Ye Zhong San signed bottle - dubious activity on ebay ....

[Pat - 查尚杰]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170764368766

This bidding pattern is completely unusual given that the US is still waking up now, and Europe in full swing and also bright awake to see this auction through to the end, as is Asia.  No need to go this crazy 5-6 hours before auction ends.  Shill bidding heaven, if you ask me.  Beware and stay away....

[George]

I went to look at that bottle as soon as I woke up.. It's up there !

s**r is the top bidder, and has zero buying and selling history..

I do see e**o in there..

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Wow, You guys are really good about spotting suspicious bidding patterns! I would never have noticed, or thought to look. I guess that is the Asperger's Syndrome. I assume everyone is OK till I learn otherwise. You've all taught me a valuable lesson. Thank you,
Shabbat Shalom, Joey

[Tom B.]

Just a follow-up on this sale, the buyer was legitimate.  He evidently doesn’t care if there is shill bidding since he was the first bidder and the last (highest) bidder.  I have noticed him as the high bidder on a number of IPSBs from various sellers.  He bought the Wang Xisan that Steven and I bid too low on and he also bought the Ye Zhongsan in a carved rock crystal bottle on eBay in December for $2,850.  That bottle was cracked and the seller denied it (according to the negative feedback and rebuttal), but I looked close at the seller’s photos and found the crack. 





Judging by the buyer’s eBay name he is Chinese, so buying good bottles on eBay is going to get more expensive all of the time.

[Pat - 查尚杰]

Good eye Tom!  But indeed the Chinese are buying up everything in site (sic) and sight, as we have discussed in several threads.  The good days to buy online and find treasures are mostly gone.  I have one collector friend in Shanghai who uses his perfect english speaking teenage daughter as the web-crawler, and very succesfully so, I might add.  They think these are bargain (?) prices as compared to local auctions in China, where they have to compete with much deeper pockets.

[rpfstoneman]

Tom,

A crack or inclusions?  I noticed the description provided says rock crystal.  Under some circumstances this could mean glass, but this terminology more often used to reference stone.  I have a number of IPBs that are quartz crystal and minor inclusions are highly desirable if it does not interfere with the painting or is actually incorporated as part of the design.  Would need more information to say this bottle is actually cracked.   Just a question.  Charll

[Tom B.]

Of course you may well be correct Charll, but had I been interested in that bottle I would have asked about that reflection before bidding 28 hundred for it. 

[rpfstoneman]

Tom, 

I hear ya! I think I would have asked for clarification from the seller myself.  Charll

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

I just found this thread. A really beautiful bottle...
Joey