People call me all kinds of things, all the time. Mostly because of posts like the following:
"Antique Capodimonte NYMPHENBURG Marked Statue German Porcelain Figurine Dresden"
"This is a rare near mint Nymphenburg crafted in the romantic style of Capodimonte and decorated in with Dresden Gold Trim."
"Antique" is not a hollow phrase - the abuse of it on eBay however is legend. "Antique" is a clear and legally defined term used to describe everything older than 100 years (except glass). As the item is not even 100 years old, using "Antique" in this context is a misrepresentation. The item is also not related with Capodimonte or Dresden, neither by origin or style.
So based on a misleading item description and keyword spamming, the listing is literally demanding to be reported.
Explanation: the item is a Nymphenburg one, no question. It is not antique; the mark combination indicates production between 1949 and 1976. The style however is not "Capodimonte" (not that the OP would recognize a real Capodimonte item when he/she saw one). Common error by eBay sellers is to take the many eBay fakes and repros for comparison, resulting in such a claim (which is of course not professional). "Dresden Gold Trim" - the same generalized nonsense. Many other renown companies all over the world used this kind of gold timming decades before any decorator in Dresden used it, it is not Dresden-specific. As mentioned, the item is a Nymphenburg and - as such - has absolutely no relation towards Dresden, hence "Dresden Gold Trim" is yet another misrepresentation (or a lie, depending on personal preference).
I've even emailed Nymphenburg.com and asked if they could send me a catalog or tell me anything about the pieces and their values. No response.
Of course not. First of all, the company is a porcelain manufacturer and not a database for lazy eBay sellers, there are enough books and websites out there that deal with Nymphenburg items (even if they cost money or demand membership fees). Asking such an old company for a "catalog" is a joke in itself: it was founded in 1747 ... the history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776; so the factory was around before the USA even existed as such. The company until now produced well over fifteen thousand different items in multiple colors and with varying decorations - there is no "catalog", even a short overview can only be handled in books due to the sheer numbers. And even those books (at least the good, reliable ones) do not include prices as we all know that those depend on targeted market, condition and various economic factors.
I know that many sellers constantly ride around on the "but everybody does it" and "how should I have known" phrases, both are no excuse for not properly researching an item before listing. The term "common sense" is still valid and neither eBay, Facebook, Apple or Google can change that ...
