Tiffany Starfish on Ebay- Legit?

[E B]

Hi! (I never know how to start a post

)

I saw this necklace on the Tiffany & Co website, and I love it! At $160.00 though, it''s a little steep for a sterling silver pendant. I did, however, find it on ebay. Could this be legit?

http://cgi.ebay.com/TIFFANY-CO-925-SILVER-ELSA-PERETTI-STARFISH-PENDANT_W0QQitemZ5035702366QQcategoryZ10999QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I''m far too gullible to decide on my own. I need your help!

 

[lilyinct]

It looks real to me, but I am in the same gullible boat as you....I have wasted a lot of money on "authentic" jewelry on Ebay- and it''s not so authentic-looking when you get it.

Therefore, if I think it''s real, it''s probably not....plus it''s $18.00 for shipping a little necklace! Seems kind of fishy....

 

[widget]

The seller has five negative feedbacks in the last six months.

I wouldn''t deal with them.

widget

 

[bstraszheim]

I adore Tiffany silver and have seen many pieces listed on e-bay. The easiest way to see if it is a fake is to go to the Tiffany & Co website and then find your item, open it up and click on the picture to show the enlargement (attached). Unless it is a Tiffany one of a kind, they will all be indentical. Then I obsessively compare the picture posted on ebay to the Tiffany one. You can often tell the difference from the two pictures. I think it's a very good reproduction, but I don't think it's real. Look at the *subtle* lean to the right of the top segment. I also think that it is quite odd that if it retails for $160, why would he sell it for $10.50, you know he could get at least half of the retail price for it!
Where the spring clasp is attached to the necklace there are two "dog bones" made of silver, one is showing the 925 stamp, see if they will take a picture of the other "dog bone" that should have the Elsa Peretti name stamp/ signature. That may clarify if it's real or not.

Of course, if you like it, who cares if it's Tiffany or not, (if it is not, it is *really, really* close), it's $10.50 : ) Plus, perhaps the lighting is throwing the curves off in the picture and it's just the way it came out in the picture.

I also think that Widget is right, this person has crummy feed back for the 200+ items he has sold.

I hope this helps. I wish you well,

Bridget

 

[E B]

Thanks for the replies, you guys!

I''ll keep a close eye out for what looks exactly like THE Tiffany Starfish, and if I buy a fake, it''s no big deal. I just think it''s adorable.

 

[FireGoddess]

I definitely agree with Bridget here. I adore the Tiff silver but it''s so overpriced. I buy pieces on ebay and set a price limit for myself so that if it is actually a fake, I haven''t overpaid.

I love the silver tag keychains from Tiffs and bought one for myself on ebay for $25. They retail for $75. If it''s fake, so what, it''s convincing to me and everyone else who''s seen it! As for gifts though, I tend to shy away from Tiff stuff on ebay and just spend the money. I bought my mom and sisters the same keychains from Tiffs so that if they have a problem. lose a screwball or something, they can get it replaced without hassle.

I say go for it...but set a bid limit so that you haven''t overpaid if it turns out not to be real!

 

[E B]

How about this one? It looks pretty good to me, but I''m not trusting my eyes just yet!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tiffany-Co-Elsa-Peretti-STARFISH-pendant_W0QQitemZ5035258604QQcategoryZ10999QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

 

[belle]

1. pick a price you are willing to pay, even if it's fake
2. pick a price that you are willing to lose, even if the seller is not legit

personally, i would not buy from someone with '0' feedback.
everyone has to start somewhere, but in this particular case, you don't end up on ebay with the first item you've ever sold being a piece by the most widely faked designer.

ebay can be a great place to buy, but you need to know what you're getting into.

 

[AGBF]

I buy on eBay all the time, and I have sold there in the past. I go by a seller''s feedback. If the seller has even once piece of negative feedback, I go back and find it and read it. I also read the positive comments. Some people leave "positive" feedback in order to receive it in return, but the content of what they say in words about the vendor can be telling.

The only negative feedback I tolerate if I want to buy from a vendor is something from a buyer who has enormous negative feedback against him and appears to be completely untrustworthy. You will find that! You will sometimes find a seller with 300 positive comments and one negative. When you look up the one negative comment it comes from someone with terrible feedback and several vendors complaining about his behavior.

As for the comment posted above about comparing the photo form the Tiffany website to the photo posted by the eBay vendor: be careful! If the seller is truly unscrupulous, he can post a photo of a necklace other than the one he plans to send you!

I look for a good reputation.

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

I did a quick eBay search. I am not saying that this is the ONLY vendor selling a starfish mini necklace whom I'd trust, but I would trust this one. He charges a lot for shipping. Be aware of that as you bid (i.e. factor the high cost into how much you want to pay for the actual item) and I think you would be OK. He has had 126 transactions and has no negative feedback. He has one piece of neutral feedback, but that is a complaint over how much the buyer was charged for postage. (The seller was not accused of misrepresenting what he charged for postage. The buyer just bought, presumably after seeing how much the seller charged for postage, and then was annoyed when he saw that postage had cost the seller less than he paid for it!)

Good luck and report back if you buy one (from anyone)!

Elsa Peretti Starfish Mini

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

This seller also looks reliable. (Be aware of shipping costs from Great Britain.) This sale ends soon, too. The seller has had only 32 transactions but he was the seller (not the buyer) in all of them and his feedback is 100% positive. I would trust this seller, also.

Elsa Peretti Starfish Pendant on Chain

Deborah

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I actually own the Tiffany starfish and earring pieces, so if there''s anything you want me to check out and report back to you about stamps, etc., let me know!

 

[E B]

Logan,

How big is the pendant? I like little pendants, and looking at the starfish again, it might be too big. I have no clue, though, as I''ve only seen a picture.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Here''s a pic on me. It''s not that great, but you get the idea. I''m pretty small boned.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

And here''s it compared to some coins. As you can see, it''s about the same size as the dime. In fact, it fits in the dime.

 

[E B]

Logan,

Thank you so much! You''ve helped me make my decision. If I don''t find one that I feel is 100% authentic on ebay, I''m going to buy mine from Tiffany''s (as a present to myself).

Thanks again!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Date: 9/25/2005 12:34:32 PM
Author: EBree
Logan,


Thank you so much! You''ve helped me make my decision. If I don''t find one that I feel is 100% authentic on ebay, I''m going to buy mine from Tiffany''s (as a present to myself).


Thanks again!

Go for it, Ebree! It really is a cute pendant and I enjoy wearing it.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 9/25/2005 12:34:32 PM
Author: EBree
Thank you so much! You''ve helped me make my decision. If I don''t find one that I feel is 100% authentic on ebay, I''m going to buy mine from Tiffany''s (as a present to myself).

Hey! Keep us apprised, OK?

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Let''s try this again! This auction has a very low asking price (just over $7.00 US as of now). The seller accepts Paypal. The seller has a lot of feedback and it is 100% positive. Be aware that if you do not live in Australia that shipping will cost $25.00! The auction ends in less than 24 hours.

eBay auction

Deborah

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thank you so much! You''ve helped me make my decision. If I don''t find one that I feel is 100% authentic on ebay, I''m going to buy mine from Tiffany''s (as a present to myself).

Good luck!

I have the starfish pendant and love it. It''s great because it goes w/nearly every outfit I own. Even though $160 is a bit much for a silver necklace, this amount isn''t much in the scheme of things. . .I think it''s worth it to pay a bit extra and KNOW you''re buying the real thing! (I think when I bought mine, the price was lower. . .Tif increased the prices on many of their items about a year ago

)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 9/25/2005 11:45:05 PM
Author: AGBF
Let''s try this again! This auction has a very low asking price (just over $7.00 US as of now). The seller accepts Paypal. The seller has a lot of feedback and it is 100% positive. Be aware that if you do not live in Australia that shipping will cost $25.00! The auction ends in less than 24 hours.

eBay auction

Deborah

No way! Did you check out the other auctions by this seller? This person is selling a ton of Tiffany items. WHERE did this person get all these legit Tiffany items from? Seems WAY too good to be true.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 9/26/2005 1:24:19 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen
No way! Did you check out the other auctions by this seller?

No, but after I posted about it here, I did notice that the buyers' information is kept private. I didn't like that. If it's private, one cannot see if "people" bidding on an item are real people!

I did once buy an item where buyers' information was kept private! I bought socks for my daughter to wear for tap. They were frilly, but in an adult foot size (because she has had big feet since she was very young). I guess the socks were considered to be lingerie for adults, so we buyers had our privacy protected!!!

Deb