I participate in sniping as well. About 10 years ago I had a part time job listing things on eBay for a pawn shop, that's when I became aware of sniping programs. I generally don't buy much off eBay, I do not sell on it either. But I found that I had to resort to using one of these programs to get my first razor at a reasonable price (1966 Slim). I am waiting on it now and hope that it is in good condition. The pictures were ok, but I think I paid a little high for it. Problem is, I'm competing against some people that probably just want to "collect" it, whereas I want to use it!! I find that it does help from being caught up in the bidding frenzy, I just put in what I want to spend, over and over until I get it.
By the way, here is the auction number - 281443602495. Not to hijack the thread, but what do you guys think?
Looking at completed auctions, you may have overpaid a little. It looks like it should clean up nicely though, and they are fantastic shavers.
I thought I paid a little high, but I'm hoping it will clean up and am planning on using it as my daily driver. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll have to post yet another before and after slim thread lol!
Having studied the market pretty closely, I think you paid spot on the market value, depending upon how it cleans up. You may have a bit of pitting, but if its minimal or just soap residue, you beat the market. In a couple months when the weather is colder and more people are indoors whiling away the hours feeding their acquisition disorder, and driving up the price a bit higher than this. Good luck on the clean up and drop a bit of penetrating oil down the handle. Slims are my favorite of the Gillette adjustables. Wonderful.
Ok, here's my pet peeve. I'm a new wet shaver and ordered a "NEW" 1.7 oz C.O.Bigelow shaving cream to try out - got a great price. Well, when I received it, it was used, with flaky product and a hair in the cap. Not "NEW" by any means for sure. Now It sucks because it was a waste of time and money. And since I like to take pictures -
Snipers, I know what I am willing to pay, and set that and let it ride. I found a Bell End Aristocrat, put in my max and was the only bidder for quite a few days. 12 hours left and another bidder found it but I was still winning with less than half my max. Left work today to find I had been sniped, lost it by one bid increment. Meh, it had a couple bent teeth anyway. My quest to get an example of each Aristocrat continues. I might have to check out this sniping software and put my max bid in there. I wonder if my sniping software would have beat his sniping software.
I use sniping software, but I've also lost quite a few with it. It's still what you are willing to pay for the item in the end. Lute, even though you put your bid in early, even at the last three seconds if somebody where to try to beat it you would still win if your bid was high enough, regardless of they used software or had a bid in since the beginning. The times I lost, I was only willing to pay $25.00. This happened for about 5 auctions, so at the last three seconds it went from $12 to my bid of $25, but someone had a higher hidden reserve. It's not the software, it's still what it's worth to you. I just happened upon an auction that only a few were bidding, but I knew I was bidding on a daily driver.
Seller describing a Gillette New as having "no plate loss" when the entire handle is actually brass with not a square mm of gold plate on it.
This one gets me as well. Although my most recent experience was in the opposite direction. I sold a New and the buyer insisted that there was no gold plating on it. In fact it had almost perfect gold plating it was just not as shiny as many of the ones that have lost all their gold plating and the brass has been shined to a high gloss. There is no way to explain except to say that the gold finish is so delicate that it cannot be shined well. Once the brass is exposed its very very easy to shine. But ultimately there is no effective way to argue over eBay. The only proof will come if it tarnishes or does not tarnish. Because obviously it will not tarnish if the gold plating is present and the brass, no matter how shiny it is, will still tarnish.
I think you did well. It looks like it would clean up well and be a decent shaver. How did it work out? Have you posted any pictures since you received it? I figured you should have received it by now.
Just as well. The argument probably would have consisted of, "But I want mine to be SHINY and orange!!!"
A quick check of my files shows that I have handled a little over 75 gold plated razors from Gillette, Schick and GEM, mostly Gillette. For sure, the Schicks with a lacquer finish make their gold plating last the best, and while all of the Gillette models have very fragile gold plating, the 30s era models without nickel plating under the gold are the most delicate. Most of time when there is a significant amount of plate loss, the best course is simply to gently polish with a very soft cotton buff to ensure that there is no corrosion (because all metal seems oxidize, if not rust, per se) and just list it as missing the plating in that area, and the buyer can replate, leave it to tarnish to a vintage patina, or maintain the shine with gentle polishing. That way they know the condition of the razor. In my own collection, I have gone with all three options at various times where the plating is gone. But as a seller, it is very difficult to contest a buyer's claim about the condition of an item, since they have it and you don't. The best is usually just to refund and get it back in your own hands. If you as the seller made a mistake, you have done the right thing, and if not, you have done what you can for the seller and you can sell it again because it is as described. I think the lesson learned here with eBay pet peeves goes right to this point. Essentially, it's the Golden Rule: treat others as you wish to be treated, even if you think they are wrong. You may have been wrong at some point as well. I recently had a customer send me a note thanking me for shipping his item so fast. This is essentially what I told him: I don't like waiting for my purchased items, either. Come to think of it, that's another pet peeve-- Why bother to ship Priority Mail if you are going to wait four days before shipping? That's a moronic seller move, especially for domestic shipments. It just happened to me today.
I understand sellers will sometimes add on a couple of bucks for postage to make a bit of money, I get that. But $122 to send a superspeed from USA to Denmark seems a bit excessive. To give you a comparison a whipped dog brush cost only $4 in postage.
