Somebody's listing Portland Head with a start price of $349 and it's received the opening bid from somebody with no previous purchases. The description indicates the piece is one of the original 17. I've sent an e-mail to the seller asking where he obtained his information that this sculpture is one of the original 17 and am tempted to contact the buyer as well. Anybody run across a similar situation and, if so, how did you handle it? The auction is #3241365415.

I'll take a look at it the next time I'm on eBay. Everyone one I've ever dealt with through eBay has been great, but that doesn't mean some people can't play games.

I've often wonder if a person, who doesn't like a low bid on something he or she is selling without a reserve, might have a friend throw in a higher bid to either stimulate sales or get the item out of the auction without giving it away. The seller would probably rather pay eBay their small commission than to take a large hit on something they were selling.

Bob

Agree with you that some people play games, but seller had an opening bid of $349 and single bidder placed a bid for that amount. Seller replied to my query that s/he used copy from other auctions s/he has listed and failed to remove the "original 17" phrasing from this auction. Says s/he was going to revise the copy if allowable, but having a bid may prevent revising. Hard to tell if games are being played on this one. Hope s/he gets that price--maybe the secondary market is picking up??!!

I took a look at the "sellers" other items. He or she has all sorts of stuff on auction. Obviously, he or she is not a regular HL dealer or collector (my guess).

A Portland Head, HL 125, in excellent condition with the original box is well worth an opening bid of $350. You don't see very many of those on eBay. The sole bidder with no track history on eBay might be a collector who wants to add this wonderful piece to his or her collection.

Bob

Bob- You are absolutely correct. I have been wanting to add Portland Head to my collection for some time. Now I have It!!! I've tried a few times to bid on one as they came along but have never won a bid. Now I'll have to start saving for my next purchase.

Rich