What to do?

How to trash your feedback rating on eBay in one easy step.

 

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Ebay, as of late, seems to have a lot of misrepresented bottles being offered.

 

Case in point is listing #131499202873.

 

Described as; "Antique Sulfolk Bitters Bottle"

 

 

The pictures clearly depict one of the 1970's fakes (not even a decent reproduction).

 

The listing description reads as follows; "ANTIQUE BITTERS MEDICINE BOTTLE. NOT A REPRODUCTION. "

Huh? Ray Charles could see this one for what it is from down the block!

Several days ago a short courtesy email was sent to the seller. It reads as follows;

 
"Good morning;

 

I thought that I'd drop you a line so that you can correct the listing in order to protect your feedback.

The item that you are offering is indeed a repro; and a fairly late one at that. They were produced in both Taiwan and Italy. It's one of the repro's dating to the 1970's and is easy to spot from across a room.

The "America's Life Preserver" embossed on the side opposite Suffolk Bitters is the easiest way to spot it. Production techniques employed on this repro are also significantly different than the originals, which date ca. 1870's. Another identifier is that the originals were embossed with the proprietors names, "Philbrook & Tucker / Boston", whereas the repros are not. The repros were produced in several colors ranging from straight amber to shades of yellow, on into greens and teal. A few are also documented to exist in cobalt blue.

The repros, such as yours, are an inexpensive decorative item, and generally sell on the retail market in the $25~ - $50~ range, depending on condition and color.

Best of luck."

And still the listing runs. Maybe a few more equally informative emails to the seller are in order~

 

One can only wonder. Ignorance or ....? This listing would do P.T. Barnum proud.