your 2 cents...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-Antique-Hist...e-/121463206478

Was there ever a real one?

How about those grommet locations? And the description just cracks me up.

that grommet location is the same as the Shell Green Streak pump sign, Shell bought Gasco & Gasco was headquarted in Oregon the same as the seller-
sellers description:

Here is an original Gasco Motor Fuel Sign. 12 inch round. Its a rare one & pretty much is what it is & it exists. Has chipage in porcelain as u can see in the pics. Take a look & see what you think...

Shell Green Streak also measures 12" & grommets appear too be in the same location...

The Real McCoy......

You can really notice the difference in the level of text in the glare/flash of the real gasco.

Derek,
there both real...

Ah okay!

$400 seems like shopping at the dollar store. Anyone here get it?

Somebody got a screaming deal on that one. This is what happens when the first thing you think is "is it real" Gasco is so rare a lot of people haven't even seen one. So people don't bid. I suppose we will be seeing knock offs of this one now. Maybe there already are I just haven't seen one. This is one way small signs get devalued IMO.

true story, I came upon that sign on ebay,
refreshed & it was gone!...

It was on the local craigslist as well...I saw it too late

Congrats to the "new" owner of this sign. I had won the item off ebay but wasnt planning on saying so until it was in hand. Ofcourse after "recent events" the seller has changed his mind on the sale...lol. Funny thing is...I would have matched the mystery person's better offer and then some if he gave me the chance..oh well.. cant win em all.

I wonder where this one will end up.

That sucks, tell him you won't give him a neg if he gives you the name of whomever back doored you then post it here for all to see. That's a low thing to do on the seller's and buyers part.

he would have already gotten the negative,
that isn't going too happen, then the seller would be admitting guilt...

Sent you a PM

wrong, he won't get a neg unless Eric gives him one, Ebay won't do anything without a complaint and even then they don't do squat

Neil, I totally agree with you. Unfortunately, there are very few of us on this site that see this as being unethical.

These buyers and sellers; that lack self respect, how can you expect them to respect others?

sad but true

I felt I had to give you all an update on this situation. Yes I was the lucky one to come across this item within minutes of it being listed on ebay last week. I couldn't believe my eyes and thought that there was surely a chance it was no good but I gambled anyway. Within hours of the end of auction there was a thread about it here on OG which quickly rested my worry on it's authenticity. I immediatly thought...ugh ohh that might not be good for me. I had already contacted the seller and asked him to ship out that day as I had paid immediatly. He responded quickly with a " yep no problem" and that was that. Well after 2 days with no tracking updates I decided to email him. Nothing...nothing for the rest of the weekend. I already knew what was coming. Sure enough after a weekend of no replies to multiple emails and a phone call the seller finally answered me. He was claiming it was a mistake to list the item and wanted to cancel the transaction. I got a cancellation request from ebay and a full refund. Well I planned on going down swinging anyway. Ofcourse I had lost all hope of getting this item that I won fair and square and paid for within seconds of winning. Yes, I contacted Ebay..(Joke) which I knew but had to try anyway.

With all hope lost and pretty bummed out about the situation, I posted a congrats to the new owner and was done with it. Then it hit me why this site and the people on here are so great! I got an IM from Jeff Smith aka (petropumps)from OR, which just so happened to be the same state the seller was from. He wanted to help me in anyway he could in the matter....well Jeff just so happens to be a lawyer in the great state! So I gladly accepted his generous offer and passed on some info early morning on Tuesday. Even with the bad experience the offer from Jeff to do this just made my day regardless of the outcome. "What great people on here" I told my wife that morning. Well lets just say Mr Smith must be very good at what he does...lol. Within minutes of him contacting the seller, he was on the phone with me telling me he'd be more than happy to sell me the sign through Ebay. The sign was in the mail the morning after the phone call. It arrived today safe and sound! I want to express my deepest gratitude to Jeff for his help with this matter. I hope it was fun for him to get a small piece of justice against some of the nonsense that goes down on Ebay daily. Job well done!

simply awesome to hear.

Congrats Eric and bravo to Jeff Smith.

Strong arming the guy to sell the sign...

Wow

congratulations, ended well..

Im sorry but I have to disagree on this. You cant force someone to sell you something. Not cool! I understand the seller backed out but if someone had a lawyer call me and tell me to sell them the sign or any item and I did not want to as I "changed my mind" they would have more problems then worry about getting the sign.

Agree 100%

I'd like for an atty to try and force me to sell a sign

WAY heavy handed

There are laws that regulate auctions. Ebay is no different.
When a seller lists an item with no reserve it's the "offer" part of a contract. When a buyer bids, it's the "acceptance" part of a contract. When the terms of the auction are met, the seller and the buyer are bound by law to complete the transaction.
That was told to me by a lawyer that specializes in law pertaining to auctions.

The time for a seller to change his mind is before the auction ends. Once an unreserved auction ends with bids(or reserve met), seller and buyer have a contract any using a lawyer to enforce the contract is fair game.

Legal contract should of thought about that before listing!Sold!

on the flip side, did you find out who on Oldgas tried to buy the sign out from under you.

Thanks for the breakdown on contract law, but I'm not impressed.

A lawyer stepped in and browbeat some uneducated guy into selling a sign for a fraction of it's worth.

You two shoulda kept it quiet as it certainly reeks of the more unseemly side of collecting IMO

And it's not unseemly for a seller to back out of a deal so he can sell an item for more money to someone else?
The seller could have protected himself with a reserve.

I'm sure it was heading to indiana

There are a lot of ethics at question here, but I believe that every unreserved auction on ebay should be completed according to the contractual terms that you agree to when listing an item with ebay! The ethics of the person trying to subvert the deal with a higher offer after the sale was completed, should be the issue here.
If Jeff took the time to explain the rules to a floundering seller, who then realized his mistake-- that action should be applauded.
It is the greed of the the other person that induced him to try and subvert the ethics of a contractual auction, and that person needs to be the one to be flogged!
Eric was simply the lucky buyer on the spot that pushed the buy it now button and Jeff was only trying to point out the contractual obligations of the seller.
This whole scenario came out the way the law intended it to, and the scammer went scott free!
I can't believe anyone would choose to see it any other way.

Well said Kevin.

Ebay has made a lot of changes regarding seeing info on past or completed auctions lately. I would like to see them change people's ability to see completed auction results unless you were a bidder. In particular "buy it nows". This whole situation occurred because there are people searching the completed auctions for "buy it nows" that were under market price items or "deals" with the sole intent on offering more and screwing the original buyer. They contact the seller offering more money, sometimes thousands more. This is unethical to me and pretty sleazy. Sellers that are happy with their original "buy it now price" are suddenly told they sold it too cheap. Many sellers have no ethics and will sell to the higher offer and screw the original buyer. IMO BOTH have no ethics and are WRONG. This is happening more and more. I know several members that have been screwed by these f*****s many times. Eliminate the ability to see sold items to non bidders and you will help eliminate this from happening. The guys making the offers after the auction is over are just as sleazy, if not more, as the sellers that are cancelling the purchase.

I don't get the anger at getting someone to live up to their moral and in this case legal obligations. the seller screwed up by selling the sign too cheap, so what. Everyone who thinks making this guy live up to obligation be sure and go back and give money to all the people you've bought stuff from that was a great deal. granted no one should be able to force you to sell something UNLESS you've entered it in a public forum for sale or auction. And if I remember my business law class from 35 years ago the fact that Eric payed is the consideration part of the contract thus making it enforceable. Glad you got it Eric, good job Jeff.

Someone inherits a lot on the water of Lake Tahoe...they think it's worth 50K, so they list if for that, it sells in a day, going into escrow.

The next day they find out they could have got 250K. Would everyone go thru with that deal and not try to back out?, or is it the dollar amount that makes it different?

Because the principal is exactly the same.

Really, a deal is a deal. Dollar amount has nothing to do with it.....or at least it shouldn't.

It seems to be very evident that you support the idea of the seller trying to rescind his obligations in the ebay sale! While your example is totally different and completely irrelevant, the fact that you would think it "OK" to back out of a deal, speaks volumes about your character.
The real "culprit" here anyway, is the sleazy individual that tried to circumvent the deal for his own personal gain! I don't think there is any question over legality or error on the listing. Just the despicable action of the greedy individual that lurks in the shadows and tries to subvert the honest dealings of others.
I have had it happen twice to me on public offerings here on Old Gas, and each time, the seller informed me of the happenings and also informed me of the perpetrators name. The actions of those sellers gained so much respect from me, that I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them at any time!
On the other hand, I would openly question the motives of anyone that would condone this type of behavior!

K.W....if that was directed at me, you can't read....I didn't say one way or another how I felt...I just asked a question.

And the principal of my question is exactly the same. just different property and money....but the issue is identical....sorry if you can;t see that.

what if what if what if? why bother confusing the issue, it's about sign on ebay, someone can't read that's for sure

No its not identical. There's no third person subverting the issue and asking the seller to cancel! THEY are the real criminal in this issue and if you can't see it, then you must be on the wrong side of the fence.
A man is only as good as his word!

Hey Really, if you have a contrary opinion then your morals must be questioned!

haha

I question the morals of having a lawyer working to build my sign collection.

Especially on a flimsy $400 small claims case that any judge would find ridiculous and a waste of the court's time. "But Judge it's worth $1500! We ask for specific performance!"

Whatever

Neil...I'm pretty sure the first word of a new sentence is supposed to have a capitol letter....since you want to correct my typing, thought I 'd point that out. And K.W....the person has a decision as to back out or not, that is the same situation I pointed out.

I think it's interesting that some people here have no problem taking advantage of the ignorance of that seller when it comes to his lack of knowledge about the value of his sign.... but those same people want to protect the ignorance of a buyer who spends too much money on a sign...to me that seems odd.

spoken like the repo seller you are, Lacie51, Jerry Westerfield or whomever you may be, doesn't matter. No wonder you're so mad at Paypal and ebay as well as the fine folks on Oldgas that expose you and your ilk. i'm sure you're very frustrated, it shows.

I respect YOUR opinion Chad but are you saying small claims judges don't want to do small claims?

Neil......grow up...do you every bother to say anything factual? All you do is throw out unfounded accusations? You've gotten so far off subject..."ilk" etc....you can have it all to yourself now.

Thanks Neal. I think the case is a joke and the attorney used the threat of legal process knowing that... There's a host of issues with the case and this was done via strong arm tactics.

Perhaps I'm too much a bleeding heart about the deal, but I wonder if the guy might have a family kids, maybe he needs that extra grand ($1000), who knows. His "word" to a bunch of collectors is meaningless...

And anyone who knows the "law" knows how selectively it is enforced. And again, good luck filing the lawsuit, serving him, getting to court... There's so much wrong with the idea, just a bunch of puffery...

The same thing happened to me a few years back. Bought a beautiful porcelain Coke sign on EBay, a buy it now for $500. Worth $1500+ Guy never contacted me and I didn't even bother leaving negative feedback... Different strokes I guess

I see your point Chad, it was just nice to see someone do what's right. Everyone has an out these days, a justification for their actions and if you can sleep at night then I guess it's all good. There could be lots of reasons the seller did what he or she did. this happened to me on a car years ago and it was for nothing but pure greed, the same thing that drives the repo sellers like Lacie51 and treasureray. I ended up paying extra for a car I had a deposit on, now I take my trailer and cash.

DCPate, you're making statements based on ignorance and supposition. Yes, I contacted the seller for Eric as I had offered to do. And I explained to him what a contract is and how it is enforced. The guy lied to me up one side and down the other, even telling me at one point that he had "accidentally" listed the item and that he never intended to sell it. When I brought up the fact that I knew it had been on Craigslist as well and that he had, in fact, contacted me (albeit unbeknownst to him) via email to tell me the sign had sold through ebay, his tune quickly changed. It was painfully obvious to me what his real motivation was. I also explained to him that if he sells the sign to someone else THAT person is civilly liable for tortious interference with a contract. The seller then quickly downshifted in to "how much will he (Eric) give me for it?" Long story short, my real role in this whole thing was brokering a deal and finding a solution. I'll leave it to Eric to chime in if he wants (although I can't think of a reason why he would) about the final sales price but it was more than the ebay sales price and, I believe, a fair outcome for all...even the sleezball seller.

Unfortunately in my line of work I can't always feel proud of everything I do, but this one I feel pretty darned good about.

Enjoy your sign, Eric!

P.S. Getting a lawsuit filed, getting him served and getting to court takes me about five days...a little less if I'm in a hurry...no "puffery" involved.

I see both sides in this discussion but IMO in situations like this its best to keep it simple. And I was taught a deal is a deal. And basically when you click the BIN that's the handshake and when you pay, the deals done . But oh no, wait, a handshake might not mean what it used to in America..... I see it more and more.
A lot of guys hammer on sellers for asking too much for the items they list on ebay. By doing this, the seller can always come down. It used to be hard to come up after an item sold, but according to some here, you should be able to grab the item back, simply say you changed your mind and sell it to the guy who offered more - that's bull ***** IMO.

Appreciate the reply counselor. Are you sure you're not violating any atty-client privilege in discussing the settlement of this MAJOR civil case? ha

Reasonable minds can differ... I stand by my opinions stated.

Good luck in the hunt to all.

His "word" is meaningless to himself as well. In the overall scheme of things NONE of the other issues pro or con really matter.

Don't think it was ever going to Indiana.

...I don't see this as 'strong arming' anyone - I see this as enforcing a contract, plain and simple...

...kudos to Jeff for offering to help out in this situation...I know if I were in the same boat as Eric, I'd welcome the assistance...

Reading through this thread and it's pretty easy to note who is ethical and who isn't.

Seller set the price. Offered it for sale. Accepted the payment.

Then seller is contacted by a scumbag and decides to renege on a legally binding contract.

A lawyer ensures no laws are broken and that the letter of the law is followed.

Pretty clear to me that the seller, the scumbag and any supporters or sympathizers are the ones that need to pull theirs heads out of the ground.

How can anyone find fault with what the buyer and the lawyer did?

It saddens me to note that a clear set of circumstances like this has to be debated. Where are we headed as a society when morals and ethic's can be so unclear to so many? I'm just glad that I lived the majority of my life during better times...when men were honorable and honor was something we all understood.

I agree that once he offered it for sale and sold it his only choice was to man up and let the buyer have it.
I once sold a motorcycle and before the first guy got there second guy came by and offered twice as much.
Needless to say it was tempting but I stuck to my word. Having said that Eric knew he was getting a smoking deal yet felt compelled to not let seller know he was a fool for letting it go so cheap.
Everyone harps on the pickers but even they will tell a guy you're to cheap and I'm going to stand up and pay you a fair price more than you asked.
Seller should stick by his deal but buyer should at least feel some remorse for taking candy from a baby.

So it sounds like (to a very select few) I was supposed to click the buy it now button. Pay the seller (antique dealer/picker who is a power seller with 5000+ feedback) what his asking price was than send him a request to pay more because he didnt ask enough? Can someone tell me if they've ever heard of such a thing on ebay? Now I have (more than once) been in a situation at a yard sale or local inquiry to buy items where they asked me for a fair offer because I inquired and my price was 3x what they would have asked for it and I was happy to pay it.

For what it's worth... to those who feel bad for this seller (for some reason) rest assured I did pay more than the auction price to get the sign. Even though I wasn't obligated to do so. I wanted to make sure the seller had no hard feelings and all was well.

So if you put a 1971 Hemicuda Convertable in Barrett Jackson no Reserve and it only sells for Two Million you should be able to back out????? Same thing it doesn't work like that! He should have researched his sign an put a reserve on it

totally agree, Eric did nothing wrong pushing the
"buy it now" button except he pushed it before I did-
why was he penalized?..

There's two rats in this story. The Seller is number one. He set the price and is obligated to sell it. Second rat is the guy that talked the Seller into finking on the deal and taking more money. All you have when you get buried, is your good word. Without that, you'll be buried naked!!

...oh, brother - you mean like The American Peckers do on every episode? Is that before or after the cash register sound effect?




...EXACTLY...

...I guess (using some of the tortured logic expressed in this thread) I should be able to walk up to you years after selling a sign, and say 'well, I didn't know that sign was going to double in value in five years. Here's a refund - I'd like my sign back now, thanks'...

...I guess (using some of the tortured logic expressed in this thread) I should be able to walk up to you years after selling a sign, and say 'well, I didn't know that sign was going to double in value in five years. Here's a refund - I'd like my sign back now, thanks'... crazy

just like buying stock, before you received your certificate the stock went up- broker says, we'll we've changed our mind on selling- here's your money back,
how would that fly...

This is all really bothering. Its called a mistake...NOW if the seller is a DEALER and by that I mean is set up in business with the purpose of buying and selling advertising items for a profit, and made that mistake...Then shame on him and he needs to honor that deal. IF he is Joe the Plumber and found a sign and thought he was hitting a home run and then learned he just lost the world series and wanted to do better for his family...then really WHO CARES. If he returned the money SPEEDY and it was not a big issue, then "wow that sucks" is about all that is in order. Maybe he should send an Applebee's giftcard or something but JEEZ people do you really need something for a steal so bad that you will threaten this guy and want bad things to happen to him. I think that all the hate that is thrown around on this should be backed down a bit...NOW for the guy who offered more AFTER a sale...that is just not how it works and should learn some etiquette.