Ebay empty?

[David Flynn]

Checking ebay for Japanese swords today.  It's as empty as the supermarket shelves.

[ChrisW]

Probably has to do more with the time of year to be honest.

[David Flynn]

I've been watching ebay for 30yrs, never seen this.

[David Flynn]

oops typo.    Empty.

[Brian]

Suspect it is not as easy to ship and receive things currently.
World is not the same place it was a week ago.

[Shamsy]

International shipping is terribly slow. I'd not want to risk something going missing

[Ken-Hawaii]

All of the sellers I track still have items for sale. But my budget has gone missing!

[Rich S]

Shouldn't be buying on ebay anyway! FAKES, FAKES, more FAKES.

Rich

[ChrisW]

Not everything but it is a super serious case of "caveat emptor."

[PietroParis]

I've noticed two eBay sellers, "katana-boutique" and "Japanese-swords-hq", who often sell blades with modern (I mean, yellow Hozon) NBTHK papers, with no reserve and reaching prices in the ballpark of 1000$. From a quick search in the forum, it seems that at least the former has a checkered reputation. Two current examples (one per seller) are:

 

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Authentic-Japanese-KATANA-SWORD-WAKIZASHI-KANENORI-signed-w-NBTHK-HOZON-NR/254538104469

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/NBTHK-Attested-Japanese-Wakizashi-Sword-Norimitsu-Samurai-Katana-Nihonto/254540228236

 

I am not planning to bid on a sword anytime soon, this is more a general question: I suppose a lot can still go wrong even with a Hozon paper, but at least "fake" should not be an issue (unless of course the certificate itself is fake!). What other problems should one watch out for? Maybe flaws (e.g. scratches, nicks) that occurred after the shinsa?

 

Cheers, Pietro

[raynor]

$1000 for a hozon katana? Why not just give them away for free on the street if that is the case. Red flag imo.

[PietroParis]

$1000 for a hozon katana? Why not just give them away for free on the street if that is the case. Red flag imo.

 

 

In fact the blades I am referring to are most often described as wakizashi. And 1000$ is a rough ballpark for the final price, the auctions start from 10$ with no reserve.

 

P.S. here is another recent example:

 

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/NBTHK-Attested-Japanese-Wakizashi-Sword-Kanesaki-Samurai-Katana-Nihonto/254535530457

[Gakusee]

I think these prices of around $800 for signed (probably ubu) wakizashi in koshirae with Hozon papers are attractive.

[Jussi Ekholm]

I think the downside of those c. 1000$ eBay Hozon wakizashi from Japan is usually the condition. I've watched many of them over the years as indeed they seem to be good deals for the amount spent. I've just always held the trigger as the swords at eBay I see as most interesting ones are in such condition that in the end I have never seen buying as a good option for me.

 

I feel like those swords are going for about their value in the current market, and the good thing about that is that if you get one you'll most likely get about your investment back. You most likely won't find hidden gems coming out of Japanese eBay dealers. However you can get some reasonable swords for reasonable prices.

[Gakusee]

Only papering, admin etc are around $300. Polish at $30-40 per cm. etc etc. Once you factor all in, you get the sword cheaply, if it is in a decent condition 

[Blazeaglory]

I've bought a few eBay swords in my day and the trick is to find sellers who buy in bulk or are constantly buying to resell on the international market for a quick flip. Most times those types of Japanese sellers don't really know the in and out of kantei and are just interested in the quick profit. They don't really know what they have other than the basics and they usually get their items for cheap and flip them for cheap. But sometimes they will try and sell a papered blade for a huge sum.

 

If you try buying from the sellers who are knowledgeable about paper and kantei, most of the time you'll be paying above retail or the exact value of the sword. Also, you'll find allot of lower end papered swords through these other types of sellers. They know what they have and want the money for it.

 

I've been buying from eBay for roughly 5 to 7 years now and in that time I've resold multiple blades for a small profit. Also I've found a few blades that are actually in great shape but those are few and far between. The number of "great" blades I've found over the years is maybe 3 and I found 2 of those back to back within a week. So in 5 to 7 years of eBay surfing, I've found 3 blades worth keeping for a price tag of under 400$ to 500$.

 

You just have to be patient and know what you're looking for and then pull the trigger and hope for the best. A little luck helps too. Oover all, its rare to find a really great blade on eBay for a good price