Beef w/ eBay Sign Peddler

[Every-Mann]

Hello everyone--

At any given time, eBay seller TRASHINTOCASH has active listings for US 66 signs as well as the brown & white "historic" 66 signs up for sale.  He offers a colorful story about how he came across some sealed boxes of Rt 66 signs from a friend who bought them at a storage locker auction in a route 66 city.  As part of his sales pitch, the guy admonishes would-be bidders about considering fake Chinese reproductions when he's selling the real thing, and the kicker is when he goes on to mention that he only has a few left: "Once they are gone, that's it."

Curiously, the gent's feedback shows that he's sold hundreds of these bogus 66 signs since 2010.  I guess "a few left" is all relative.

I'm not sure why this bothers me so much, but it burns me up each time I see one of his newly-produced signs sell for over $100.  Maddeningly, the guy makes his ads *just* vague enough that eBay won't pull the plug on him, and my sense of truth is completely violated.  I've emailed this seller twice to ask that he cease & desist in the name of fairness, or that he at least take out the "found in dusty boxes in a storage locker" BS from his ads and fully disclose that the signs are newly minted, yet made to DOT specs.  No responses, though.

May I know your thoughts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=140720697241&nma=true&rt=nc&si=PF6OekyYRm71Nt%252By21vQH5UyGL0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_1590wt_1149

[Scott5114]

A part of me wants to say caveat emptor. If you're a roadgeek or a Route 66 historian out to buy genuine signs, you should be able to spot the genuine article and know that the prismatic sheeting that sign has was never in wide use at the time that Route 66 existed. (And if you're a roadgeek, you should know you can probably get modern-spec signs made up for you for cheaper than $100!)

If you're not a roadgeek/66er you probably don't really know or care enough to distinguish fakes so you'd probably be happy enough with one of those $10 replicas done in Arial with "ROUTE" in the crown.

[realjd]

That's not a terrible price for a brand new, highway grade US route marker.

[US71]

That's not a terrible price for a brand new, highway grade US route marker.

It may not be completely authentic, but it's better that a lot of that other crap on e-bay (like the guy with the artificially weathered non-standard shields that supposedly fool museums).

[agentsteel53]

it's not even made to correct standards.

now I'd charge you 139 for a 24x24 sign, but you'd better believe it will be correct!

[Every-Mann]

Hi--

My issue isn't so much with whatever is or isn't a fair value for a non-original Rt 66 sign.  If his ad gave an honest explanation of what he's selling--reproduction signs that conform to DOT standards, etc--then there's no problem.  What ruffles my feathers is the seller's goofy only-a-few-left "lost treasure" storage unit tale and the nerve he has to goad would-be buyers into buying the "real deal" as opposed to "some clearly fake tin reproduction that was made in China by the thousands."  Yeah, right.  Instead, you should buy *HIS* clearly fake reproduction that was made by the thousands.

[agentsteel53]

there's a lot of goofballery on eBay.  and the only way eBay will do anything is if it hurts their bottom line.  why cancel an auction?  they wouldn't be able to charge final value fees!

[US71]

there's a lot of goofballery on eBay.  and the only way eBay will do anything is if it hurts their bottom line.  why cancel an auction?  they wouldn't be able to charge final value fees!

I have a friend who sells Renaissance clothing on e-bay, but is constantly having to compete with people importing cheaply made crap from China.

[hbelkins]

Found in a storage locker?

Maybe there will a box of US 99 signs in a storage unit in California, and Hester will outbid Darrell for it on "Storage Wars."

Yuuuuup! 

[US71]

Found in a storage locker?

Maybe there will a box of US 99 signs in a storage unit in California, and Hester will outbid Darrell for it on "Storage Wars."

Yuuuuup! 

I watched that once and I wasn't sure the guys had a clue about some of the stuff.

[Alps]

(veering off topic) I've seen a couple of authentic DOT US 66 signs in the field. Like, not the historic brown signs, not original shields, but new shields that just say US 66. It's not a state/US error, either, but rather the use of a US shield in place of the typical historic signage. Wonder how long those stay up in the field?

[agentsteel53]

(veering off topic) I've seen a couple of authentic DOT US 66 signs in the field. Like, not the historic brown signs, not original shields, but new shields that just say US 66. It's not a state/US error, either, but rather the use of a US shield in place of the typical historic signage. Wonder how long those stay up in the field?

really, where?  the only examples I know of offhand are on CA-66, and then this set in Albuquerque.



the ones in Litchfield, IL were put up by a contractor.  I can't think of any elsewhere.

[Alps]

(veering off topic) I've seen a couple of authentic DOT US 66 signs in the field. Like, not the historic brown signs, not original shields, but new shields that just say US 66. It's not a state/US error, either, but rather the use of a US shield in place of the typical historic signage. Wonder how long those stay up in the field?

really, where?  the only examples I know of offhand are on CA-66, and then this set in Albuquerque.

the ones in Litchfield, IL were put up by a contractor.  I can't think of any elsewhere.

Might have been Litchfield on this trip, but I definitely saw another couple in previous trips.