Responding to Craig Smith's posting regarding the 9" Stella which
sold on eBay for $47,000.  I followed that 9" Stella music box on eBay
from the very first day and suspected the familiar pattern of a fraud.

This was a new seller with no eBay rating, the origination was
overseas, payment was to made via money order/cashiers check, the
identity of bidders was hidden _and_ the photo of that Stella box was
a copy of a previous auction by a reputable seller.  I suspect that the
extraordinarily high bids were made as a means to expose this scammer
and I don't expect that the sale will be consummated.

I believe that the best advice for anyone bidding and buying online
is to "know your seller."  If there is any doubt, ask questions of the
seller and evaluate the response.  A "no response" would dictate a
"no bid".

Alan Fox
Antique Melodies Musical Museum
Santa Barbara, Calif.