A little over a year ago I scored at a local auction house here in Los Angeles

[TeamPooka]

Fancy limited art print signed signed by the artist in a heavy signature frame done by his studio.
His stuff can sell for hundreds or thousands even though just a glicee.
I don't know how it happened but I'm the opening and only bidder ($50) on this thing and I get it for $65 out the door with taxes and buyers premium.
Better yet my wife loves it, which doesn't always happen for the art I buy and flip, so I get to hang this up in our living room while I put it up on eBay for Buy it Now $1,250.00 (a bargain, after some research) and leave it there for sale.

During the last year I've turned down several lowball offers for it.
It's a heavy frame as I said (25lbs) so I knew my "free shipping" would cost me on this one so offers in the $200 range were easy to pass on.
About ten days ago I get a decent offer and start negotiations, a little back and forth and we settle on $800 and I accept it.
I even talked to the buyer during the process to answer questions and found out they are huge fans of this artist and one of their friends has 3 originals by the guy, including the original for the print they are buying.
Done deal.

I'm high five-ing myself because even though the shipping is going to be a lot I did well with it.
They pay instantly and before my wife gets home from work that night the art is packaged up and shipped out to the east coast.
I have a couple thousand positive feedbacks on eBay about my fast and secure shipping and that's how I keep the buyers of the bigger stuff happy.
If they get it fast, it scratches their itch for the purchase.

I hang a temp piece on the wall where it hung until the wife tells me what she wants hanging there next from the collection/inventory.
"That was my favorite piece you ever brought home." she tells me that night.
Of course she was bummed but she knows the art moves. It comes and it goes. Nature of the business.
There are some pieces I plan on owning until I die but not many.

The next day I'm counting my money and the buyer calls me.
They had called that friend to tell them they finally found a print of that piece they loved and the friend tells them they were planning on giving it to them. In fact they were going to give them all 3 of them.
So she would be returning my piece for a refund.
I can't even remember the last time I had a return.
I thought that would definitely not happen on this because of what super fans they were and all.
Plus, the PIECE WASN'T EVEN THERE YET!
Whatever.

So to their immense credit they offer to pay for my shipping costs and that was nice of them.
when it arrived there they stuck a check in the box and just shipped it back the same day without really even opening it.
Got it yesterday and took it out of the box and wrapping and it was safe and sound, none the worse for wear, which had been my main worry at that point.

Hung it back up in it's old spot on the wall, took a picture and texted it to my wife
"It's like it never even left. I'm glad. lol" was her reply.
At least she's happy again, so Im happy too.

I will get my eBay commission that I paid on it back in a credit that will be used against future sales so that's really the only cost to me on this, except for the shuffling of money in Paypal to cover the difference for the refund.

There's no big ending here, just a story about how frustrating it can be dealing with buyers of higher ticket stuff sometimes.
I went from "SCORE!" to "SHIT!" in 24 hours on this deal.

Then I went and got another great deal on a couple more pieces at that same auction house last weekend too.....it never stops.
Fingers crossed.

[3catwoman3]

1. I'm glad for your wife.

It sounds like she was very taken with it.

[TeamPooka]

6. She's happy. It's her fave piece in the house. She is very tolerant of my art mania. :)

[3catwoman3]

7. We have several woodblock prints that we ...

...acquired while stationed in Japan. My husband recently tried to suggest we part with some of them, in the interest of downsizing, and I told him there was no way I was going to agree to that.

[TeamPooka]

9. good. those are a solid "hold onto" area of art right now.

[Vinca]

2. Who's the artist??

[safeinOhio]

3. I can never read the

artist signatures, so it has to be really good and cheap. Sounds like that was your good luck.

I've had a crazy time this month with Stop Lights. First I find a vintage Walk don't Walk sign that works when plugged in. The next week I find a one direction,three light Stop Light that works too. Then last week I spot a 4 direction one at a yard that has $200 on it. I had just seen one on EBay that sold for over a grand with $75 shipping.The lady says make an offer. She smiles and takes my $150. Will look great in the booth. Most likely never seen one for another 20 years.

[TeamPooka]

10. They sell volumes of artist signatures for identification. They charge an arm and a leg for them too

because the info and knowledge is so valuable.

[Grasswire2]

4. good story, thanks!

It's a real thrill when you score big. My best score was a piece of sheet music that I bought for $12, hung it on my wall for ten years or so, and then sold it for $1200. That paid for my son's first computer.

[wyldwolf]

5. I envy people with a good eye for art

If I can't check prices on the ebay or Amazon app, I'm lost.

[TeamPooka]

8. It has taken a long time to learn and I only know a few areas that I like and specialize in well.

Modern art from 1900 on, Mid-century modern, pop art, some impressionism, and comic book & comic strip art.
Start talking the old Grand Masters and I'm done.
But it serves me well cruising the estate sales and auctions of Los Angeles and Ventura CA.
This was the epicenter of a lot of that stuff back in the 20th Century and as that generation is dying off and retiring or relocating a lot of stuff is coming available.
The hunting is the fun part in the whole process to me anyway.