"Murano" on eBay

[TxSilver]

I read Cliff's message about a vase maybe being Chinese today and looked through some of my Chinese glass files. The amount of glass being churned out in China now is mind-boggling. Most of it is being made to look like European glass. I spent a few minutes searching through art glass being sold as Murano on eBay. The greatest majority of things listed as Murano were not made there. Some bad abuses were in the lampworked animals. Vases and sculptures were also very bad. It is sad that eBay has pretty much monopolized the simple online auction business. It has apparently attracted many unscrupulous sellers that don't have any pride in what they sell. It is too bad that they don't have experts in each of the areas to weed out the sellers that ultimately will drive away the business.

[annie04bell]

Hi Anita,

I have often thought that eBay should have someone who checks these listings. Its false advertising!!

Regards,

Pam

[fossilfly]

I read Cliff's message about a vase maybe being Chinese today and looked through some of my Chinese glass files. The amount of glass being churned out in China now is mind-boggling. Most of it is being made to look like European glass. I spent a few minutes searching through art glass being sold as Murano on eBay. The greatest majority of things listed as Murano were not made there. Some bad abuses were in the lampworked animals. Vases and sculptures were also very bad. It is sad that eBay has pretty much monopolized the simple online auction business. It has apparently attracted many unscrupulous sellers that don't have any pride in what they sell. It is too bad that they don't have experts in each of the areas to weed out the sellers that ultimately will drive away the business.

I agree with everything you have said, but over the past few years, I have actually been worrying less than I had been. To me so much of the glass outrageously labeled labeled "Murano Venini Barbini - RARE" is so far off the mark the buyer is intentionally misleading themselves. Most regular ebayers realize that counterfeits are a major problem and have a much better sense today of what is authentic and what isn't.

With the internet at your fingertips, its so much easier to do your due diligence, prior to making a purchase. All of the forums about Murano glass and other collectibles are filled with people happy to help, its really the buyer who shares some of the blame by purchasing something without doing their due diligence, especially on ebay. I do think all of the counterfeits are a travesty, but since the quality of most of the fakes leaves a lot to be desired, its not that difficult to differentiate between the two. However because of this I really dont purchase much on ebay anymore, unless I absolutely know what I am purchasing is authentic.

[tam bam]

I do not buy anything on Ebay anymore that I am unsure of. Some of the sellers on there are honest but I too have run into some who are not so honest and just want to make a quick buck.:mad: Some of these sellers have Ebay stores and have either not researched their glass or they are just plain dishonest. I would like to give these sellers the benefit of doubt but it is hard when they keep misrepresenting the glass they sell.

tam bam

[jemlin34]

I have only been collecting Murano glass for just over 2 years. Have never bought a piece off eBay because I never have trusted 90% of the sellers. eBay has killed not only the value of many collectible items but, has instilled a "distrust" of what people represent an item to be. I have a very small collection and there is a very simple reason for this. If I can't touch it, I don't buy it. I have developed a sense of what real Murano glass feels like. I don't go only by the design, content, color, or even a label. I judge a piece by the way it feels. There are exceptions to this but, for the most part I can tell. I have been to many flea markets where I live and have seen a lot of people selling what they represent as "Murano Glass". If I notice a piece that stands out I will ask if I can pick it up. 9 times out of 10 they will let me and I can tell within a few minutes if it's real or not. There have always been less than honest sellers but, Seems to me that they're coming out of the woodwork now just to make a "buck". My wife and I opened a Antique and Collectible shop just over a year ago. We deal in mostly porcelain and glass. We price our items for a reasonable mark up over what we pay for them. We have a few Murano pieces there but, Most are at home in my display cabinet. We are not out to make a killing, Just an honest living. The best thing we can all do is educate ourselves and others. Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

[artifice]

Hi Jemlin good content and as you say there is at the start of collecting glass no substitute for hands on experience,Ebay Murano sites are a mess it seems to me that if people cant attribute a piece of glass they wish to sell then call it Murano,I stopped using the site to sell over a year ago,however I view it everyday and am perpared to buy if their is a bargain to be had. At present a seller is offering a bird as Venini with start price of £65 its not, it has a Vetri no on base 040 which I know to be Walter Furlan ,so I emailed her told her the correct attribution of bird ,it has not been changed. Ebay is a hostile enviroment for those with little knowledge ,but a desire to collect Murano,their are some good sellers with integrity ,but the balance over the years has shifted in favour of those who deliberatly decieve or those who do not take time to investigate origin of glass they put up for sale .Trust is the bedrock of any relationship and ebay has failed ,in that it does not police its sites creating a haven for those out to fleece those who do not have a considerable amount of Knowledge , in a given collecting field,other sites are the same "Militaria" littered with fakes and copies so as far as ebay is concerned the caveat "Buyer be ware " has never been held so true as now.Cliff

[artifice]

Hi Here I am again on the subject of ebay uk ,months ago I wrote that a few dealers were buying up glass relisting it at top market value then having it revolve for 30days or more I still see items I sold more than year ago,now to further destroy the idea that its an auction site individuals/general dealers with a piece of Murano are taking the prices from the these listings and starting their item at these prices ,this then leads to alot of items naturally enough gaining no bids or sales further depressing market in an auction house if the auctioneer starts to high at least he can reduce price until it finds a level to start. Ebay if they allow this practice to continue will totally destroy the auction part of site and all that will remain is rump retail site,as it is both buyers/sellers are not gaining satisfaction as buyers see the start price as to much,sellers wont sell item nobody wins except ebay as they collect fees regardless an example of how good ideas/principles get distorted and changed over time and the need for a regulated market.Cliff

[TxSilver]

I used to sell on eBay, but when the bids went down so much a couple of years back, I couldn't afford to sell there anymore except to liquidate. I'm sure there are a lot of other sellers like me.

Sometimes on Saturdays I go to yard sales in the Birmingham area. I run into a lot of eBay sellers, where I come to understand one of the problems of eBay glass and ceramics. The sellers are grabbing anything that looks good. They often have no idea of what they are buying. If they were to spend time researching, it would take them forever to figure out what they had. So, if it is colored glass, it is so much easier to just call it Murano. Saves all that research time!

There are a lot of good deals to be had on eBay. And there are some good sellers. Some of them are real dummies, though. A good example is a seller that I bought bird bowl from. I sent her pictures of the damage and returned the bowl. When she got it, she said she still couldn't see the damage, didn't cover the $19 return postage, then relisted it as perfect for the next victim. She told me that a "normal person" would just think it was pretty. She didn't know I was anything more than a normal person, except that I took some pictures... except maybe that I paid more than a "normal person" would have paid. She was probably one of the yard sale people that grab anything that looks pretty without paying attention to what she is grabbing.