Stickered Jolly Roger flag?

[Governor Broadside]

According to a recent thread on BrickLink, this flag was apparently also released with a sticker instead of printing

and the part is reported to not be a clone brand part.

Have any of you come across this before? It was a shock to me.

[Mister Phes]

Never heard or see of a sticker for use with these flags before.

Did this BrickLink thread happen to provide a picture?

[Governor Broadside]

No, but the original poster said he would take pictures of them when he has time. Here's the whole thread:

http://www.bricklink.com/messageThread.asp?ID=47434

[Mister Phes]

Hmmmmm... Interesting...

Get him to take pictures and then post them here so we can analyse them. Possibly, they could be customs made by the seller or whoever supplies the seller.

[Shadows]

I'm in that thread too, so I had to comment here.

I have never in my life seen a stickered pirate flag. There is a skull and crossbones sticker in a WW set, as I recall, indicating a mine hazard or something, but that's it for stickers of that sort.

I too, would have been upset to receive that item in an order, though I would have communicated my displeasure in a clearer manner. I still don't think he was being threatening though, just suffering from language complications.

[jamtf]

I'm in that thread too, so I had to comment here.

I have never in my life seen a stickered pirate flag. There is a skull and crossbones sticker in a WW set, as I recall, indicating a mine hazard or something, but that's it for stickers of that sort.

I too, would have been upset to receive that item in an order, though I would have communicated my displeasure in a clearer manner. I still don't think he was being threatening though, just suffering from language complications.

I too contributed to the thread. And yes I definitely have seen unprinted white square 6 x 4 flags underneath the top flap of a sealed 6285 on eBay some time ago. Seller was asking a lot of money and considering the set had to be shipped from the US to Europe, I did not think it was wise to buy the set.

I would not have been upset. This fellow could have asked the seller for a solution in normal writing. Under the circumstances I might have settled for a partial refund to buy the items elsewhere or replacement flags that fit the order that was placed.

I think the buyer was actually threatening the seller, notwithstanding the fact that he clearly did not speak perfect English. I have seen this a lot from Asian bidders, usually Koreans. Anyway, the buyer seemed to have lost his nerves completely over the problem and immediately brought up the possibility of a PayPal claim and leaving a negative. That is what I call overreacting and putting the seller under a lot of pressure. I am sure the seller did not do this on purpose. Whatever the situation, the buyer did not consider the impact of his writing and the seller has certainly felt a serious threat of receiving negative feedback over such a futility.

I too have dealt with Asians and I must say that especially the Koreans are hard to deal with. They usually forget to read the store policies, claim that they are unbearable (PayPal fee) and tend to take over control and terms of the sale.

[Mister Phes]

I definitely have seen unprinted white square 6 x 4 flags underneath the top flap of a sealed 6285 on eBay some time ago.

Was this set authentically sealed though? Someone may have replaced the flags and resealed the box using their own methods. Or the seller may have been lying about its condition...

[Governor Broadside]

You probably can't be 100% sure that a set has never been resealed from pictures. But why would a person want to replace a large, white printed flag with an unprinted one? It would require a bit of work.

Resealing sets that is not easily noticeable would be very bad for unwary MISB collectors.

[Mister Phes]

Maybe there were other parts which had also been replaced. You wouldn't be able to tell unless you opened up the box to see if the parts were still in their original poly bags.

Resealing sets that is not easily noticeable would be very bad for unwary MISB collectors.

It would be dishonest and misleading! It wouldn't only be ISB!

[jamtf]

Yes, why would they be replacements? I think they were not but the thing got sold on eBay long time ago so I can not check it any longer. I think it went for over $500 if memory recalls. I think it was offered in the eBay stores section by one of those high price sellers. This eBay stores section is to be found beneath the running weekly auctions.

To replace the 6 x 4 flags you would need to open up the previously sealed box first by cutting or pulling the seal, then pull out the cardboard tray with all the pieces, subesequently tear off and remove the thin plastic cover from the extra plastic inlay tray situated in the middle (since that is where they are in) and glue it back on. A lot of work if you need 2 unused jolly roger flags. :-D

It is easier to get them off BL for a few dollars. 8-(

[Mister Phes]

The only reason they would replace the flags would be replacements is because someone had went through the entire set, took the pieces they wanted (not just the flags) and substitued them with generic or custom eqivalent. Otherwise it would be too much rigmarole to take just the flags.

I have purchased from an eBay seller who always subsituted the flags and rarer mini-figures with generic eqivalent. For example, if the set came with Spanish pirates he'd always replace them with the older pirates, or if there was an Admiral mini-figure he'd substitue the head with the original moustached pirate head and torso a read coat commander. But he never tried to pass the sets off as MISB.

[jamtf]

The only reason they they would replace the flags would be replacements is because someone had went through the entire set, took the pieces they wanted (not just the flags) and substitued them with generic or custom eqivalent. Otherwise it would be too much rigmarole to take just the flags.

I have purchased from an eBay seller who always subsituted the flags and rarer mini-figures with generic eqivalent. For example, if the set came with Spanish pirates he'd always replace them with the older pirates, or if there was an Admiral mini-figure he'd substitue the head with the original moustached pirate head and torso a read coat commander. But he never tried to pass the sets off as MISB.

Why would the seller do that? I would say that it is easier and moneywise better to leave the set as is. I guess you probably ended up searching all the other auctions from that seller for the substituted pieces that were taken out of the original sets in order to get the best parts of the set also.

[Mister Phes]

I'm not sure why the seller substituted the rarer Pirate mini-figures with the more generic ones because he certainly wasn't selling them in other auctions. Perhaps he was also a collector so he was building his rarer pirate mini-figure collection whilst getting rid of his generic pirate mini-figures.

But I agree it would be easier to leave the sets as they were, however there are plenty of people who do seemingly illogical things. It might not even be the result of the seller because occassionally you'll find a naive seller who doesn't know what they're dealing with. So it could be the fault of the supplier.

Without more information we may never know.