Thinking about this ebay purchase, thoughts?

[ZxExN]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ksid=p3907.m29 What is the max I should bid on this suit? I've found it hard to find suits in my size, 39R but this one looks pretty good. How does the Chester Barrie label compare to the other brands like Zegna and Canali etc.? I'm a little skeptical about this as he sold the same suit, but just labeled 'new' with the same pictures for 310 a month ago.

 

[MilanoStyle]

I would pay $500 at the most.
In Zegna, Zegna xxx couture siuts would be comparable. This should much better suit than Canali.
The seller is legit. I bought suits from him few times. The suit looks beautiful, IMO.

 

[TIEALIGN]

Originally Posted by ZxExN

I'm a little skeptical about this as he sold the same suit, but just labeled 'new' with the same pictures for 310 a month ago.
If you do a search for the suit under completed auctions you might find that he bought it off another ebayer with a different username. There are people who buy suits that have been poorly photographed off ebay and then simply rephotograph them and mark them up. The suit is also likely over 10 or 15 years old. Its not worth more than $100 or $200 IMO.

 

[DocHolliday]

Low button stance, likely pinned in the back. And I can't imagine paying $500 for a used suit.

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by TIEALIGN

If you do a search for the suit under completed auctions you will probably find that he bought it off another ebayer with a different username. He buys a lot of suits that have been poorly photographed of ebay and then he simply rephotographs them and marks them up a few hundred. The suit is also likely over 10 or 15 years old. Its not worth more than $100 or $200 IMO.

Oh please. Not that there's anything wrong with arbitraging goods on eBay to begin with (it's a free market after all), but your first statement simply cannot be backed up with evidence. That's borderline slandering IMO.

sartoriale is eBay username for Gabor Halmos, who used to post a lot over at AAAC and together with A Harris introduced Vass to the US market a few years ago. Has very good reputation as a seller too.

 

[Hard2Fit]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

And I can't imagine paying $500 for a used suit.

+1.

 

[TIEALIGN]

Originally Posted by whacked

Oh please. Not that there's anything wrong with arbitraging goods on eBay to begin with (it's a free market after all), but your first statement simply cannot be backed up with evidence. That's borderline slandering IMO. sartoriale is eBay username for Gabor Halmos, who used to post a lot over at AAAC and together with A Harris introduced Vass to the US market a few years ago. Has very good reputation as a seller too.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with arbitraging stuff on ebay but he was asking about the pricing discrepancy in his post so I was just trying to explain a possible reason for it. I didnt say he was selling crap or doing anything questionable.

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by whacked

Oh please. Not that there's anything wrong with arbitraging goods on eBay to begin with (it's a free market after all), but your first statement simply cannot be backed up with evidence. That's borderline slandering IMO.

fwiw, I don't think that the statement isn't even close to defamation. it reads more like an opinion or conjuecture to me. You're allowed to have opinions and conjecture.

 

[DocHolliday]

It would be libel, as it's written. Slander is spoken. Hypothetically, if a seller could show that he does not buy items on the cheap, but instead pays a premium for only top-quality items, then the suggestion that he marks up cheap stuff could be grounds for a defamation suit. He could argue, for example, that customers would now pay less for his goods because they think he is profiteering on inferior merchandise. Whether the suit would succeed would depend on many elements, including whether the initial claim was presented as fact. Truth, however, is generally the best defense in libel/slander cases.

Defamation is an extremely complex matter, and much more nuanced than most people assume.

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Hypothetically, if a seller could show that he does not buy items on the cheap, but instead pays a premium for only top-quality items, then the suggestion that he marks up cheap stuff could be grounds for a defamation suit.

weak grounds, though.

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by NoVaguy

weak grounds, though.

I've seen some crazy libel suits, including one that went on for years in which the plaintiff claimed to have been libeled by being depicted as a cartoon dog.

 

[bigbris1]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

And I can't imagine paying $500 for a suit.
Fixed aaaaaand +1

 

[rnoldh]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Low button stance, likely pinned in the back. And I can't imagine paying $500 for a used suit.

Originally Posted by Hard2Fit

+1.

+1 On this particular suit I certainly agree.

It's an older suit (and Chester Barrie usually doesn't sell high anyway), and a zero feedback bidder has bid it to $560 which is well above the usual market price.

As to buying used suits, for $500 or more, I also agree with rare exceptions. Such as Kiton and Brioni suits which are virtually impossible to get NWT for $500 or less. I f you know what you are doing a used Brioni or Kiton can be a great buy.

As to knowledgeable Ebay sellers (like Sartoriale, A Harris, Vman and you could even include A_D_G) it used to bother me to see them buy items with different user names and then design a nice ad with much better pictures and sell the same items for double their buying price or more.

But I've come full circle on this scenario. It really is a free market and Ebay arbitrage is no secret. Anyone is free to look for underpriced items and buying them with the intent of reselling them. I'm sure there is a risk though and I bet A Harris and Vman can tell you about buying items to resell when it didn't work out so well.

 

[A Harris]

Yep, you get screwed some of the time, for sure. Plus there is all the cleaning, spotting, stitching, steaming, pressing, photographing, measuring, listing, answering a million questions, shipping etc etc etc that it takes for proper presentation and sale. It is not exactly a free ride if you choose to do it.

On the original topic, note that the bidding started at $290, which is exactly what I would have asked for it.

simply rephotograph them

See above. More often that not, stuff is cheap for a reason.

 

[rnoldh]

"On the original topic, note that the bidding started at $290, which is exactly what I would have asked for it."


Yup, I agree with that start price.

And it's also not a certainty that you would have gotten the $290.

But I guess one of the nice things for good sellers (those that are reputable, and use very good ads and photos), is that you occasionally get a much higher sale price then you anticipated.

The high bidder that bid $560 was a zero feedback bidder so I hope Sartoriale gets paid