Current Events > Do you think this guy has a case here, he sold an african mask worth 4.4 mil...

(+) Yeah! (+)

All Sales Are Final

FL81 posted...

All Sales Are Final

yah don't you hear this happening frequently at garage sales?

Wouldnt it be on the seller to do their research on the value prior to making the sale?

Did they have it appraised by the antique dealer and they lied?

FLAMING_EVIL_HOMER posted...

Did they have it appraised by the antique dealer and they lied?

not sure, if it said that in the article

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

so if this happened , most of you guys side with the guy suing?

GranTurismo posted...

so if this happened , most of you guys side with the guy suing?

To be fair, IF you take something to get appraised, you are presumably doing so in order to get an actual estimate of value.

He should perhaps have checked it out with more than one, but if you are seeking to know its actual value and go to someone to have it told, they should be doing their job.

If however, he basically just went to something little different from a pawn shop and said "how much for this?" with obvious intent to sell regardless, then that is on him.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Fuck those guys.

If they appraised it low purposely try to scam him, I can see him having a case.

FL81 posted...

All Sales Are Final

Yup. Do research before selling, and once its gone its gone.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Thats fair then.

gatorsPENSbucs posted...

Yup. Do research before selling, and once its gone its gone.

Is having an appraisal done not part of doing research to you? Because that is what he did and he was lied to.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Under quoted in a massive understatement lol. Still though, the seller had no idea what they possessed so I still feel iffy about this.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

But if he thought it could be worth even 6 figures, hell 5 figures, wouldn't he get numerous appraisals?

Probably shouldn't sell something to the person who appraised it.

Ludwig_Von_2 posted...

If they appraised it low purposely try to scam him, I can see him having a case.

This. That definitely sounds illegal.

The antiques dealer:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/2/4/AACpnzAAE5iA.jpg

Yes, it's a unilateral mistake.

BroodRyu posted...

Wouldnt it be on the seller to do their research on the value prior to making the sale?

Yeah, this. His fault he took a bad deal.

CE and victim blaming, name a more iconic duo.

Smdh

Crimson_Corsair posted...

Is having an appraisal done not part of doing research to you? Because that is what he did and he was lied to.

One place. He looked at one place. Ive sold plenty of items and its usually 3 or 4 places, at least, that Im looking through to find prices. If your only research is going to one place and then selling it at that one place, well then I really dont know what to tell you.

BroodRyu posted...

Wouldnt it be on the seller to do their research on the value prior to making the sale?

Correct.

He should have done his research so he knew what he had, also it's his fault that the researcher he went to lied to him because he should have known better.

As a CEman I r very smert

If he had it appraised and they intentionally told him it was worth significantly less than it actually was in order to resell it at higher profit later, then yes, the guy has a case. Not sure if it would be considered fraud or what, but an appraiser intentionally misrepresenting the value of an object has got be breaking some kind of ethics codes at the very least.

meanwhile, if I find a copy of Suikoden 2 at a garage sale, and then list it on ebay...

Questionmarktarius posted...

meanwhile, if I find a copy of Suikoden 2 at a garage sale, and then list it on ebay...

Then , what?

Seems predatory of the antique dealer and I dont support predatory actions.

even before hella messed up happened, hella stupid happened. who immediately sells it to the only person who told you how much it should cost? someone hella stupid.

If they had the antique dealer appraise it, it's fraud.

Even if they appraised it and he went to sell it to another dealer, they still might be liable. If anything, the fact that they bought it is even more damning.

This is literally the Gamestop model, tho.

So here's a better article about the story:

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/french-court-sides-with-couple-after-antiques-dealer-flips-fang-mask-2370870

It went down like this:

Very old couple cleaning out 2nd house from old residents found the mask left behind.

They take it to an antiques dealer, he agreed to buy it for $150.

Dealer gets it appraised by a few sources, one appraises for less than what he paid and one a few hundred higher.

He then takes it to an African antique specialist and finds out it's worth mid six figures.

Mask goes to auction, sells for $4.4 million.

Old couple sues. Gets offered settlement for $300,000 which they were happy to take, their kids said hell no.

Now going by this article there might be precedent in Europe where they have a case. In the states they would get told to pound sand, they really don't have a leg to stand on.

I change my vote to not fraud.

Honestly none of them deserve that money or that mask.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


To be fair, scammers also often prey on greedy people. I dont think thats what happened in this case, but not all victims of scams are targeted because theyre good people.

Might have a legal case, but to just go by the first guy who appraises is stupid on his part, and so I don't feel bad.

Maybe the antique dealer didn't know what it was worth on the spot?

I mean what kind of African mask is worth 4.4 mil unless it's made out of gold and studded with gems. In any case he should give them a cut.

LeoRavus posted...

I mean what kind of African mask is worth 4.4 mil unless it's made out of gold and studded with gems.

I will force you into a museum.

LeoRavus posted...

Maybe the antique dealer didn't know what it was worth on the spot?

I mean what kind of African mask is worth 4.4 mil unless it's made out of gold and studded with gems. In any case he should give them a cut.

Correct, and they were offered a cut. Their greedy kids want more.

Read the article and apparently the dealer took it around to get an idea of its worth before putting it up for auction, where it got way more than expected.

That's what the old couple should have done. They let this guy put in the work now want some of that 4.4.

I say fuck 'em. They own at least 2 homes so they're not poor.

So, he took it to get it appraised, than immediately sold it to the the very person who gave the appraisal?

mustachedmystic posted...

So, he took it to get it appraised, than immediately sold it to the the very person who gave the appraisal?

They took it there to sell instead of garage selling it with everything else. The dealer then took it to 3 different auction houses and had a carbon dating test done before finally finding out what it is. What he gave the old couple was about what the first 2 auction houses told him it was worth, so he didn't know shit before it sold.

He should only have a case if the person he sold it to lied to him about its value. If he just sold it without bothering to find out what it was worth, well that's on him. But fraud would be a different story.

Was the mask made out of vibranium?