Posted by When you buy something online you don’t want to be surprised. You want to get what you think you’re getting. But as we all know, that doesn’t always happen and buying items online can be particularly problematic. I recently bought a top from a company I’ve never bought from before. When I opened up the package and pulled it out I had a WTH moment. The sleeves were not symmetrical, the hem was not symmetrical and the fabric was a disappointment. I contacted the company and they assured me that this was how the top was supposed to be, though it didn’t look that way in the photos, nor was it described as asymmetrical. Well needless to say I’m sending it back.
But on a happier note, this year I’ve bought quite a few charm bracelets on ebay to harvest their charms and sell individually in my Etsy store and it’s worked out fine. Mostly! A couple months ago I bought one and discovered three of the charms were not sterling silver, but silver plate, and that was not disclosed. Rather disappointing and I don’t sell silver-plated charms so they are in the charity pile. But every once in a while I discover a charm that is better than I expected. Case in point, a couple of weeks ago I bought a charm bracelet of nice vintage charms, but no wowsers, until I discovered the camera charm was a Stanhope charm with a teeny picture inside. Those are always worth more!
But here’s my surprise for this week. This item on ebay was listed as an “Antique Vintage Sterling Silver Pendant Medal Fob Shield Charm Bracelet.” Other than the weight of 33 grams, there were no measurements. The seller didn’t know for certain if the bracelet was even sterling silver because there were no markings on it but they thought it might be. It looked good to me so I decided to take a punt on it. Here’s one of their listing photos.
Well when I received this I soon realized the bracelet wasn’t a bracelet at all. It looks like a bracelet but the chain was 10″ long! Only wearable by someone very large. And there was no clasp to open it. The fob holds the two ends together. Not a very usable item.
But the more I looked at it I realized what I had was part of an old Albert watch chain. In its original state it would have a dog clip and a t-bar.
Here’s a lovely complete Albert watch chain on the Boylerpf website for $345.
But the good news, on closer inspection each link had a tiny lion passant hallmark indicating sterling silver! This chain is likely circa late 1800s.
Is my partial chain of any value? Well, it is sterling silver (melt value currently at $59) with beautiful patina and a nice weight (nearly 30 grams). Ready to be repurposed and in the worst case scenario I could sell it for melt, though honestly I wouldn’t want to.
Now the hallmarks on the back of the watch fob date it to 1884 Birmingham which was also not disclosed in the listing. I didn’t expect it to be that old.
So yes, this piece brought some surprises. They weren’t all necessarily bad, just unexpected. And that’s one of the dangers of ordering things online. (And why I allow returns in my store.)
Would love to hear about your surprising online purchases!
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 