It looks more late Qing than 18th c but that base is strange and the decoration is not quite right, so that leaves me also thinking this is far more recent.

I haven't looked nor am I qualified to judge this seller's goods but I am more than qualified to remind people of the level of fraud occurring.

The number of synthetic identities being created by virtual fraud farms is mind-boggling and the victims cover many areas from antiques to business reports.

I recently had an experience where a deceased person has been synthesized, reborn with AI created fake social media, backed by a global team of cross verifying fellow fraudsters covering most potential fraud opportunities. If you can imagine an office building with a multi-department corporate fraud machine you are taking a narrow view.

In the finance industry I used to provide advice on such matters. The prognosis then was bad and now it is beyond the wildest dreams of any ordinary minded person. The amount of fraud is increasing exponentially.

Theoretically one could easily buy good items, subsequently selling them at break-even or even a small loss, but overall making a large profit by selling a few fakes hidden amongst them.

Any form of fraud that is successful immediately becomes industrialised.

Creating an identity on any auction site is not difficult, it only takes a team to create a nice 100% satisfied profile history of purchases or sales. Any buyer or seller without an open profile is a red flag.

I use external means to verify both the existence and breath drawing of any buyer on ebay etc. Relying on search engines and social media is generally playing into their hands, the many hands now also using AI to make their profiles more believable.

Best to play it safe. Very difficult. It's a multi-billion dollar industrial fraud machine.

The new warning is 'let both the buyer and seller beware'.

One red flag is a deal-breaker.

@astromachia Thank you, Dean. I realized fraud was widespread, but did not realize the full extent of the synthetic identity problem. You have certainly done us a service by alerting us to the increased danger.

Carol

Sorry for the rant—as Peter would say—but here are my thoughts.

Migularry is one of the last surviving auction-style eBay sellers. There are only a handful of us left. To survive in this climate, some degree of auction manipulation or price-boosting has become almost inevitable. I don’t know how his operation works exactly, but I’d be surprised if everything is completely clean behind the scenes.

Since the beginning of this year, selling on eBay has become brutally difficult. Rules have changed completely—fees have gone up, requirements are stricter, and buyer protection policies make it hard for sellers to breathe. Sourcing quality items is a nightmare, not just for small sellers like myself but even for major auction houses.

Margins on authentic pieces are razor thin. Buyers demand perfect condition, but they don’t want to pay the price that comes with that. Meanwhile, non-paying bidders are as common as fakes on eBay. It’s naive to think any eBay seller only deals in 100% genuine antiques. Sometimes a piece is simply decorative, and that’s the only way to stay afloat.

Even the major auction houses—Christie’s, Bonhams, and others—get caught selling fakes online, and editing images to make things look better. Peter recently talked about Zacke’s fake listings in one of his videos, and funnily enough, I flagged this exact issue about Zacke two years ago here, but it was ignored or dismissed. Now it’s mainstream knowledge.

The truth is: if you want to survive in this market, you’ll occasionally end up selling fakes, whether you want to or not. It’s not ideal, but losing money on every deal isn’t sustainable, especially when even the buyers complaining about fakes are often buying them—because they look “perfect”—rather than damaged but real Qing wares.

I’d rather own a broken but rare original than a flawless reproduction. But sadly, the demand for pristine items has led to more fakes than ever before flooding collections.

Also, many people forget how misleading eBay has become. Titles are meant to lure in traffic. The real info is in the description, and many buyers don’t even bother clicking the description anymore because eBay hides it behind an extra tab. Photos are compressed, color can look different on every screen, and let’s not even start with how inconsistent the refund/return system is.

If this was a traditional auction house, you'd have to pay your invoice and live with your purchase, but on eBay, there’s a new generation of buyers using returns like a trial period.

Anyway, that's my two pence. It's a tough market out there. I still believe in the value of honesty and good research, but it’s time we acknowledge that this isn’t the same eBay it was five or ten years ago.

Best regards,
Oto

Interesting way to defend selling fakes internationally.

Anyway, Peter mentioned zacke selling fakes in his recent video. One item mentioned actually is listed with nice provenance, “From the collection of Albert Y.P. Lee and Sara K.S. Lee.“  Hard to believe that person would own fakes. Either the provenance is problematic or the item is for decoration/fun for the previous owners. 

Do not buy fakes!!
That’s the golden rule—and I fully agree with it.

But the problem is, what is a fake? Some are obvious. Others are so convincing that even seasoned dealers, auction houses, and collectors get it wrong. Provenance, sadly, is not a guarantee anymore—I've seen serious names attached to items that turned out to be questionable. Either the provenance is misused, misrepresented, or—as you said—perhaps the item was kept as a decorative curiosity.

My point wasn’t to defend selling fakes. It was to highlight how the current environment almost sets people up to fail—buyers and sellers alike. That’s not an excuse, it’s a warning: the moment only perfect, flawless antiques are considered "real", the market fills with too many “perfect” items... and many of them are fake.

Let’s keep calling out fakes. Let’s keep educating. But let’s also be realistic about the market dynamics that are pushing even decent sellers into murky waters.

@jcman-mwsgmail-com

OMG, I was also a victim as I purchased this exact vase from Migularry on December 10th.I felt confident buying it because Peter Combs had it listed on the Weekly News Letter Page, not blaming Peter, more like this well know unscrupulous online dealer! I have bought maybe 6 other items from this dealer and now questioning the authenticity of those items as well!!

@jcman-mwsgmail-com

OMG, I was also a victim as I purchased this exact vase from Migularry on December 10th.I felt confident buying it because Peter Combs had it listed on the Weekly News Letter Page, not blaming Peter, more like this well know unscrupulous online dealer! I have bought maybe 6 other items from this dealer and now questioning the authenticity of those items as well!!

Interesting, but academic in my case, caveat emptor, my money and I seldom separate. I certainly have enjoyed the discussion, thank you all.

@james-frisby I would ask Peter for his opinion about your vase and tell him about your doubts. It's another $15 but it could give you certainty.

As a side thought.....since its been less than 6 months you maybe able to open a dispute with eBay....but I am not 100% sure here etc.

Mark 

@oreko I think you explained the problem quite well. This obsession in the collecting world with perfect condition greatly annoys me. I find it to be representative of superficiality. While I do believe items in perfect condition should be assigned a higher value than their damaged counterparts, the degree of those price discrepancies can reach absurd levels, often around a 90% decrease in value for repaired objects that are fully intact and present wonderfully. While it does make for great buying opportunities, I would rather see the authenticity and historical artistry of these objects honored more with much higher selling points for quality damaged items.

I must admit I am one of the perfect-condition-only buyers. Out of 3 reasons.

1. It personally hurts me to see items every day that have been damaged by careless handling by other people.

2. As I have only limited space, it keeps me from buying too much. I have often refrained from buying when something otherwise nice had a hairline or a chip.

3. The resale value of the collection is higher.

But: I don't go for the perfect Qianlong imperial piece for $300. It can only be a fake if people thought about it for more than one second. There are many less spectacular but authentic items out there. For example I recently bought a perfect Yongzheng plate from forum member Yaqin Hu. It gives me joy each time I look at it, because it's so beautiful and because it survived the centuries undamaged.