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Originally Posted by Andrew
I seldom shop eBay for edged weapons these days. Every so often, I'll cruise through my saved searches just to see what's going on.  |
It all depends on how much time you have to spend, and/or how much cash. There are some nice pieces showing up, especially in the hands of a few reputable dealers, but most of those dealers have a devoted customer base and you usually end up paying market price (or even above) for the really nice items. However, if you have unlimited time with which to go prospecting, you can occasionally snap up a bargain due to a seller just not knowing how to describe and/or photograph a piece.
For example, that little bichaq I listed with the inscriptions was so poorly photographed you couldn't see any details of the blade, and could barely make out the shape of the hilt. I recognized the characteristic outline of the hilt and was the only bidder on the piece. I've picked up a few others that way, but they're few and far between.
And forget about finding any bargains on japanese swords! Too many collectors with deep pockets bidding up anything decent, and too much modern junk and chinese forgeries to sift through. The latest thing? Katanas with "genuine" DAMASCUS blades!?!
Excuse me?
I also spotted one such feather merchant 'salting' his listings; he had one genuine wakizashi mixed in with all the fakes. Oddly enough, for some reason it was the only blade in his entire listing that had a reserve, and from the way the bidding went one set so high no one was going to actually buy the thing.....
