Why did this item sell so high?

[arkansas]

I've seen a couple of items from this seller that sold for outrageous prices. What is the deal?
INDIAN Artifacts ARROWHEAD OHIO PALEO UNIFACE TOOL AACA - eBay (item 400145693229 end time Aug-26-10 16:42:29 PDT)

[TEXAS DIGGER]

... the AACA may have something to do with it?...

[Flintflicker]

Wow!! I dig up things like that where ive been digging in a rock shelter,i got a whole pile of big slivers of flint that has the edges chipped and worked on,i know its not probably gonna be paleo,but just how do you know if it is or not? i do find early archaic points there, maybe i need to gather them up next time im there and bring them home and take a looksee?

[ghost recon]

Good question arkansas, it's not even a particularly nice example. I have noticed that in the last couple of years on ebay that paleo uniface stuff is really popular and often goes for sometimes twice its value.

[Steve Valentine]

I'd say probably by shill bidding, or in other words, having a buddy or family member bid it up. Wouldn't be surprised to see it relisted in a week or so saying bidder never paid. No way that piece is worth $255 and how can he actually prove it's Paleo. It could be from any culture. If he actually did sell that for that price then I need to list all of my Uniface pieces and clean up.

[arkansas]

Here's the first item from this particular seller that sent up a red flag. It is a Hopewell flintridge core. Even though it is very appealing, the price is unrealistic.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120611383883

and another...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120594029937

[ghost recon]

That's outrageous. I bought 8 nice flint ridge cores as nice as that one at an auction two months ago, all for 65. I got a frame of Hopewell blades for about the same price as that little blade. I don't get it, maybe it's time to slang some rocks?

[Bobby]

That is why you can't see who is bidding on ebay anymore. Steve is right about the shill bidding, a while back you could see the bidders name and in a situation like this you would have seen that they were all by the same bidder.
Yes you will probably see them again in the future and next time someone else will probably snatch them up. They will think that they have seen them go for a couple hundred bucks before so that must be what they are worth.
Also notice they have a 100% feed back that is because if you are doing the bidding on your own stuff you can leave yourself positive feed backs.
Ebay what a joke.

[drdave514]

You can see enough of who the bidders are (first and last letters) to see in the bid history that something is super fishy.

I don't know what the deal is but it's not good.

[uniface]

In the last three months or so, uniface pieces advertised as "paleo" (some of them actually are paleo) have gone for ridiculous sums. Not twice, but ten times what they brought six months ago.

Partly, probably due to increased recognition, due to people posting about them on artifact boards (:blush.

Partly due to the fatal combination of greed with ignorance.

Partly because there are dealers with their own sites that list such stuff (IMHO) absurdly high and wait for somebody to come along willing to pay what they're asking, which establishes a climate of expectation (realistic or not). There will always be people who'll pay silly high for a Cadilac because it's a Cadilac.

Occasionally, because the stuff is just really pretty and competitive people with deep pockets want it.

Partly because, in any market like artifacts, there are tiers. The old, established guy with a lot of high end stuff who's widely known and respected will get top dollar and even beyond, because people are partly buying into his reputation. Below him are the guys trading on the intrinsic value level. And below them are bottom feeders like yours truly who pick up worthwhile stuff for cheap because it's not widely enough recognized to provoke much competition.

Partly, it's sheer hype. Put an Archaic uniface tool on flea bay with "PALEO" in the heading and it will bring three or four times what it would without the hype. It's like Pavlov ringing the bell and getting the conditioned response.

Finally, don't discount the liklihood that, in some cases, you're watching drug money being laundered. A $300 paper profit on a $25 item is subject to taxes, but the balance is "legitimised" and has a paper trail. Ever wonder why fast food places on interstates that get nearly no business stay open year after year ?