Tonsberg, Vintage | It can be costly when the seller makes a mistake…

I’ll never forget when a few years ago I wanted to buy a Fatboy duffel bag for my living room.

Fatboy® is a registered trademark from the Netherlands, which also produces colorful hammocks and garden furniture. A new backpack in black costs between NOK 2-3000. So when I saw an ad on a local buying and selling site, with pictures of the original Fatboy for 1,000 NOK, I jumped at the chance.

But it turns out that the seller “borrowed” the photos in the ad from the Internet.

She was convinced that “Fatboy” was a common term for all large backpacks – regardless of manufacturer. The ones I already sold cost approx. NOK 500 in the store, and a laundry card from JYSK. No other explanation helped. The seller was sure of his case. So I kindly thanked him, and went home empty-handed. With a small smile around the mouth and a richer experience.

When selling used goods online, it is usually easier to get higher prices if it is a well-known brand. Sometimes, as in the case mentioned above, it can unfortunately also become a costly acquaintance for the buyer. It occurs when sellers believe they have an item that is much more valuable than it actually is.

On the Norwegian trading platforms, there are several examples of this:

• Porcelain with Monogram (RC) from Rosenthal China – sold as Royal Copenhagen.
• The vases are called Murano glass, but the markings (small labels) and stamps show that they were produced by other glass factories. Murano glass is trademark protected, produced only in Italy – not a common term for all types of colored glass.
• Porcelain and monogrammed plates, which also match the initials of a world-famous artist, can cost an unlucky buyer thousands of kroner! In some cases, it turns out that the artist is completely different, and much less famous than the seller had thought.
• Newly produced furniture and decorative items in shabby chic style, sold as antiques. They are often decorated with ancient texts, postages, years, and the like, which causes some sellers to assume they are very old.

Unfortunately, many examples of ads containing misdescribed items currently abound on the web. It is also important to be careful in physical stores that deal in used goods. This does not mean that most sellers are not aware of what they are selling, because the vast majority of them are.

But, as a buyer, it’s wise to do a fair amount of prep work. Check marks and signatures by comparison with already known works. Do not take for granted that the seller has done this.

After all, there is a lot of money to be saved by avoiding an expensive mistake!