The King on eBay

Christmas Treets

King Albert's Book

R A R E !!

"A TRIBUTE TO THE BELGIAN

KING AND PEOPLE FROM

REPRESENTATIVE MEN AND

WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE

WORLD"

Author/s

many contributors

Publisher/City

The Daily Telegraph, London

Year

1914

Printer/City

Knight's, London

Pages

188

Binding

linen-like, BLACK embossing

Illustrations

2 black and white, engraving of King Albert facing title page

several musical scores

printed written signatures of most contributors

Size (l x w - cm)

28.4 x 22.6 cm

Ex Libris

"Sigmund J. Kardas, Jr. Collection Library"

stamp in BLACK ink on lower-right, inside front cover

N O T E S

"THE immediate object of this Book is to offer, in the names and by the pens of a large group of the representative men and women of the civilised countries, a tribute of admiration to Belgium, on the heroic and ever-memorable share she has taken in the war which now convulses Europe, and at the same time to invoke the world's sympathy, its help and its prayers for the gallant little nation in the vast sorrow of its present condition."

"This book is sold for the benefit of the Daily Telegraph Belgian Fund".

Contributors include : Aga Khan, Baden-Powell, Arnold Bennett, Bergson, Sarah Bernhardt, Carnegie, Churchill, Wiliam Crooks, Galsworthy, Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Ibanez, Kipling [first printing of The Outlaws], Ray Lankester, Marconi, Monet, Paderewski, Pennell, Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Rackham, Romanones, Sartorio, William Howard Taft, Verhaeren, and innumerable others.

Text in English, with contributions in French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese, translated into English.

Musical scores by : Frederic H. Cowen, Edward Elgar, Claude Debussy, among others.

Book in GOOD Condition!! Dampstaining on inside covers and a few pages. Scruffy, yet intact, covers. List of some contributors hand written in pencil on outside fly leaf. [see PIC]

I do have a LOWER-THAN-COST RESERVE on this item to protect myself from potential Internet technical glitches.

For other great items click on "view seller's other auctions", above.

Visit my website for other goodies, toys and works of art, including original oils, watercolours, sketches, sculptures, limited edition graphics and other choice collector pieces by listed artists : An Eclectic Experience. http://www.Kardas.net

I only ship by PRIORITY mail, with TRACKING, at cost (smaller and less heavy items would be $3.55). Depending on the final winning bid, buyer may wish insurance, which would be extra. MULTIPLE ITEM WINNERS MAY SAVE ON SHIPPING!!

Personal checks always welcome.

Further information may be found at my AUCTION INFO page, including hints for successful bidding.

Foreign shipping extra.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR BIDDING

and

HaPpY HoLiDaYs !

e m a i l s

In a message dated 15/12/99 15:45:09, you wrote:

<<Sonny-

Just received this item and was shocked and chagrined to find that it had been stripped of nearly all of its plates, as well as several other pages. Please note that I own another copy of this work. I will return the book, insured, at my expense, to you upon your agreement to refund my purchase price in full, including prepaid postage, or $45.50. I understand that this was possibly an oversight on your part, but must advise that in my opinion, this book has no value whatsoever, at least to me or to anyone else I know. Please let me hear from you as soon as possible.>>

I did NOT say it had plates, except the portrait of the King, as I remember. I did NOT notice that anything was cut from the book, and it is exactly as I described it-- I do attempt to be as thorough as possible. I got the book the way you received it. I also recall saying it was written in on the page after the cover.

I see nothing that contradicts my item description. Somebody did email me days BEFORE the auction closed asking whether it had more plates, to which I responded NO, and that they should read my description.

Unfortunately I do NOT ever get returns for anything. My description was what I saw and conveyed to any potential buyer-- IF you wanted to inquire about MORE plates, you could have done so BEFORE bidding. Sorry it was not what you imagined it would be.

Sonny

In a message dated 15/12/99 16:21:19, you wrote:

<<A little perspective - when I opened the book, it felt odd. Just a vague feeling. I just weighed it - 1 pound, 9 ounces. I weighed my other King Albert Book (intact) - 2 pounds, 5 ounces. It is missing 3/4 of a POUND of material. Unbelievable. At least shipping is less expensive.>>

In a message dated 15/12/99 16:29:57, you wrote:

<<I advise you most strongly to rethink the position you appear to be taking.>>

Might I suggest that you reread the item description-- it is probably still on ebay. I even said that the cover was scruffy!

In a message dated 15/12/99 19:18:40, you wrote:

<<I am unclear, so please forgive the question, but are you refusing to rescind the transaction (to give me my money back in return for your book)?>>

What I am saying is that, IF you read as much as you say you do, that my item description was VERY clear and exact-- you bid on what was advertised and received exactly that. My item descriptions ALL have ALSO a link to my own auction page which has some useful details, including that I have NOT had returns thus far and do NOT wish to start now. As with all my, usually very happy buyers, you got what was listed.

Sonny

In a message dated 15/12/99 19:45:36, you wrote:

<<One more time: Do you at this time refuse to cancel the transaction? Yes or No, please.>>

The eBay transaction has been completed - you bid on and received the item for which you were the winning bidder. End of story.

Sonny

In a message dated 15/12/99 19:55:51, you wrote:

<<Was that a yes or a no? Please help - I have an IQ below room temperature and need one syllable words.>>

Hi,

Since "room temperature" varies GREATLY from place to place, I really have NO idea what temperature you are referring to - and NEVER check the IQ, room temperature NOR the feedback of my bidders ( and really could NOT care less)-- and eBay does NOT include those peculiar relative mental and ambiental parameters on their pages. Did you include them in your "My Page"?

Might I suggest that you read the eBay guidelines/rules for posting and bidding. I really do not have the time to be discussing why you were the winning bidder on a book that did NOT have ANY color plates, as stated in the item description.

Thank you for your winning bid.

Sonny

<<FRAUD COMPLAINT

Complaint Tracking Number: xxx

By: xxx

Against: SUNGATO@AOL.COM

Date Complaint Filed: 12/15/99 17:36:10 PST

Nature of Complaint:

I sent a payment and received the merchandise, but the merchandise is different than the seller described it.

Text of Complaint: I sent chk. $47.40, & he sent mdse. stripped of about 8 ounces of pages (the color plates), which would be only reason to purchase this book. Rec'd it today. He refuses to rescind after repeated emails. This is truly blatant fraud, civil & criminal. >>

In a message dated 17/12/1999 13:50:14, you wrote:

<<Comments: He shipped me a rare book with 3/4 pound of pages removed (ie: all elements of value retained by him, my buying an empty shell). Mdse. received 12/15/99. Sold via eBay (204916641). Loss $45.50. Classic, obvious fraud. Investigations in progress. I have copious evidence & corroboration & will provide. He refuses to refund. I will prosecute fully.

Customer's Solution: Full restitution. Send letter of apology and full restitution to me and all others he has defrauded (slickly). Agree to cease & desist fraudulent activity. I will be unable to rest knowing he is carrying on with others as he has with me. I believe you will hear from others too. >>

In a message dated 20/12/1999 12:34:14, Hugh@aeip.com writes: [reply to above complaint]

<<Kardas replied promptly and in great detail; it took a while for me to examine everything.

My conclusion is that it is appropriate that this issue be decided by the ebay people and their insurance department. Based on what I read I think that your insurance claim will not be approved, but this is based only on the information that I have at hand. I'm sure that ebay knows far more than I do.

Kardas seems to have an excellent reputation and rating at ebay. If he were quite the scoundrel that you feel him to be it would likely be reflected in his rating; it seems that his customers, you excluded, are very happy with their transactions.

As you know he has an unblemished record of about 1 1/2 years at xx; yours is the first and only complaint. Coupling this with his apparent record at ebay my feeling is that you probably misread the auction listing and made a bid that should not have been made. Anyone can make a mistake. I can, of course, be mistaken about all of this, but my (truly impartial) opinion is that Kardas is not at fault and that you might best be served by pursuing this with the folks at ebay and their insurance department or by other legal means.>>

A M E N !!

[BACK to EBC]

Author/s	many contributors
Publisher/City	The Daily Telegraph, London
Year	1914
Printer/City	Knight's, London
Pages	188
Binding	linen-like, BLACK embossing
Illustrations	2 black and white, engraving of King Albert facing title page several musical scores printed written signatures of most contributors
Size (l x w - cm)	28.4 x 22.6 cm
Ex Libris	"Sigmund J. Kardas, Jr. Collection Library" stamp in BLACK ink on lower-right, inside front cover
N O T E S	"THE immediate object of this Book is to offer, in the names and by the pens of a large group of the representative men and women of the civilised countries, a tribute of admiration to Belgium, on the heroic and ever-memorable share she has taken in the war which now convulses Europe, and at the same time to invoke the world's sympathy, its help and its prayers for the gallant little nation in the vast sorrow of its present condition." "This book is sold for the benefit of the Daily Telegraph Belgian Fund". Contributors include : Aga Khan, Baden-Powell, Arnold Bennett, Bergson, Sarah Bernhardt, Carnegie, Churchill, Wiliam Crooks, Galsworthy, Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Ibanez, Kipling [first printing of The Outlaws], Ray Lankester, Marconi, Monet, Paderewski, Pennell, Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Rackham, Romanones, Sartorio, William Howard Taft, Verhaeren, and innumerable others. Text in English, with contributions in French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese, translated into English. Musical scores by : Frederic H. Cowen, Edward Elgar, Claude Debussy, among others. Book in GOOD Condition!! Dampstaining on inside covers and a few pages. Scruffy, yet intact, covers. List of some contributors hand written in pencil on outside fly leaf. [see PIC]