Let the buyer beware.

HousePlantQueen

Let's turn this around: If the jeweller had told you the ring in question was only heavy gold plate, not gold, and he subsequently 'discovered' it was 24carat gold, what are the chances of him contacting you and offering to pay you more than he did?

There's your answer!

Quite!

He should have examined it before he made offer,in my opinion. He bought it. His mistake. As far as I can see he dies not have a leg to stand on.

I sold some gold Jewellery to a reputable jewellery shop some time ago.
They examined closely with a magnifying glass to ascertain the correct carats.

Why didn’t your dealer do that, I wonder.

It seems he is at fault here.

Tizliz

i was just writing this, almost exactly the same and it failed to send. is gransnet getting clever?

spooky!!

Definitely caveat emptor. And the jeweller is the 'expert', not you. He offered you that sum, how are you to know whether at this point he has decided he paid more than he can afford/funds running low this month so decides to try to claw some money back from someone who is less knowledgable - ie you, the original seller. One outcome could be that he ends up with a valuable ring for £50, instead of £500. He should not expect any of his valuations to be taken seriously if he's going to mess around like that!

i was just writing this, almost exactly the same and it failed to send. is gransnet getting clever?

Let's turn this around: If the jeweller had told you the ring in question was only heavy gold plate, not gold, and he subsequently 'discovered' it was 24carat gold, what are the chances of him contacting you and offering to pay you more than he did?

There's your answer!

I'd do the same and keep the money.Nobody had tried to defraud the jeweller, he shouldn't have given the money if he had yet to verify the authenticity of the object.

If you had already spent the money on buying other items/ a plane ticket/paying your electricity bill ....how would/ could you give it back anyway? It was his mistake, not yours caveat emptor for me too.

The person was no jeweller ic he paid a price for gold when it wasn't. Modern gold has stamping showing category and country of origin. If even older, there is a test to find if gold or not. He bought it and decided it was gold. Unless you led him to believe otherwise, his mistake.

Sorry biglouis I didn't mean to highjack your chat with all this spoon stuff.

caveat emptor

I sold the spoon, at a small profit, at an antiques fair. The buyer was a collector and was allowed to handle and examine the spoon, apparently it was unusual. I do sell EPNS items occasionally but I always label items clearly giving details of any marks. I would advise buyers to be very sure, when buying online that they know what they are buying, don't rely on the seller's description. If they are buying 'live' the same thing applies and they have the added advantage of being able to handle the item. Don't let sellers bully you or prevent you examining items before you buy. I hope these comments are helpful.

None of us is, we all make mistakes. But you said the spoon was pretty so I hope it gives you pleasure. That’s more important than what it’s made of.

I know, I shoulda, coulda. This was some years ago, not only am I older and wiser (I hope) but back then I had only dealt online with reputable auction sites. As I said in a previous post, I should have known better. Some of us are not perfect.

People can ask a question of the seller on eBay, I’ve done it myself. The seller of the spoon could have been asked for a photo of the hallmark.

Ebay allow upto 24 pictures so there is no excuse for not showing all sides of the item. With a spoon I would include not only back and front (with close ups of any hallmarks or special features etc) but also a side on view to show if there were any dings or bending. Taking photos for online sales is an art form in itself. Most of the pictures on Ebay are dire. People take them with their phones and dont bother to even crop them, let alone edit them.

Germanshepherdsmum

EPNS is not a hallmark. I’m glad to hear that eBay have tightened up their rules. You should have been entitled to a refund as the spoon was not hallmarked silver.

I know EPNS is not a hallmark, I have been buying and selling silver flatware for years. I also know that I should have known better than to buy an item without making sure it bore a proper hallmark.
The fact that it was listed as hallmarked on e-bay threw me. I probably could have insisted on a refund but I felt a bit of a fool for not having checked properly.

Georgesgran

Funnily enough I’ve just spoken to a lady who contacted Vintage Cash Cow, prior to a house move. She said they were very ‘picky’ over what they’d take and told her what to put in the box! It was one watch, one camera, one piece of silver etc. She was told that the boxes are then sold on, still sealed, a bit like storage hunters on tv.
She’s dropped her stuff off at a local auction house instead.

That's not how it works. There is no prior discussion about what goes in the box. They send you a label and you pack and send the box. They then unpack it, look through the items and make you an offer. You don't have to accept it. It's just an easy way to dispose of lots of random items instead of selling them on E-Bay or donating them.

It's all here:
www.vintagecashcow.co.uk/how-it-works

EPNS is not a hallmark. I’m glad to hear that eBay have tightened up their rules. You should have been entitled to a refund as the spoon was not hallmarked silver.

I bought a very pretty spoon on e-bay and it was described as hallmarked silver. When I received it I found that the only marks on it were the letters EPNS (Electroplated Nickel Silver).
I contacted the seller and he said that EPNS was a hallmark. I contacted e-bay and they said that, as the spoon was only pictured from one side and no details of the hallmark (place and year of manufacture) were given, the seller did not have
to offer a refund. They have since tightened up their policies in favour of the buyer thank goodness.

Look again at the Repair heading - items may be dismantled.

I don’t trust that wording. Take heed of what Georgesgran says.

Funnily enough I’ve just spoken to a lady who contacted Vintage Cash Cow, prior to a house move. She said they were very ‘picky’ over what they’d take and told her what to put in the box! It was one watch, one camera, one piece of silver etc. She was told that the boxes are then sold on, still sealed, a bit like storage hunters on tv.
She’s dropped her stuff off at a local auction house instead.

Aha ha! I looked at their website and found this. So they don't just throw all the less valuable items out.

biglouis I am about to send some items to Vintage Cash Cow as they take anything old. What puzzles me is what they do with all this stuff. They take old cameras and all sorts, I can't imagine they pick out a few valuables and take the rest to landfill, but what else can they do? Maybe I'll ask them