You gotta be kidding...: Witco e-bay madness

The price and object seem like a parody, but I am afraid they are serious. This is simultaneously hilarious,

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-WITCO-Waste-Basket-UMBRELLA-STAND-Tiki-eames_W0QQitemZ7758485216QQcategoryZ29460QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

but also makes me quite mad, the e-bay abuse of the terms Witco/Tiki/Eames should be stopped somehow. It inadvertently makes me react sour to the term EAMES...and I really love their work!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2006-04-12 09:58 ]

buyer beware!! I guess it pays to know your item when shopping on ebay.....still sucks though...

What I emailed to the seller:

Hi!
You mentioned the signature - could you post a photo of that too, please? This isn't like any kind of Witco item I've ever seen (and it's certainly not Eames either); I just need some kind of provenance before I bid.

Thank you!
D

What he/she responded:

Hi D:
Sorry, there is a misunderstanding, and I have edited my description in an attempt to clarify things.

The piece is 'unsigned', as is noted in the description. When I mentioned the term 'signature', I meant that the wavy carved wood was 'signature Witco'. I have since removed that assertion from the description.

As for 'Eames'... 'Eames Era' has become a catch-all term that is roughly the equivalent of 'Mid-Century Modern'. It reflects the 'Era' not the designer. Charles Eames had nothing to do with this design.

I have no concrete evidence or provenance that proves this is a Witco piece. I have handled and sold items from this line before, and have a consensus among my peers that it is Witco -- but we have no catalogs to prove it.

Please accept my apology for any confusion that my description may have caused.
moderneform

Well, heck! If his peers say it's Witco, that's good enough for me :wink:

He had had, "...featuring signature wavy vertical slats, which are joined by two horizontal hand-hammered iron straps (with squared off nails), which encircle the piece."

Now it reads, "...featuring wavy vertical slats, which are joined by two horizontal hand-hammered iron straps (with squared off nails), which encircle the piece. Unsigned"

I'd played ignorant in my letter, expecting him to be honest that there was no signature. I was then going to ask for a catalogue photo, but he beat me to it! There ain't none 'cause there ain't none!! At least he corrected the "signature" word, which really might cause confusion to the unwary buyer.

And I love (ok, hate!) that attitude of Eames = ANYthing Mid-Century.
Anything carved wood is Witco.
Like the eBay sellers who call ANY old dress VLV!!
"Cute 1980's poofy mini-skirt! Breakfast Club/VLV!"
"Hippie VLV Bohemian Peasant Blouse!"

(Now watch the damned thing BE a Witco!!!)

Thanks, Formikahini, for clearing that up, that's a little better....only a little though.
But look how insidious it is: While all our intelligence tells us that this is NEVER a Witco item, the assertion that it is/could be messes with our confidence in our judgement, making us wonder "Maybe..."

Well, let me tell ya, it ain't, and it's not worth 150.- clams, either.

Bigbro,
Are you sure it is not a Witco dunce cap?
KG

If so, I deserve it, for hyping up Witco so people post these insane auctions like the one above. I would love to set them right, telling them that Witco is really just cheap trash...which it is, but it is GENIUS trash. It's design porn. And now I hardly can afford it myself. Gimme the cap.

That thing is utter CRAP!

Looks like it was stolen from Medieval Times in Buena Park.

I still wanna know how you can ever find actual Eames items on Ebay now. If you try to search for it, you get many thousands of items that are marked Eames. If I ever own an Eames chair I want to sell, it will not go on Ebay!

I collect Knoxville, TN stuff and that's a pain now thanks to Johnny Knoxville. "Knoxville" has become a code word for some sort of slacker clothing style and trucker hats.

it would also probably be a bad idea to try to sell a shag rug on ebay...

On 2006-04-12 20:18, bigbrotiki wrote:
If so, I deserve it, for hyping up Witco so people post these insane auctions like the one above. I would love to set them right, telling them that Witco is really just cheap trash...which it is, but it is GENIUS trash. It's design porn. And now I hardly can afford it myself. Gimme the cap.

No. no. no. The seller must wear the dunce cap and write on the blackboard, I will not misuse the term Witco 100 times.:)

And please don't tell Marian Witco is cheap trash - because it definitely ain't cheap anymore.