Beware the Sharks & the Monsters on
eBay

Corkscrew collectors are getting stung by
unscrupulous sellers every week on eBay. Fakes,
reproductions & blatant marriages are
commonplace.

The time has come to fight back, name & shame
these rogue sellers & declare what eBay items are
dubious to help the corkscrew collecting
community.
eBay has become one of the largest Worldwide marketplaces for purchasing antique &
vintage corkscrews. Hundreds of enthusiastic corkscrew collectors check the auction
site regularly hoping to find new additions for their collection. Thousands of dollars,
pounds & euros are changing hands daily.

In most cases - It's a great place to buy!

Unfortunately, as the eBay revolution has grown so have the number of fake,
reproduction & home made concoctions listed for sale. Both experienced & new
collectors alike are being caught by unscrupulous sellers who offer these corkscrews
looking to make an easy buck. Often these dubious pieces sell for high prices & then a
few weeks later the same seller has another batch for sale.

Like many collectors, I check eBay daily. I will take the opportunity to highlight on this
page eBay items that I believe to be either fake, reproduction or a modern concoction.
My findings will be based on 10+years of experience dealing & collecting antique &
vintage corkscrews. If I'm not certain then I won't highlight them.
If you are an experience corkscrew collector & feel like me that these rogues should be stopped then please
send me any eBay item number that you feel is wrong & your reasoning behind it to Peter@corkscrewsonline.com

Lets work together to help all corkscrew collectors avoid the bad side of eBay & by doing so, maybe, just maybe
we can drive some of them away.
Sold for $305. Part gun worm,
likely a recently machined gun
worm & part folding button hook
frame.
 Sold for $160.
Part original
period frame &
sadly, part
fishing reel.
 Sold for 301 Euros by New-girl66,
a serial offender. A real mish
mash design aimed only to
deceive. Buyer beware!
 Sold for 179 Euros.
A regular 1960's
metal T with a
Cockeril added later.
~ A few past sales ~
Sold for $179 as a cork puller.
Another weird marriage. Beware of
silver handles that can be taken
from boot hooks, shoe horns, button
hooks, etc, etc. In this case, the
puller was likely machined, aged &
then added.
 Another marriage. Sold
for 256 Euros. It only
encourages these
sellers to make more.
 This corkscrew sold
for $350 by seller
Lungbergbro. Sold
as unique but with
no mention to it
being a marriage.
Deceiving!
 Sold for $197. A right
mixture of parts. Period
Walker bell mixed with
pieces from other items.
No mention in the ad,
just sold as is.
~ Dubious corkscrews currently listed on eBay ~
March 2014
A corkscrew marriage

Buyer beware!
This one seems popluar!

27 bids at the time of publishing.

FAKE FAKE FAKE!!!!
Attention eBay
sellers!
Don't be a devil

If your eBay item is shown on this
page then you have not been fair to
the people that you are selling to.

To avoid your future items being
highlighted, please be fair &
specific in your auction description.
Described as both old & rare

I describe it as a marriage of parts

Wrong!
Nut cracker corkscrew

No No No!

Half nut cracker & half corkscrew
= a marriage - made to deceive!
30/1/12 Check out this link for fairly recent completed eBay German corkscrew listings - highest value
first. You'll find a number of fakes & marriages. Pretty shocking really!
eBay Germany completed listings
Corkscrew Education - Buyer Beware
Read Don Bull's informative article in Friday,
28th, February 2003 Daily Screw which
highlights some modern corkscrews frequently
found on eBay.
Buyer beware - reproduction Codd corkscrews
Left, a period example. Middle & right, two examples that have been offered on eBay by a seller in India
A UK corkscrew collector writes, 1st February 2012...

How do these people get to be top rated sellers!!! People must realise when they receive the stuff that
it was made last week. I think it might be worth putting on your site that if you are new collector go to
the dealers like Ilya, Christopher Sykes etc just to ask to handle a few corkscrews and get a feel for
the genuine article. You can’t  beat handling the items I’m sure you will agree. It is a shame the
Christies sales no longer happen as it was a great opportunity to handle a very wide range of genuine
antique corkscrews. It is also worth newbies checking the sellers completed items, if they have
repeatedly sold very similar examples you can bet it is a fake, numerous buy it nows at identical prices
are also a teller.
BUYER
BEWARE!!

Original frame
with winder added.

Be cautious.

If you are not
sure - don't buy
IF YOU SEE AN OBVIOUS FAKE CORKSCREW LISTED ON
EBAY PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL & I'LL INCLUDE IT HERE IN
PICTURE FORM.

Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
TOMMY CAMPNELL - FIGHTING BACK!

Tommy Campnell has sent in a huge list of buyer beware corkscrews
currently being sold on ebay. Too many to share, but here are a number
to watch out for.

Tommy listed over 50 pieces! This, at one specific week on ebay. It
shows the extent of the problem. Absolutely shocking!

MARCH 2014
Descibed as:
RARE Antique silver corkscrew & wax
seal private cellar ? Greek Roman
goddess.
FAKE!
 Descibed as:
Amazing Snakewood Steel Straight
Pull Henshall Corkscrew Cork Screw
Wine Opener
A MARRIAGE!
 Described as:
Rare iron with foil cutter & brush
fish shape corkscrew tire bouchon
cavatappi
A MARRIAGE!
Described as:
OLD RARE HANDCARVED
MAHOGANY WOOD WHITE MOON
FACE CORKSCREW IRON BARREL
WORM
FAKE!
 Described as:
WWII BG AVIATOR PILOT DIRK
DAGGER BEARING CORKSCREW
A MARRIAGE!
 Described as:
RARE Antique Rodgers & sons
Sheffield England bull head
corkscrew and can opener
A MARRIAGE!
EBAY POLICY CHANGES OVER THE YEARS

When I first used ebay, back in 2002, the site was very transparent. You could see who was bidding on each &
every auction. Over the years, ebay has become very private for buyers, all you can see now is a feedback
score of the bidders.

For this reason sellers no longer need to protect buyers with private auctions.

However, in a regular auction, buyers can click on a bidder to see what categories they are bidding on & how
many times they have bid with a specific seller. You can't do this with a private auction.

Does this mean that the fakers are protecting themselves further by making their auctions private, so they can
get people they know to bid their items up & other bidders can't check to see what items these bidder typically
bid on? Highly likely.

I would conclude by saying - If an ebay auction is listed as private, raise your guard, especially if the item is
suspicious. Don't forget, others can help you. If you are concerned about anything feel free to drop me a line.

Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
Help fight the fakers!
Keep an eye out & send any information to Peter Borrett
Email: Peter@corkscrewsonline.com

Corkscrew Beware is part of
Corkscrews Online