Auction for a ken on ebay

[fritaly]

Hello,

 

Some of you might have seen this auction posted on ebay today: link. It's just been online for 19 hours and the bid is already at 7050 USD (more than 6 days left) !!

 

Can a ken be worth so much money ? I don't doubt about the authenticity of the sword but I wonder what will be the final bid.

[bluboxer]

This ken was sold on ebay a couple of years ago. Don't remember what it went for tho.

[drbvac]

Why is it on E-bay France and not in North America where the seller lives? Are the french big collectors of Nihonto

[Ray Singer]

Can a ken be worth so much money?

 

It depends on the ken, but there have there have been several ken which sold recently in the 6-7k price range. They were earlier pieces though (Yamato Senjuin, Heian through late Kamakura). Personally I would be happy to spend $7,000 on a ken, if it were the right one.

[estcrh]

This seller is using at least one shill bidder if not more, take a look at this bidder... p***r( 31)...

100% of bids are with this seller and has bid on motorcycle parts and swords previously offered by this seller as well as the items listed currently.....but nothing from anyone else!!!

[Grey Doffin]

The ken is listed also on US ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390305391485&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Grey

[sanjuro]

The question in my mind is if its so good why is it on ebay at all? ( I have a natural and very healthy skepticism concerning ebay) Good examples change hands privately and never get seen on auction sites or even in auction houses. Deceased Estate seems to be a bit of a catch word right now on ebay. I doubt anyone believes it anymore even if some of them are legit.

[Jean]

Are the french big collectors of Nihonto

 

Some are Brian, but no more than twenty "Big" probably "ten" will be a better estimate.

[DirkO]

A good week ago there was also a Sadakazu tanto for sale, with original box and everything. Sold for the buy it now price of 6600 USD within 24 hours....

[fritaly]

Why is it on E-bay France and not in North America where the seller lives? Are the french big collectors of Nihonto

 

Maybe because the current exchange rate of euro is pretty high and europeans / frenchs can now afford things they couldn't some years ago. The seller may also "optimize" its sell price by posting on others ebay domains than its own (I noted that some auctions on ebay US didn't show up in my searches on ebay France but couldn't explain why)

[Lorenzo]

It has to do with the shipping. When you sell on ebay, if you offer international shipping while creating the listing, it will show in every country (except countries where that kind of object is forbidden by local ebay rules)

 

To see the listing in various languages you just need to manually change the top level domain on your browser link.

 

Example:

 

France (.fr)

http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390305391485&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Italy (.it)

http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390305391485&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

International (.com)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390305391485&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Uk (.co.uk)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390305391485&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

And so on

[fritaly]

You're right. It perfectly makes sense

[Masamune]

A very neat study piece, but no returns, an expensive collage tuition. The diasho he has listed looks decent. If I was to play it would be for that.

[drbvac]

When I checked it wasnt listed on the US site so now it is on all of them - great ! The koshira will add to the value I am sure and I have always liked KEN and as many were ceremonial and in Shrines I guess that may account for the lack of them for sale. I have a smaller one - well its probably 16" but no koshira.

[lionel]

does this ebay sellers bad feedback not worry anybody as its not mentioned in any of the posts above ?

i would not bid on any item on ebay from a seller with that many negative feedbacks

[drbvac]

As neat is it looks to me I'd just as soon wait for one from a well known reputable dealer. You must like to gamble if you really want to spend more than $1000.00 for anything on e-bay. That is unless you are buying something that you can compare prices with outside the "bay". :lol:

[estcrh]

A very neat study piece, but no returns, an expensive collage tuition. The diasho he has listed looks decent. If I was to play it would be for that.

Look at the details of the daisho you mentioned, the same shill bidder that bids on all this sellers more expensive items including both swords and motorcycle items is bidding up the daisho..p***r( 31)...and

THERE IS A FEW RUST AND FUKURE-KIZU, KITAE-KIZU. Returns:No Returns Accepted

Do you see any images of these flaws? or any good images of the blades? There is something wrong here with this seller and when he had some swords for sale awhile back he did the same thing, same shill bidder, no clear pictures of the blades. When something seems funny it usually is....im just saying.....

[Surfson]

The daisho looks very ordinary to me. No closeups of the mounts, the tsuba look cast, the other fittings could be pressed. B

[Masamune]

Yes Eric, I get the drift. There is some monkey business going on there.

[sanjuro]

This is ebay for god's sake...... All of this has been noted before on other items and with other sellers. We all know ebay is a sewer for every kind of low life, fast buck, grab-the-money-and-run seller, and that the few good nihonto sellers on ebay are definitely in the minority, so why are we always dismayed and /or indignant when the inevitable shonky listing or underhanded trading gets noticed? On Ebay you dont really need to look that hard to find them.