Hello, first time poster here,
I am in need of a little guidance by you knowledgeable folks ;)
I wanted to own an antique sword for quite a while, and I finally have some money to spare. Besides medieval european swords, which are definitely out of my price range, I've long been fascinated by middle eastern swords (tulwars, pulwars, shamhirs etc.).
So I've browsed numerous online antique sites and found several Items I kind of liked for moderate prices. Then I finally took a look on ebay and found a tulwar that I was instantly smitten with.

[/url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Islamic-Mughal-Indian-Sword-Talwar-Tulwar-Shamshir-17th-century-India-/221745324412?hash=item33a10d217c[url]

It is quite pricey compared to the other Tulwars I have seen, but it's also more fancy with the silver hilt decorations, and I'm in love with the overall proportions and aesthetics.

Now I heard quite a few ebay horror stories with fakes and dubious business practices, and wanted to ask if anyone here had any experience with this seller (EclecticMuseum) or if, judging by the pictures, there seems something obviously wrong with the piece.
Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm not an expert on Tulwars, but the overall quality of craftsmanship and the very even and slight corrosion on the blade and furniture suggests to me that this might be an antique sword that has been well-maintained. Cheers!

-Gregory

"All items are guaranteed to be authentic antiques, and not reproductions. All our artifacts are accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. We provide a full money return guarantee if a state museum judges the artifact to be non-authentic."

As I understand it, this is ebay shorthand for "It's a fake." BUT I don't know anything about tulwars, either!

Matthew

Aha, seems I dodged a bullet there. I had a slight feeling in my gut, that something wasn't quite right.
Thanks for the warning, guys!

Are there any reputable online dealers out there at all? I've read good things about faganarms.com before, are they still legit?

My apologies for the initial vote of confidence. I didn't read the auction description at all - just looked over the pictures and the quality of the sword does not strike me as particularly crude. These other fellows have the right of it, though. Happy hunting!

-Gregory

http://www.antiquesword101.com/about-us.php

Hundred&One has been around forever. Occasionally very interesting items but always priced about double of high retail.

A contemporary American dealer with high prices is Faganarms (actually a few bargains there at times)
https://www.faganarms.com/


Oriental Arms has a better reputation but like many dealears, they are out to make a profit. Honestly, all do.
http://www.oriental-arms.com/

Cheers

GC

A fair number of dealers have both web site and Ebay listings

Another would be Michael D Long
https://www.michaeldlong.com/

and Harvey Withers
http://www.antiqueswordsonline.com/harvey-withers-antique-swords/

Both have extensive Ebay listings

I just copy and paste urls (don't add extra tags for urls, the system does that for you), I don't have much trouble.
http://www.antiquesword101.com/islamic-swords...ry=3736928

Cheers

GC

Why use eBay?
There are so many problems with eBay that I would look elsewhere for anything and everything

An advantage of Ebay for the sellers is exposure to a broader market. An advantage of Ebay for knowledgeable buyers are some relative bargains.

A very good sword I recently found was from a typical picker that only had interest in selling, not necessarily what the highest profit might be. Bargained down, realized about 75% of typical street price. I would say 50% of what I buy through Ebay is often a lot less than street price. Those bargains offsetting some of my over priced buys. If I was dealing edged arms for a living, Ebay would be one of my primarty markets but some dealers hate Ebay (just as some buyers hate Ebay).


When seemingly similar items price at what look like extremes,, it may be some significant factors. Other times, especially on Ebay, they may post a ridiculously high price with a best offer option.

Any genre requires some education and there is nothing wrong with window shopping. One can learn a lot. I have certainly learned more than one market and now know I can find bargains for 25% of what I was willing to pay some dealers. In hindsight, I grumble sometimes when tryig to sell close to what I paid but generally have enjoyed those same items I paid a premium for.

I have tried to save those real disappointments in life for movies and restaurants ;)

Knowledge is power.

Cheers

GC

While there are no doubt many good "sleepers" on EBay, you have to be either very knowledgeable about whether or not an item *IS* is what it's advertised as, or be very lucky, especially in the field of antiques.. As a general rule of thumb, always err on the side of caution, always assume everything the seller claims is total bulls**T , designed to trick the gullible into parting with their money. Yes..you *may* miss out on an absolute gem..but you're much more likely to be richer for backing off.

While there are no doubt many good "sleepers" on EBay, you have to be either very knowledgeable about whether or not an item *IS* is what it's advertised as, or be very lucky, especially in the field of antiques.. As a general rule of thumb, always err on the side of caution, always assume everything the seller claims is total bulls**T , designed to trick the gullible into parting with their money. Yes..you *may* miss out on an absolute gem..but you're much more likely to be richer for backing off.

This " Youtube " video might be useful, Matt Easton has a site dedicated to HEMA but he also buys and sells swords including late European sabres, swords, Asian swords also. He mostly deals with antiques but he also buys modern reproductions for himself.

This specific Youtube clip by Matt is about where to buy antique swords:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24WoUeSegZw

Matt also has a specific commercial site dedicated to selling antique swords:

http://www.fioredeiliberi.org/antique-swords-uk/

I haven't personally purchased anything from Matt, but he has a good name to preserve as he is well known in HEMA circles so I wouldn't be too worried buying from him.

Oh, and Matt is also a member here on " myArmoury ".

Lots, of interesting content on his site about swordsmanship:

https://www.youtube.com/user/scholagladiatoria

A good rule of thumb is that if it is on ebay then it is either a fake or illegally looted. The chance of it being a genuine antique is so low that it isn't worth the risk. If you make a bid on something then the price shouldn't be any higher than what you would expect to pay for a replica.

@ Glen A Cleeton & Ralph Grimley
Yeah, that's what I figured, hence my call for help. I guess trustworthy dealers with ebay listings have their own websites additionally anyway.

@ Eric S
That's very good to hear. Thanks for the other recommendations, of those I only had already found Gavin's site, when I was still looking for affordable medieval arming swords (I know, I know...)

@Jean Thibodeau
Oh, I know of Matt. Watching his youtube channel amongst others (Tod, Iain la Spina (sp.?), Roland W. etc.) over the last few years has really increased my interest in both history of arms and also HEMA (I plan to join a group in about a year, when I relocate back to a bigger city).
Matt is a little stingy in his videos with information concerning his go-to dealers, which is understandable as, unlike me, he is "in the business" so to speak.
I also browse his shop semiregularly, but he almost exclusively sells modern period military swords which, for some reason I can't put my finger on, I find totally unappealing aesthetics-wise ( though I really like that fat tulwar he keeps waving around in his videos).

@ Dan Howard
I'll take that to heart.