suspicious press advertisement

I noticed a press seller in the classifieds who is using a picture of my own Schniedewend & Lee, taken from my website. His/her advert of Oct 3 is here:
http://www.briarpress.org/27799

I then looked up Flushing NY on Craigslist and found the same fraud being perpetrated:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/atq/2629981859.html

Neither ad stipulates that this is not the press being sold. My own webpage, with a pic of my 1890s S&L, is here:
http://alignment2012.com/OakRootPress.html

I suggest treating this ad/seller with great suspicion. John

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I have seen some odd press adds on craigslist in the NY PA region lately. One day they are there, the next they are not, the next they are back with a big increase or decrese in price and poof they are gone again.

I treat all adds on craigslist with great suspicion :) but I do have to say thats the best place to find a good deal on a press. I think (hope) we are approacting the table top press price bubble. There is no way I’d pay $2k + when I bought a mint 6x9 Curtis & Mitchell Colombian #1 at an auction last year for $300.

I guess it all comes down to timing really.

John:

Interesting that you should see your own press being advertised for sale. That would send me out to my shop right away to guarantee that it was still in its expected location.

If the ads are not totally fraudulent, they are at least dishonest in showing a press which may be in better condition than the one being sold. It is unlikely that the seller actually has a S&L press, but probably a C&P which they figured looked similar enough to pass for the one pictured.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who followed up on one of the ads.

JHenry

Auction prices usually do not indicate market value. Look at the housing market’s bank “short sales”. If auction attendees are not interested in a unique item, the price will be low. If two auction attendees have decided that they “must have” the item, the sky is the limit. Just spend a few days of your life going to auctions (travel to/from, time waiting for the auction to start, waiting for items you have no interest in to be sold etc) and you will eventually realize that an auction might be the most inefficient way to purchase anything. And you can easily be outbid at the last moment. Worse, you usually don’t have a chance to “try it out”, the way you might if you bought from an honest individual who has cleaned, oil, adjusted and acquired the missing parts to make a “ready-to-print” antique available for immediate use. Usually, there is no recourse at an auction, as sales are “as is”.

I do agree that: “Timing is everything.”, what is your timing (time) worth?

John Jenkins and all. It’s a bit late now, but the ad is still running and it is never too late to emphasize this point. With now over 62,000 registered member, we need the help of the community to bring this kind of abuse to our attention. The user account has not been active since the original posting. The ad has been removed and the user has been blocked.

We need and appreciate your help in bringing this kind of suspicious ad to our attention.