Warning about an eBay seller .....

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star-phoenix
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Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by star-phoenix »

So, I had inquired about an art piece on eBay because I wanted some clarification on it. It was this auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Disney-Alice-in ... 1733408158?

So, I asked about whether the flowers were production painted or if they were not and about the details of the background. He basically responded in a very condescending rant on how I don't read and all this stuff and to learn how to read. I called him on his customer service, and told him that he needs to have better customer service and he had permanently lost my business, and this is the e-mail he just sent to me . . .

"Word of advice. READ.
You were so busy bottom-fishing and being greedy.
You actually think I'd be selling a Alice in Wonderland Production background for a 1K???????????????
Customers Service is for BUYERS not flakes like you.
You were never a buyer, You have been blocked.

Go back to your legos little boy, the grownups are talking."


So, needless to say, I am not doing business with this fellow. But, just a word of caution for others in the community. I think customer service is a very important thing and this person is definitely not a person I would ever want to deal with. And I would definitely warn others about this kind of abusive behavior.
earl
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by earl »

Wow. Thanks for the information. I agree that customer service should be a top priority for any seller (whether that be online or in a store). Perhaps I'm a bit biased based on your description, but even his seller profile feels pretentious:
Hello: I've been dealing in Animation Art for over 25 years. I've seen all the ups and downs. I take a great amount of pride in being able to provide high quality, appreciable and fun artwork, to investors from around the world.
It just has a very "I'm smarter than you" vibe.

Even if he thought you were asking two many questions (and I don't think there is such a thing when you're making a significant monetary investment), there are far better ways to handle the communication. I'm very sorry you had to deal with that. It's very possible I would have purchased something from them in the future (given that I also primarily collect art from US cartoons)... but that won't be happening now.
Come join us in the Animation Art Collectors slack chat!: http://cels-chat.herokuapp.com/
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star-phoenix
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by star-phoenix »

Even if my question seemed stupid to him, his response was quite unprofessional to the highest level. And frankly, you can NEVER be too careful on eBay. Just last year, I bought a concept art from Alice in Wonderland from someone that advertised it as n original David Hall piece, and it ended up being NOT a David Hall piece after I had evaluated it once it came in. As a result, I had to go through eBay to get my money back. And this was with a COA and everything from a gallery. COA's really do not mean the art piece is 100% original. They just mean that the original owner who buys the piece from the gallery directly is guaranteed a refund if the piece is found to be fake (so, if you are the 2nd owner, the COA does not protect you). People make mistakes, and there is always an added risk when buying on eBay....
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KinoLRB
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by KinoLRB »

How unprofessional. The product description does not address your specific questions, so of course your concerns are viable and perfectly worthy of a measured reply.
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Jadeduo
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by Jadeduo »

I think it's funny he thinks 10x8 is huge considering the average cel size is about 9.5x10.75...

Also he said at one pointed he added something to the BG so I was like what do you mean by that?

Also as everyone knows I have a framing phobia what exactly is under that frame and are there register holes, or was it just trimmed because it was sold in the "art corner"??

We should all send him these questions in separate questions just to piss him off!

I would say we should all block him, what a douche!

JD
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Drac of the Sharp Smiles
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by Drac of the Sharp Smiles »

It sounds like he(?) added a foreground flower somehow to cover that her one foot is missing... which IMHO isn't something I would want to see done to something of mine, but your mileage may vary. However, I read his entire description and you honestly have a legitimate question. Your question is NOT answered in his description. He doesn't address the flowers further than the one that was added, leaving the reader to make assumptions about exactly what are the others.

What an ass. (*scoff*)
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star-phoenix
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by star-phoenix »

Well, I more specifically asked him if the flowers themselves were original production cels since he had mentioned that the "characters" were all original production, and I consider the flowers int he film as characters since they played a role and DIsney did actually ANIMATE them. So, they were not just background. But, that was what set him off. Admittedly, I did ask about the background on whether it was painted, custom painted, photocopied, and what part was the background since it appeared confusing with the flowers.

And since we are picking at it, here are other things. He said the art piece is "pre-1970 and that the cel was produced during the 1950's. Well, Alice in Wonderland was technically in the making for over 10-20 years all the way when David Hall started making concept art during the 1930's. I think the cels them selves were probably made during the 1940's since Alice in Wonderland came out in 1951 (obviously the hand made animation took WAY longer and each cel line was hand inked, not photocopied, that did not come out until 101 Dalmations that was released in 1961). So, there are discrepancies in the description.

NOW, for Art Corner, historically from what I read, they would often times cut the cels to fit into these mattes they sold with the frames. Often times they would fit together alternate backgrounds that may or may not have been originals and may or may not have been post production vs production. Corvoisier galleries was 'similar' to Art Corner, but they were around during the 1930's and actually recreated their own backgrounds. So, the backgrounds for these cels are not always original tot he film, but may be original to the studio for post production. So, there is grounds for confusion.

But, regardless, it has been a very long time that I had that kind of response from a seller or anyone from that matter . . . . especially one that claims to be in the industry for 25 years . . . . 8O
And anyone that has been in the industry for a long time may have bumped into me at some point since I have been collecting since 1998.
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nowherekid85
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by nowherekid85 »

What an @$&#*&%!
Jadeduo wrote: We should all send him these questions in separate questions just to piss him off!
Do it!!! :P
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Matt
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by Matt »

I'm not defending the seller, his response is uncalled for, but keep in mind everyone has a bad day. :bawl
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ReiTheJelly
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Re: Warning about an eBay seller .....

Post by ReiTheJelly »

I've never understood sellers who have items on eBay costing more than $1000, but have essentially no description of the item aside from a few mediocre pictures. :?
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