I began my Shawnee cookie jar collection before reproduction/fake Shawnee
jars had become a problem on eBay - or at least I was not aware of them.
In October 2005 I purchased five, advertised
as "Shawnee," Smiley
and Winnie cookie jars. I bought matching pairs of the Shamrock and Chrysanthemum
cookie jars as well as a Tulips. Three from one seller. This is where the nightmare began - please take heed. All were eBay Private
Auctions and at that time you could not view the feedback of a seller running a Private Auction. eBay has since changed their policy and now one can view the seller's Private Auction feedback .
Pictured here are the reproduced fakes, yet advertised as Shawnee, cookie
jars I purchased.
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When the first jar arrived, the Winnie Chrysanthemum, I
discovered that the jar had uniform crazing all over it. Be
aware that crazing often does not show in a picture. The auction had been
written as "Excellent Condition, having no chips or cracks." Shame on me, I took this as meaning
no crazing. I have a rule NOT to buy jars that have crazing. Fortunately
for me, the jar was damaged in shipping. Insurance saved the day and USPS
reimbursed me for the full cost of the jar. Lesson: Alway
ask the seller every pertinent question, expect an answer, and always buy
insurance.
- #7353056584 -
Seller: bric_a_brac_baron - $82.59 - Smiley Shamrocks was advertised
as "This
Item is Perfect" and
from the "South's Finest Estates." "Genre:
Shawnee Cookie Jar / Collectibles," "Excellent, No Restorations,
no Chips, or Damage."
- #7353056651 - Seller: bric_a_brac_baron -
$76.00 - Smiley Tulips was advertised
as "splendid colorful
Vintage Pennsylvanis Dutch Tulips Shawnee
Pottery Smiley Cookie Jar," "Condition:
Excellent with no restorations, no chips or damage, Perfect
Example," "from
the South's Finest Estates." If more than one bought Discounted
Shipping. So-Called Discounted Shipping for these two
jars ended up being $43.28 plus $4.20 for these two jars.
- #7353057962 - Seller: bric-a-brac-baron - $92.05
- Winnie Shamrocks was advertised
as "This Item is Perfect," "Genre:
Shawnee Cookie Jar / Collectibles," "Condition: Excellent
with no restorations, no chips or damage," "from
the South's Finest Estates." Shipping for this item
was $22.50 plus $3.20 insurance. The above three jars bought
from the same seller.
- #7352816848 - Seller: ole_mill_creek - $107.50 - Winnie
Chrysanthemum was advertised
as "Shawnee
USA Winnie Chrysanthemums Cookie Jar," "excellent
condition having no chips are cracks." Only reasonable
shipping: Shipping
plus insurance $15.00.
- #7353029214 - Seller: fayes_southern_memories - $71.00 - Smiley Chrysanthemums advertised
as "Perfect
Shawnee Chrysanthemums Smiley Pig Cookie
Jar," "Fresh out of
the Blue Ridge Mountains," "perfect
original condition." Shipping $22.65 plus 2.20 insurance.
Needless to say, the crazing on the jar made me very concerned about
the condition of the other four jars I had purchased. I called the seller (bric-a-brac-baron) whom
I had bought the three jars from to ask if they had crazing. She said she
did not believe they had any "significant
crazing." When the jars arrived three weeks later,
all three jars were covered with crazing. It
was interesting as they all had the same type of uniform crazing. I began inquiring
about the authenticity of the jars. I had an expert and another
seller of collectibles look at pictures of the jars and they both
said the same thing. Shawnee
never made Shamrocks, Chrysanthemums, or Tulips cookie jars with shamrocks
or flowers on the head. These
were ALL FAKES!
I must say that due to the stress, I agreed not to leave negative feedback. I had filed a dispute with Paypal but had no idea what their resolution
might be. At that time, negative feedback was useless
since eBay allowed sellers running Private Auctions to hide their Feedback. This was my way of leaving negative feedback.
Was I ever relieved when the fifth jar never arrived! After
inquiring to the USPS, they said that the seller had a wrong address on
the package and they had returned the package to the sender. The jar had not been sent
to my confirmed and verified Paypal address. Because I knew that this
was a fake jar also,
I called the seller several times to let
"her" know that I did not want the jar, with no answer. I finally
emailed "her." About
thirty minutes after emailing "her" I received
a phone call from "him." "He" began
shouting a tirade of threats. The
threats included sending a letter to everyone he could think of, leaving
me negative eBay feedback, filing a complaint with eBay, Paypal, and the
USPS. Lesson: Refer
to Home page and DO follow the recommendations before buying.
Well after all that and much learned in the
process, Paypal found
in my favor on all four jars and I did get my money back. I would not have had a way to get my money back if I had not used Paypal or paid with a credit card. This whole stressful saga
cost me about $34.00 (shipping cost for me to return 3 jars to the seller).
I feel so fortunate to have come out of it almost whole. Do yourself
a huge favor and DO NOT purchase jars from anyone
that has the cookie jar listed as a PRIVATE AUCTION or
the seller has PRIVATE FEEDBACK. The Home Page has many suggestions on buying collectibles on eBay - so save yourself a lot of time, stress and grief. I wish
you the best in your endeavor to collect AUTHENTIC Shawnee Pottery made by the Shawnee Pottery Company, Zanesville, OH.
