many people collect these swords now and run every obscure search on ebay you can think of. I used to do it and I did get some great deals but in the last 5 years it has become really hard. I don't even bother at the moment because my Japanese is in early stages and the USD is so high compared to AUD. I also suggest that you purchase swords in a conditon and at a price that you can easily liquidate them should the need arise. Some people might disagree, but id say buy blades that you know other people would want in case you decide to get rid of them as well as obviously liking it yourself. Old blades like this one will rarely selling quickly for the price you would ask trying to recover restoration costs. Trent S

You guys are great, thanks for the info and help :D I figured it was worth checking in case it was something important. Trent S

Minamoto Ietsugu aka Tokugawa Ietsugu. As soon as I read the name I was like, I know that name. Also the papers date it to his life time the papers also place it to the area he was in. I think ill buy it. For the price that's being asked ill figure out the details later It is one that has shown up after ww2 capture but not use and the seller has no clue who's name is on it. Ill post pictures when I get it because the hamon is really something to look at but I didn't take any decent photos at the time. Trent S

I don't know I can't read it. Something to the effect of it being made at the same time as the person who has there name on the tang was alive. That is just their word though. Id have to take a photo of it if I buy it/see it. Papers are real I know that much. Trent S

Hi, I have the opportunity to buy a katana which for some reason has a shoguns name ( I think) carved artistically into the nakago. It is the full name and doesn't correspond to any swordsmith that I could find. I'm sure others here will have far more reference material than me though. My Question is why would someone carve the name there? It passed shinsa with the nbthk so why would they pass it with a random name on the tang. Any opinions are welcome. Cheers, Trent S

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19023&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a I hope this seller has learned their previous lessons about outright lying about blade condition. Id be embarrassed if I had made the "mistakes" he had in his ebay listing. He didn't care in the slightest. Cost me $100 shipping, what will it cost you. Trent S

Posts about live auctions like this are great. Completed auctions are boring, keep it up Careful if you dont buy it now its going back in the cupboard for another 60 years xD xD or at least until his estate goes up for sale Trent S

Thanks anyway steve, it would have been a big silly gamble I think Cheers, Trent S

Ive ordered mine :D Trent S