I was the one to email this seller on CL
hello this is kyle the emailer telling you it was a fake. and worth about 400 bucks.
I suggest that you just keep it as it is a good design. if not and you really need to sell it I may be able to help you out, but 500 would be the most you could get for that.
I had one two years ago before i bought the real thing and i bought it with 1 rip for 275$ (during the mad men phase) and it sat for a while on CL (about a week)
I didn't email you to disappoint you btw, but i didn't want what happened to you to happen to anyone else.
Sorry
Like all the others I agree its a very faked fake.
I've sold 2 Plycraft (similar to Charlton) lounges on CL: One for $700 with an ottoman, one for $350-400 without BUT I had sanded, refinished, and reuholstered both in a nice leather.
I would advertise this on CL and disclaim that it's an Eames Style, but so real that even you were fooled. Of the various copies it does have decent enough lines and the wood is pretty.
Plycraft
Hi Kyle,
I've reposted the ad on CL describing it as an eames-style chair attributed to plycraft. Still trying to get SOME of my money back while I'm dealing with the seller via 1st Dibs (who probably will not compensate me!). I'm asking 1,100. Maybe someone will like it enough to pay that price. Who knows. My friend came over and said it was a plycraft. At this point, I'm so confused I don't know what to think. Thanks for the help.
Unfortunately court probably...
Unfortunately court probably won't get you anywhere. Even if you did get a judgement against the seller at $2,600 it's probably a small claims judgement and would be left up to you to collect the money yourself anyways. These people that sell fakes know this and is the reason they continue to dupe the uninformed. Why did common sense go out the window with the invention of the internet?
to the OP
I know you guys probably didn't do it intentionally, but your new ad shouldn't use Hans Wegner's name in association with the chair.
Wegner was a Danish designer who had the most fleeting brush with the Eames in the 1940s - long before they created the 670 lounge. None of Wegner's pieces have ever been made in America.
As a personal opinion I wouldn't compare the quality of a copy to the original Eames lounge. The quality is drastically different, which is what accounts for their price disparity.
Also, the consensus was not that this is the *best* reproduction of an Eames chair, only that it was a good one. However, the wood bars in the back are a dead giveaway that it's a copy. See the image below for a very close copy of the original, currently on CL in Boston for $850.
I would highlight that it is a great mid-century form, that it's extremely comfortable, that it's got great wood tone and lovely patina on the leather. And I'd leave it at that.
clarification
In my original post I wrongly blamed 1st dibs for my own oversight. In returning to the invoice I noticed the dealer did state on their invoice that the item was attributed to the creator and not by the creator and unfortunately I did not note the distinction. I did purchase this chair directly from the dealer, and not 1st dibs.
Well, perhaps
I would say when you are spending thousands, it is your job to know the precise difference between the real thing. And besides, we are not talking about a replica - we are talking about a bad copy that is easily identified as not being a 670.
If you are going to spend money on serious pieces, then you should know what you are shopping for. I am not attacking the buyer in this case, I am just saying that why shop for an eames for the sake of eames if you clearly did not know what you are buying?
This is the difference between a collector and a person buying a piece for the sake of it being a name brand with reputation.
And as a final note, the dealer sold it for far less than what you would buy a real 670 for and did not attempt to deceive by stating it was an eames 670 and charge a real market price for the piece.
As my partner says, if you buy a piece, buy it because you love it and then you will never be disappointed in what it is or where it comes from.
To be or not to be... an Eames lounge chair
Whew! We paid $2050 apiece for a pair of real 670s with ottomans (thanks to Craigslist and a good line of credit). I can't imagine getting a Charlton/Plycraft in return. I would have dropped dead from astonishment... and fury (!).
That being said, First Dibs is insanely overpriced. A duplicate to our Jens Risom desk was listed there at $3-4000. We dragged ours out of a local antique mall for $150. We did not that we knew it was a Risom. We just liked it because it was solid, sturdy, and had beautiful lines. Several months later, I went scrambling up the stairs, shrieking, "Guess what our desk is?!" and soundly scared my husband. But, despite all that, we'd still love it, even if it weren't a Risom. I think that's a good argument for keeping your Eames knock-off. If you loved it for years and thought it was an appropriate price... nothing about the object itself has changed, just someone else's valuation of it.
On another note, I was quite interested to see the exchange between the emailer (Kyle) and the Seller (Brent/Sarah). Props to the DA forum regulars for making this the de facto "go to" site for design questions. This includes the recent post from the guy who had a (clearly not) "Saarinen" executive chair and was chastised accordingly for not doing any research whatsoever 🙂
Fakes are harder to distinguish
In all fairness, I have never owned, though sat, in the Eames lounge numerous times. I have seen the "exploding" chair at the Ford museum. I have visited "those stores" that sell modern furniture 100 times or more...
Sadly, there are some very, very, very good fakes. Even with an eye looking for the details (besides the obvious like number of feet, all aluminum, number of buttons/hooks, etc.), I am still mystified.
I was on a website the other day (ebay has their share as well) of "Eames Style" and, assuming the photos were real, I don't think I could distinguish some of the knock offs from real.
To the extent of my knowledge, I would suspect these are very much like the LCWs in that you don't know unless you purchase directly from Herman Miller or receive a COA.
Does anyone have any 'tips' for id'ing pieces on the secondary market?
I suspect a few might be:
1. The braces in the back are aluminum
2. The seat and the ottoman cushion are interchangeable
3. the lower back rest and upper back rest are interchangeable.
4. The chair has five feet
5. The ottoman has four feet
6. The feet are solid aluminum, normally black with the top polished (though I have seen some all polished feet on some of the new chairs)
7. The pattern tends to be two "snaps" and two "mounts" for each cushion
8. The armrest is a metal piece that mounts to both the seat and the lower back rest. No wood!
9. Check the dimensions of the chair vs the patent.
If I am incorrect, please correct. If you have others, please add.
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