Ah the holidays are here.

What’s better than the diamond-like twinkle of holiday lights lining houses throughout the neighborhood and, of course, Tiffany’s seasonal displays full of real diamonds, white-gold, sapphire and platinum?

It’s amazing to think that it was this time last year I started this blog and my TiffanyCollector.com website. To celebrate, I’m offering a special 5% off sale for my website’s inventory. Just use the code “newyork” during check-out and the discount is yours! Use it as many times as you like and please tell your friends. I’ll be offering it until January 2nd of ‘08.

Many of you know that I had to start my website to set myself apart from the fakes that started flooding eBay around the holidays last year and, low-and-behold, they’re back again now. This time last week there were roughly 1,400 pieces of Tiffany jewelry on eBay, probably 80% fake. Now there are more than 2,600 and, from the looks of them, about 98% fake. I’m sure that my fellow legitimate sellers will quickly agree that even though we pride ourselves on the authenticity of the pieces we sell, having all those fakes on eBay makes all of us feel uncomfortable.

Since eBay seems happy to leave us all fending for ourselves, I’d like to run through a list of ways buyers can help insulate themselves from the muck covering the floors of eBay’s auction halls.

How can eBay let someone with zero feedback who has been a member for only three days list ten pieces of the SAME Tiffany & Co item? I understand that some people may be wanting to sell a piece of jewelry to get some extra money together for the holidays, but even collectors don’t keep ten of the same piece around and if they did, they probably wouldn’t find themselves suddenly in the position where they need to sell all ten at once which all happen to be in “brand new” condition. Consider this step 1 in spotting spotty sellers. eBay, I’m saying this to you too.

As much as I detest the exorbitant fees that I have to pay PayPal (which have only gotten worse since eBay took them over), I am happy to get that added layer of security on transactions. I hope everyone watches out to avoid sending checks, or worse yet, money orders or western union, to these shady sellers who have started emerging from the dark shadows. This warning isn’t an exaggeration, I’ve had some customers have sent me green cash. Now I pride myself on running my business with untarnished honesty but not all sellers are so honest and, this time of year more than any other, we need to be watching out for sellers who only take money orders or cheks. That’s step 2 in keeping yourself safe, traceable transactions.

Also, if you’re doing business with someone for the first time, take a look at their feedback rating. A good look. If someone has 2000 feedback but it’s all penny items in the last month and they’re now trying to sell high ticket pieces en masse that’s a red flag. I’ve spotted many seller who try to artificially puff up their feedback rating just to create an illusion of honesty and prey on eBay’s inability to notice trends like this AND on people’s good nature. Step 4, don’t just glance at feedback, examine it.

Speaking of what goes under eBay’s radar, there are a lot of misspelled “Tiffffany” items on eBay recently. I believe that this is also an attempt to slip past the screening processes that eBay has on Tiffany & Co. listings. Collectors are not prone to misspelling their collections. One typo could be an accident, ten is probably fraud. Step 5, a Foux-lex isn’t a Rolex and Tiffffany isn’t Tiffany

Watch the rocks. Tiffany only uses superb diamonds in their pieces. VSI’s the name of the game. SI or Included diamonds are not used in authentic Tiffany pieces. It’s ONLY the best for them. And on the quality of metals, Tiffany does not plate or fill. Older pieces may be 14k gold but new pieces do NOT use 14k. It’s the best jewelry and they maintain the BEST quality so watch out for “Tiffany Style” pieces that don’t come anywhere close to meeting Tiffany’s standards. Step 6, if Tiffany wouldn’t have it in their stores, you shouldn’t have it in your Watch List.

Last year, the big fake thing was the “PLEASE RETURN TO TIFFANY” sterling silver collection. This year, it’s onyx beads with a silver toggle. Now if you look at my website, I do have some vintage pieces with silver and onyx beads without toggle. This is all 10-15 year old authentic vintage pieces. Tiffany’s new line does not have silver beads, just a silver toggle. From the look of things, it’s counter fit’s hottest item. Be careful of this new line showing up on eBay, especially in sets. There’s no way that so many of these sets could have been sold and then placed on eBay in such a short time without a GREAT many of them being knock-offs. I have yet to see an authentic set on eBay. Step 7, if it couldn’t possibly be the real thing, it isn’t.

Let me wrap up that slight rant by wishing everybody happy and safe shopping.

On a more personal note, Marc’s finished his LSAT and is taking a well-deserved break. Michael’s continuing to work through his growing list of home-improvement hobbies. He took a tumble off a ladder the other day but is fine. Vito took me shopping to Nordstrom’s today, which I love, and after he recovered from a spell of sticker shock, we got home and had a fine day gardening.

ps..if anyone would like to add to this list of hazards, please comment and share ^_^

It continues…Ebay wants Tiffany to give me permission to sell my own collection of Tiffany jewelry. What possible motivation could Tiffany have for doing this? Besides the fact that ITS MY JEWELRY!!! According to ebay, any entity who has copy write of a brand name can do this..again, I quote, “These laws have been in place for hundreds of years.” Okay, that means all those years I was selling cars, I really needed to ask the manufacturer if I could advertise and sell their cars?? This is getting ridiculous!!!

I am still suspended from ebay. I was also told today that once they let me back on, if I ever list a Tiffany item, if Tiffany hasn’t given their permission, I will be suspended forever. Its time for me to learn how to knit because the only thing we can safely list on ebay is home made crafts. I don’t know what will happen to ebay motors….According to ebay, only home made cars should be listed. That will be very interesting.

Vito is off to Italy. His mother fell out of a fig tree. I hope I’m climbing trees when I’m 80. Without ebay to keep me busy, I am working on my website and swimming.

Yesterday, there was a big fire in the hills near Stanford University. I was swimming my laps and flakes started falling from the sky. It was all very strange. Especially since Michael took me to see the movie 1408 (excellent movie) and I have been a little jumpy.

I have also taken my Lemoncello making to a new level. I have made Kumquatcello with kumquats from Catherine’s family vineyard. Today I made Mangocello. I’m not sure what I’ll make tomorrow. I know this is a funny hobby for someone who doesn’t drink…

I have heard from more sellers that ebay is removing Tiffany and other designer products at a new, alarming rate. Yet…The counterfeits continue to flourish. Interesting business plan, ebay…A huge website devoted to counterfeits, homemade items, and the truly strange stuff you see on Jay Leno’s running joke about weird crap people pay a lot of money for on ebay. If that is really ebays business plan then those of us who love to buy designer pieces need a new “venue.”

On the upside, the website called “Tiffanycollector” has more then doubled the visitors then just a week ago. I am busy adding some vintage Tiffany Bamboo, Atlas, Etoile and Peretti that has been locked away for quite some time. Please let me know if you are looking for any specific pieces to add to your collections. Also, I love to trade and I’m busy buying collections from people who, like me can no longer sell on ebay. I can thank my son, Marc, for making this website to keep me busy the last time ebay decided to punish me for the great crime of listing my vintage Tiffany on their website. Master criminal mind that I am.

Ebay is not speaking to me. Even the power seller rep, who had been so “helpful” before, won’t return my calls. Thanks for that…They are letting me submit, via fax, proof that I am who I say I am. ie. phone bills, etc. And a signed promise that I will not break the rules of ebay and sell fakes. Lets see…Seven years on ebay, over 2000 transactions. One negative feedback in all that time… The buyer who didn’t read the measurements of a bracelet and wouldn’t return it for a refund.Thats it. And my crime wave continues…

Thank you to everyone who is writing to let me know they understand what is going on with ebay, and share my concern about the removal of so many honest sellers.

I have been suspended from Ebay again. I am crushed, but not entirely surprised. At first, I was told that Tiffany had issues with my listings. They think by using the words Tiffany & Co I am committing copy write infringement. Okay, they removed about 50 items and notified buyers that I had committed some mysterious and unfortunate crime against ebay and Tiffany. Then, today, they removed everything, including the none Tiffany pieces, and suspended me for a minimum of one week. All of my listings are gone and if I ever want to have them on ebay, I would have to start over again. 200 listings. I don’t think so.

During the last few months, the number of counterfeits, on ebay, has increased at an alarming rate. I thought I was helping innocent buyers, by reporting the most expensive of these pieces. I saw a counterfeit collection go for $1800.00 on ebay!!! Every piece was a fake. Ebay and Tiffany let that one stay, even after I reported it. Someone is walking around with a bunch of terrible fake Tiffany silver jewelry.

Here’s what this means..Tiffany LOVES the counterfeits on ebay. Every buyer who gets stuck with a counterfeit on ebay becomes a Tiffany retail buyer for life. They will never buy on ebay again. The buyer who gets a great deal on an authentic piece of beautiful Tiffany jewelry, will continue to buy on ebay or (hopefully) my website. Thats a loss for Tiffany. This is so logical…

Here’s something else I have noticed…Tiffany stores are more crowded then ever. Business is booming for Tiffany. I wonder how much of this can be traced back to the growing amount of counterfeits on ebay? So, it stands to reason, Tiffany is forcing ebay to remove anyone who has a lot of authentic pieces. The fakes can stay. Its all income for ebay. They really don’t know whats fake, nor do they really care. As I was reminded, once again, “Ebay is a VENUE.” At this point, I have to say, there are 50 fakes for each piece of authentic Tiffany on ebay.

I will be working hard on my website and hopefully Tiffany will leave me alone. They have shut down my website, only once. To all of my friends who love ebay…Be careful. Be very, very careful… 

I have heard of this happening, but it really hurt when it happened to me. A seller on ebay had a listing for a beautiful Peretti Starfish necklace. I bid on it and won. While I was waiting for it to be delivered, I got an email from a lady who has a fantastic Tiffany collection. She had also bid on the Peretti Starfish necklace. The seller emailed her with a second chance offer, claiming that I never paid for the item and offering it to her. My friend, Lisa, knew something was fishy..excuse the pun. She emailed me and we figured out this seller had duplicates. Sure enough, when they arrived, they were the worse fakes I’ve ever seen. I actually think they were painted plastic. I took plenty of pictures…We both emailed this seller, who by this time sold a third copy…She advertises an authentic Tiffany necklace. Shows the real thing in her listing, then delivers a copy. Well, all the fakes were returned, but she told us that we wouldn’t get a refund until AFTER she received a positive feedback. The third lady actually left a positive feedback. Lisa and I blew the whistle. We filed enough complaints with paypal and ebay that the seller got kicked off ebay. Only problem, no refunds..I would rather give up the refund then agree to be blackmailed. At ebay can focus their energies on a real scam artist rather then the honest sellers. Blackmail is really tacky…

Tomorrow I will put some post some beautiful pieces I found on my weekend excursion. I found a very rare set of Stigbert 18k jewelry. I’ve seen Stigbert, but I have never seen any of the gold pieces. Its amazing. These pieces are beyond anything I have ever seen in Scandinavian jewelry, which I happen to love. The simplicity of it reminds me of early Elsa Peretti and Angela Cummings. This set also has cabochon amethyst and chrysophase. Goregous stones.

I am hearing stories everyday, about people getting stuck with counterfeit jewelry. I’m not sure if there is more of it on ebay right now, but there is a lot. I think ebay and Tiffany should be more concerned with getting that stuff off ebay, rather then burden honest sellers with idiotic listing limits

Since one of the geniuses at ebay actually told me that some buyers LIKE counterfeits, maybe they should set up a category for fakes and forgeries. At least that way, the people who got stuck with a counterfeit, could resell it.

Last week, i had a really nasty email, from Tyler at ebay, informing me that my account would never be re-reviewed and that the listing limits were permanent. Of course, I was crushed. I loved listed on ebay and I really believed if they would only take a close look at my feedback, they would change their minds. Needless to say, it was a real low point for me. Well, the next day I got an email informing me that my listing limits had been lifted. I was so happy, I cried. Then, I thought, this can’t be right. I sent them 2 emails before I could believe that I would be allowed to list as much as I wanted. I got right to work and I have been listing to my hearts delight. Something has changed, though. I feel the dog who was knocked down a few times and now I expect to be knocked down again.

I wonder when the other honest sellers I met on ebay will have their listing limits lifted? It’s hard to believe that this was the best way ebay could find, to get rid of counterfeiters and crooks. Innocent people shouldn’t have their finances ruined because, for too many years, ebay let the fakes get listed as long as they were paying customers. My family and I were seriously damaged during this time. Multiply this by thousands of families who depend on ebay for their income. Ebay used to be so proud of the fact that people made full time jobs out of being ebay sellers. Many of these people are the ones who lived for months with no way to sell and no clear information from ebay.

This has been a very difficult time for many honest ebay sellers. I hope this never happens again. I still believe we need some representation with ebay. A sellers union perhapss?

I found out tonight that my listing limits are now down to 5 a week. I’m trying to figure out what I have done to make them mad this week. Lets see..burned anyone? No. Sold fakes? No. Changed my selling identity? No. Made an honest comment on the Safe Forum? Yes. I have been sharing this experience with other sellers, who find themselves in the same boat. More fakes then ever on ebay, none of them are mine. Yet, my listing limits are down to 5. At this rate, by July, when they say I can appeal, I may be down to 0 listings. On the upside..my listing fees continue to shrink. How is ebay making more money then ever? Oh yes, they increased the cost to list of that fake stuff…Dynamic business plan. Please, Google, start an online auction site. PLEASE!!!! 

Last week ebay told me that Tiffany & Co has an issue with me concerning copy write infringement with my listings. So, I emailed Tiffany and asked them about this. I had a lovely call from their representative and have so much more information then ebay is willing to give. Tiffany has no issues with me at all. They are in litigation with ebay about sellers of fake Tiffany. He told me that they have no problems with my auctions. He can tell I am listing authentic pieces and he offered to help in any way possible. I have a long history with Tiffany. He says its the fake pieces that Tiffany objects to because they get hundreds of complaints, everyday, from people who are stuck with fakes they bought on ebay. Ebay won;t help these people and Tiffany isn’t liable either. They are demanding that ebay remove those sellers completely. He had not heard of the ridiculous listings limits and he actually found that funny. If a seller is listing fakes, what good is it if they can only list 7 fakes a week? They should not be allowed to list any fakes. Thats the whole point.

So, 3 emails to ebay later and I have heard nothing from them. I guess they don’t like being caught in a lie. Well, I don’t enjoy being lied to either! The wonderful and positive thing is that the website: www.Tiffanycollector.com is doing great! We are selling a lot of pieces and adding more everyday. Maybe this strange and unwelcome ebay event has been the best thing that could have happened…

Marc made it to Nanchang and its not as “sub-tropical” as he thought it would be. He bought a heavy coat and sounds ready to explore this new city. The house is very quiet and the pets miss him like crazy. Max patrols every room looking for Marc. Its so cold here. I have our avocado trees lined up in the kitchen.

Vitos dear mother, Anna, had her 80th birthday. Last year we had both of our birthdays in Italy. I’m looking forward to visiting later in the year when things warm up a little. It was fun to have Thanksgiving there with Michael and Catherine. I’m still not sure if Anna likes American food, but she went along with it. She refused to try the matzoh ball soup I made her when she had a cold. She thought I had invented white meatballs and she wanted no part of it. Of course, thats just what Vito translated for me.

Michael, Catherine and I went to San Francisco for the day. We took the train, which I find very exciting. We walked everywhere. Museums, Chinatown, up and down hills. It was a wonderful outing and I enjoyed their company very much. The shopping in the city is wonderful and interesting. We all found some very interesting things. Today we are working on Mikes guest cottage. I wear layers of Vitos heavy sweatshirts

In 2000, when I was still in the car business, I became a member of ebay. At the time, there must have been about 1000 Tiffany listings and  it was very fun and new. Over the years, the Tiffany listings grew by thousands. Sure, there have always been fakes on ebay, but for someone who spent a lifetime coveting those little blue boxes, I could tell what was the real thing. Last night when I checked, the Tiffany listings are back to about a 1000. It looks to me that at least 80% are fake. Keep up the good work, ebay.