Mdina 'cut ice vase' buyer says it's a fake?

[chriscooper]

Hi all, sold a Mdina 'cut ice' vase last week, just received an email today from the buyer stating asking how long I have had the vase " I believe this is not a genuine Mdina vase but a far east copy the green is too green I have loads of other pieces to compare. "Cannot find your returns policy, do not want to leave you negative feedback but want to return the vase for a full refund.
I have to tread carefully here, feedback is important to me as I sell dozens of items of glass a month and realise this person is only a 'click' away from spoiling it. Here is a link to the completed listing.
Thanks Chris  

http://tinyurl.com/39h9nd8

[Nemmie]

Well I don't know anything about Mdina but I would say that as he notified you within seven days your are obliged to refund him as long as he returns the same item in the same condition (under distance selling regulations)

Do you normally not offer refunds?

[Lustrousstone]

That is true if you are a business seller. I think what Chris is trying to establish is if the buyer is correct about the lack of authenticity.

[chriscooper]

Off course I always offer refunds if the item is not as described? I  think the distant selling regulations only apply to business sellers? or is it bin not sure, but   surely you are missing my point I am trying to establish whether it is a fake?  if it's genuine Mdina as per my description then surely they have no recourse 'under item not as described'? So really just wanting confirmation that it is genuine, sorry if I didn't explain that properly.
Chris

[Lustrousstone]

There is no real green though. Isn't it just blue and loads of silver chloride.

[chriscooper]

Exactly Christine If I accepted returns on this basis I wouldn't last long, It only takes one 'click' to spoil my feedback and in this case I am pretty sure it would be unjustified so we sellers have to tread very carefully.
Chris

[Nemmie]

No I understood you perfectly was just pointing out that you would have to refund him without any reason under the distance selling regulations and could save the arguments and potential negative feedback.

I thought you were a trader as you mentioned selling a lot of glass. Anyway I will shut up now and let the Mdina experts give you the answer that you wanted in the first place.

[chriscooper]

Not a trader, more a friend of collectors and finder of 'rare' and beautiful piece's , sorry if I came across that way, I have been called 'tactless' many times  
cheers Chris

[mhgcgolfclub]

I myself would always offer a full refund regardless as I find it only happens very very rarely and keeps your feedback good.

If it turns out to be ID as Mdina I say full refund plus postage, if it turns out to be a fake it would be better to also pay the return postage as well

Roy

[fattystratty1]

I find this a intresting topic seeing as I have allot of mdina pieces. So are thier fake pieces of Mdina out there, and do we know what shapes they are. I myself have a Mdina vase with a fake Harris signature on it but anyone can do that.

[glassobsessed]

Your description looks fine Chris (as does the lollipop), lollipops were made for many years in a variety of 'styles' and colours. Given that the final colour could be somewhat random because of the effect of the silver chlorides used there will be plenty of variation between examples.

I think the distance selling regulations apply to business sellers and buy it now listings (business or private sellers).

I would recommend photographing against a plain white background in daylight, then buyers should not have any surprises when their item arrives. If the buyer insists on a refund make sure you (and the buyer) proceed according to ebay's terms and conditions for refunds.

John

[jonchellycain]

hi there
Im no expert but am a collector of Mdina and have had a couple of hundreds of pieces over the years.
I would say this IS NOT a fake, Mdina lollipops did come in different sizes and shape (obviously being handmade no two where the same) and colour variations.
Ive never heard of "fake Mdina" in the sense of pieces being made/copied to fool/decieve, there are quite a lot with fake signitures though.
Also there is not enough value in a lollipop so why go to all the effort to make a fake??
To be honest i think your buyer is talking utter rubbish, ive seen them bright blue to deep sea green and almost all the sandy ochre colour too
I know exactly what you mean with regards to the whole treading carefully part though, i received a negative for a 1mm internal airbubble in a whitefriar vase (which i think sold for around £10) even after i had offered a full refund and it was declined
Hopefully it all turns out well in the end
michelle

[chopin-liszt]

It's not a "fake", it's absolutely, 100% genuine Mdina. Christine's right about colour variation, it depends on how deep the colour of glass melted in *that* pot was, the amount of silver chloride in it, and how that reacts with both the blue and the clear glass. Every piece of Mdina is different, and the colours are often very different too.
The silver chloride is horribly expensive nowadays, I know of no fake bits coming in from anywhere - I don't think it's raising good enough prices for anybody to be going to the expense of faking it.
This is a Michael Harris design, a highly desirable one, and it continued to be made for a while after he left. Your buyer got it quite cheaply - not long ago, these were regularly raising ~£75.

There are a lot of fake signatures now, some better than others. Many, you can tell just by the incorrect spelling of "Michael". There is an image of this style of "Cut-ice lollipop" on p.51 of Mark Hill's book; "Michael Harris: Mdina Glass & Isle of Wight Studio Glass". Interestingly, the image in the book has been taken under the same lighting conditions as this piece, so they do look very similar indeed. It will look quite different under different lighting conditions.

I can't advise you what to do about your buyer though. Send them here?
Would you need the word of Mark Hill or Ron Wheeler to give the attribution complete authority?

Your item is not misdescribed, it is absolutely correct.

[cubby01]

I am not an expert in Mdina but it looks good to me. 

Refund the money.  The buyer should pay shipping and it better not come back damaged!  Then offer it to the second chance bidder stating the first bidder stating the 'winner' didn't want it.  It's a hassle yes but it's not a HUGE money deal. 

Even with that said.. With as many feedbacks as you have I wouldn't worry about a bad one.  There's many boneheaded new ebay buyers that have left unwarranted negative feedback and we all know eBay has tipped that scale to the buyers side.  Anyone looking at feedback will look for trends not the oddball one in a thousand.

[scimiman]

I will give you £36 and P&P for it. Rons your man. He's at the New Forrest Show until tomorrow but drop him a line and he will authenticate it for you. www.artiusglass.co.uk. He will give him chapter and verse and will be begging for mercy after about the 14th paragraph.

The item is 100% as described and therefore doesn't require a refund. If its because he doesn't like it then thats a matter of how nice and honest he is with you. Have you asked him where the statement 'Forgery' comes from?
Give him a link to the GMB.
Don't worry yourself over it Its just not worth it.
Mike www.abfabglass.co.uk