About a week ago, I started watching an eBay auction for a Tapio Wirkkala Pollo vase. The seller had the starting bid at the incredibly low price of $24.95, and only one person had bid. Of course, I had no way of knowing how many people were watching exactly like I was, but I had an odd, tingly feeling that this one was under the radar.
If you've read my blog for long, you know that I love Wirkkala, and I particularly love the Pollo and the Kingfisher. The vases aren't particularly rare. On any given day you can find several on Etsy and eBay. However, finding one at a really good price has become somewhat of a challenge.
The day I found this particular Pollo, I decided to wait it out till the last possible second before bidding, so as not to tip my hand. I set an email and a pop-up reminder so I wouldn't forget to bid. As planned, I got my email reminder yesterday morning and went straight to eBay to check on the current price. Hadn't budged from $24.95. Great. I was ready. Later in the day, I got my pop-up reminder. Still $24.95. The feeling that I was going to win this one was getting stronger.
Then I got busy writing a post, and I got sucked into the inescapable vortex that is research. One link led to another, and before I knew it, I was avidly reading about a completely unrelated topic and had lost track of time altogether. I remembered the auction a couple of minutes after it ended.
The ironic upside to this tale is that I was also bidding on a large Wirkkala Kingfisher for the store yesterday too, and I got it.
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| The lovely 8 1/4" long Wirkkala piece I won on eBay |
But wait...is there another upside? The seller said "no chips, cracks or crazing," but apparently no one asked about smears, smudges or stains. Do I see a reddish brown mark on the side, near the bottom, starting faintly at the center and getting more pronounced as it curves upward and stops right under my caption? Hmmm...I think so. Could it be that getting busy saved me from the crushing disappointment of opening a package containing a (gasp!) flawed Pollo?
Ah, I feel much better. Yesterday the stars must not have been aligned for me to get the perfect bird. Let the search continue!
It's going to come up real soon, they think safety in numbers but the hunt is on! I wish you luck with your mission! :) I can see the appeal too, nice!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's become much more than a mission at this point. I'd say it's easing past obsession and coming close to neurosis. :) But I'll find one eventually. At this point, not looking would be impossible.
DeleteMy mother has two pollo vases which she's clinging to ... dammit!
ReplyDeleteYours will come along. Be patient and keep searching. Maybe Santa will bring one.
You might consider going to your mother's home wearing a mask and pretending you're a burglar...one who is only looking for Pollo vases. Think she'd know it was you? LOL
DeleteI think this should be the new thing we shall say when a treasure slips through our fingers - It was probably smudged anyway! BTW - Just got around to your yesterday's post - LOVE those dresses and a Big Chief Tablet still makes me want to grab a fat pencil and practice my letters.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan. I can't tell you how much better I felt when I saw that mark. Of course, I felt better that I didn't have to keep kicking myself anymore too.
DeleteThere's just something magical about Big Chief tablets for me. I kept scrolling through my own post yesterday, just looking at the pictures, and I swear I felt like I was right back at East Ward Elementary on the first day of school.
I don't bid on anything on eBay, I let auctionsniper.com do it for me. For literally pennies they will bid my proxy in the last five seconds of the auction. I would probably get something from them if I "officially" referred you but I don't care. Just want to pass along what works for me. What I especially love about it is, once I find the item I set up the snipe with the proxy bid that I am comfortable with. Then I forget about it. That way I don't get caught up in the "moment" and overbid and regret it later. If the item gets bid up higher than my prearranged snipe, I get an email alerting me this has happened. Then you can rethink your snipe. I usually just move on. There is always another auction down the pike :->
ReplyDeleteI know I'd avoid some disappointment if I used a sniping service like that, but there's still something exciting about waiting till the last five seconds and bidding in person.
DeleteKingfisher is beautiful! Congrats on winning such a special piece. I love the vases too, but like you said, you may have dodged a bullet. I'm so tired of eBay sellers neglecting to discloses flaws on items. There are deals to be had on eBay, but I've been ripped off several times. Right now I have an MIA seller that I purchased a Cathrineholm piece from a couple of weeks ago. I have a feeling that I'm going to have to file a complaint. Argh.
ReplyDeleteThat particular "mark" may have been just a figment of my imagination, since I was trying to make myself feel better about missing out on the vase, but I know what you mean about less than full disclosure. And to my way of thinking, conveniently forgetting to mention a flaw is just as bad as blatantly lying about it. I'm tired of that too.
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