I may end up selling my soul for a lot on auction right now - Elizabeth Gardner WASP auction

[stratasfan]

Only 12 and  a half hours to go and it is at 7K right now. It is 12 hours and 29 minutes from now when the fun will really start happening! :)

[GAZOO]

Will be interesting to see who if anyone admits to the purchase

[aerialbridge]

From the current $7k robust bidding on this extensive grouping,  it seems the WASP collecting community is as motivated and competitive as the USMC big ticket collectors.   Good for the hobby at large.

[GAZOO]

ONLY 276 WATCHERS :) with two bid retractions, last retraction YESTERDAY was a 8k bid

[GAZOO]

Looks like the high bidder decided they did not need to bid that high to be winning so they
retracted and rebid 1 min later :)

My guess is 10,101. winning bid :)

[aerialbridge]

I'll guess 8700.  The sniping should be fun to watch.  It'll never reach the price of a soul, but it might get as high as a kidney.   🤑

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234922179456/

[GAZOO]

My guess was on the chance TWO may put a blind of 10k to insure a win
But its a good bet the High at the moment is less than 8k

[aerialbridge]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's nothing visible in the auction that shows Elizabeth Gardner's name, right?   The dog tag is too low res to read and the pilot license only shows several letters.   I'm sure many have contacted this seller with questions, etc.  Doesn't seem to be a militaria seller, but some coin lots.    Curious why they are apparently not displaying her name which would presumably increase eyes and final price.  I can't find much on Elizabeth on line, except from ancestry and then Findagrave she was apparently married to a Michael Remba before she signed up for WASP and divorced him in 1967, taking back her maiden name Gardner.  Not clear whether she had children, but she died at Manhattan in 2011 at 90.  This auction is out of NY, NY, coincidentally.  Wonder if it's out of the wood? If not,  probably not been in too many hands.

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140073991/elizabeth-lora-remba

[Steve D.]

Her name is on the dog tag and the name bracelet. There is actually quite a bit of information for her online.

[aerialbridge]

I couldn't make it out from the photo.   Can you tell if she had kids?   I can't from ancestry.  That factor always interests me since from experience, if the vet didn't have any kids much more likely their items are going to be up for grabs after they pass away.  That's how I was able to recover my grandmother's oldest brother's WWI USN name engraved sword and bring it back to the bloodline, after some sleuthing and his death 70 years earlier.  It's rank speculation but whether this seller is a non-lineal descendant,  I'll bet one, such as a niece or nephew, had her items after she passed. assuming she had no kids.  Based on all the photos this seller has, I'm inclined to think they're either a non-direct descendant or acquired from such.   And reading manay's comment about another WASP group realized price, my  $8700 guess is perhaps way low, and final price might be closer to what google says a spare kidney will fetch in India.  

[stratasfan]

The dog tag wasn't the best picture, but I read her name from that. I didn't find any children, but didn't delve too deeply. Being 12 years since she died, kids or not - easily could have left the family. Really enjoying watching this! Considering staying up tonight, even though I should be getting rest before vacation . . . :)

[historylives]

the thrill of the final bid awaits! looking at the group of items from this veteran woman my opinion is that the two wings are the major players which is the attraction. if they both were listed on Ebay in two auctions would they both bring in 7,000.00? the count down begins. a cliff hanger here!

[GAZOO]

6 minutes ago, historylives said:

the thrill of the final bid awaits! looking at the group of items from this veteran woman my opinion is that the two wings are the major players which is the attraction. if they both were listed on Ebay in two auctions would they both bring in 7,000.00? the count down begins. a cliff hanger here!

As a Group / History, I think the VALUE is more than would be realized if sold/auctioned separately.
But thats just me  :)

[aerialbridge]

It'll be fun to watch the last couple minutes of this at 9 tonight.  I'll show my wife the final price, so she'll look much more kindly on my modest purchases.  Let the games begin.   I wouldn't be surprised if the winning bidder hasn't even bid yet.  👍

[Steve D.]

We may never know the name of the winner. I've been trying to contact the winner of the Rock Island auction of WASP items for several months, and

still no luck.  (That grouping sold for $30,000.)

[B-17Guy]

I think it has hit the bidding war wall.

The last thirty seconds will separate the men from the boys.

Chase the item, not the bid.

Best advise I ever got was to use auction stealer.

John

[aerialbridge]

I'd be surprised if it ever gets posted here by its new owner, but I'm certainly pulling for someone here to own it when the dust settles.   A lot of closest high-end collectors out there, wouldn't be a shocker to see it end up with one of them, never to be seen  again until it comes up for sale.  Hope I'm wrong and that the new owner proudly posts it somewhere for others to appreciate.

[GAZOO]

Considering the sales TAX on this lot, at the current Bid would come to an
additional 752.50 dollars in the OVERPRICED Bay Area.
ALAMEDA  add 10.75%
I could not convince myself to bid

EDIT does it go by the seller location or the buyer ?

 

[dmar836]

Many older collectors who have spent lots are becoming less likely to share online. The online bragging on FB and forums is "okay", I guess, with M-1s and other little stuff but this is how you get long-lost family members saying you owe them their ancestor's items because they were sold without their knowledge. Many, if not most, even here, tend to support the returning of such artifacts to searching families despite the free market and the exorbitant amounts many of us are willing to pay for legit stuff. Just recently here there was another query(second one and second new member) by the family of a VN 5th group vet attempting to call back their grandfather's SF stuff. IIRC, it was all sold in multiple lots on eBay but they have now asked over 9 or more years how a member got their ancestors stuff. That is a real ding to a collector.

JMO

Dave 

[GAZOO]

I may be wrong but was under the impression any family member who has a LEGITIMATE claim
would still be required to make the caretaker whole (amount spent) ?

[aerialbridge]

Sales tax for online purchases goes by where the BUYER lives, Gazoo.   Just like other taxes, we in Cali get hit the worst.    I miss the old e-buying days.    As for when family comes a calling, which has been covered a whole lot on many threads here, it does not make me any never mind,  unless my purchase is included in a certified copy of a police report that predates the date of my purchase.   A "family member" has no superior legal right to any personal property any more than anyone else.   And the "family" victim of theft of personal property has no greater rights against a "bona fide purchaser for value" than any other theft victim.  Bona fide means "good faith", e.g., you paid fair value for the thing and you had no knowledge it was stolen.   

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_fide_purchaser

 

Everyone's got a closet, safe or secure storage, and free choice to keep your goodies secreted away there, or bring out and brag or just share your cool stuff with others.   I don't think everyone that's generous enough to share their time and collections is doing it to show off.   Some yeah,  many no.  The day everyone decides to be a closet collector, other than buying and selling, there won't be much action around here. 

[Bodes]

16 minutes ago, aerialbridge said:

Sales tax for online purchases goes by where the BUYER lives, Gazoo.   Just like other taxes, we in Cali get hit the worst.    I miss the old e-buying days.    As for when family comes a calling, which has been covered a whole lot on many threads here, it does not make me any never mind,  unless my purchase is included in a certified copy of a police report that predates the date of my purchase.   A "family member" has no superior legal right to any personal property any more than anyone else.   And the "family" victim of theft of personal property has no greater rights against a "bona fide purchaser for value" than any other theft victim.  Bona fide means "good faith", e.g., you paid fair value for the thing and you had no knowledge it was stolen.   

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_fide_purchaser

 

Everyone's got a closet, safe or secure storage, and free choice to keep your goodies secreted away there, or bring out and brag or just share your cool stuff with others.   I don't think everyone that's generous enough to share their time and collections is doing it to show off.   Some yeah,  many no.  The day everyone decides to be a closet collector, other than buying and selling, there won't be much action around here. 

Sales tax only applies when using Paypal....My understanding is you're not obligated to paying ST if you use Ebay Pay...Bodes

[rd12]

From eBay;

If you sell to buyers in the US, some jurisdictions may require you to collect applicable Internet Sales Tax on your transactions. As of July 1, 2021 a total of 46 jurisdictions require the collection of sales tax. In such cases, eBay collects and remits Internet Sales Tax on your behalf.

Learn more about Internet Sales Tax, on our Help pages, or from your tax advisor.

Starting in November 2019, the way taxable transactions are processed and how taxes are collected for remittance will change, as follows:

In jurisdictions where eBay is required to collect Internet Sales Tax from buyers, order totals sent for processing will reflect the gross order amount inclusive of tax.

Once settled, the tax amount will be automatically deducted for remittance to the applicable taxing authority.

A record of the sales tax portion of the order will be available on the Seller Hub Order details page and through our Download order report.

Please note the applicable tax will continue to be paid by the buyer and you do not need to take any action. These changes do not apply to sellers in managed payments.

 

Currently, 46 states require online merchants (eBay in this case) to collect and remit sales tax. Amount collected varies by state.  

[rd12]

I want to add this has been an informative thread - interesting to watch such an expensive group be debated/discussed, including the auction strategies.

[aerialbridge]

32 minutes ago, Bodes said:

Sales tax only applies when using Paypal....My understanding is you're not obligated to paying ST if you use Ebay Pay...Bodes

 

Respectfully, as somebody else said  at least 46 states require the seller to collect sales tax for online purchases, regardless of how the buyer pays.  I've done local pickups and paid cash and I have to pay the seller the sales tax.  Ebay will take it out of their hide automatically when they assess their fees,  so the seller is going to get stuck paying the sales tax if they're slack enough not to collect it from the buyer. 

 

I'm glad I don't have a horse in this race, the suspense would be killin me!   It's way too quiet, that the needle hasn't moved from 7 grand all day.   The high rollers be keepin their powder dry, methinks.