I really do love eBay! I’ve bought some very cool and unique things on the site. Case in point, all of my fisherman lamps, and nautical light fixtures came from eBay. Along the way I’ve found a few awesome chandeliers too! But, as I’ve learned you do need to read the fine print!
I try not to browse eBay too often. It usually gets me into trouble. But when I do, I like to peruse vintage brass and crystal chandeliers. Just out of curiosity. Sometimes I see one and must have it. The thrill of the win is exhilarating! (I must not win very often as just now I couldn’t remember how to spell exhilarating. Thanks spell-check.)
I found a petite brass chandelier several months ago. A bidding war ensued but I finally won! My plan was to buy the chandelier and have it put on a plug and give it to my niece who just had a baby girl. I thought it would look precious hanging over her sweet little crib so I waited anxiously for it to arrive. The seller indicated the chandelier would be disassembled for shipping. I assumed that meant taking off the crystals, sleeves and light bulbs. Imagine my confusion when the package arrived no bigger than a shoe box! A small shoe box. Here are the contents:
Well, the seller had indeed disassembled the entire thing. So, I’ve been dragging my feet finding someone to reassemble, rewire and put the thing on a plug. Also it did NOT come with crystals or sleeves so I’ll need to purchase those as well. I found a lighting store in town that will do the work for $25 per arm. That seems to be the going rate. My frustration stemmed mostly from me not reading the fine print. It was not that great of a bargain as it turns out, but will be well worth it in the end. Meanwhile my precious niece has been 6 whole months without a crystal chandelier in her nursery! For Heaven’s sake! This will be remedied today. I’m polishing it up as we speak then off this cutie goes to the lighting store for a little TLC. (below is mid polishing)
Once safely rewired, I will purchase the 5 needed sleeves and 25 crystals. And my niece’s nursery will be complete at last! So, my advice to eBay shoppers is read the fine print and ask questions if it is unclear. It would be much cheaper to pay the bit of extra shipping instead of going this route. Naturally many old fixtures need to be rewired anyway, it just would have been nice to know that up front. Lesson learned!
When rewired and put on a plug, this petite chandelier will look much like this one but with 5 arms:
