Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion As a newbie to the 'hobby',...man,..the fake stuff

really is a problem.

I really have a hard time participating on ebay because there looks to be sooooooo much fake junk.

We need a 3rd party grader to seal signs in plastic like comics or baseball cards.



Kidding.

But seriously.....this is a problem for the hobby that NEEDS to be resolved for the hobby to grow.

Not gonna happen,every collectable has fakes.Just have to educate yourself.

It is very discouraging!!!

Let this be a part of the education! Fake sellers list.

http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=664999#Post664999

I just can see logistically how it works. You don't even need 'encapsulation' which probably is silly and unreasonable. Maybe if you sent your sign to a 3rd party and they digitally photograph front and back and that becomes a fingerprint of sort. They thereafter, keep a database log of the sign and assign a # to the item. Thereafter, anyone who is interested can cross reference and see whether the sign is authentic or not? That's just a rough outline but maybe something along those lines would work.

Thank you for this. That is SAD!!!!!!!

E-bay has really fueled this problem and to a great extent is responsible for all these fakes. There would be a lot less made and sold, if it wasn't so easy to market them and sell them on e-Bay. Seller's are able to sell without having any direct contact with a seller and are free of any consequences.

Repro/fantasy items and unethical sellers that peddle that stuff are a huge problem but what you suggest won't work. Signs aren't like comics or baseball cards where all of a certain issue are the same. Some oil companies used multiple manufacturers to make there signs and globes so there are often subtle differences in authentic items. Who would create and maintain this database you suggest? At what cost to those that use it? What would keep the people making the fakes from subscribing to the database so they can make better fakes?

Educate yourself. Go to as many petro shows and auctions as you can. There's no substitute for inspecting items in person. Network with knowledgeable collectors and dealers. Unfortunately if you're a newbie and trying to buy signs on ebay, you're likely to get burned.

Stop blaming eBay for everything.People have a right to sell so called "fakes". You have a right not to bye them.Ebay is just a venue for buying and selling that's it.They are not there to protect uneducated people from themselves.

...ehh, selling replicas/fakes as such is one thing...I'm absolutely not down with it, but there's no law against it...on the other hand, deliberately wording your descriptions to indicate/insinuate that new items are old/original is fraud, and no one has 'the right' to do that...just because there are suckers in the world, doesn't automatically give anyone license to defraud them...

...con artists suck - but as there are a zillion swap meets these days, anyone serious about this stuff ought to attend some shows...if you're just sitting on your brains in front of a computer, trying to buy/flip, you're on your own...

...OT - but I'd be happy if eBay would merely cut down on keyword spamming...scrolling through 10 pages of junk, just because someone loaded their item on eBay Motors and added 100 brand names in the extended description, gets old...eagerly awaiting the day when you can delete items from a search, much like swiping right to delete emails on your smartphone - you'd never have to see that item again...

Until ebay does something to police the fraudulent listings, they ARE part of the problem.
Someone new to the hobby with limited knowledge about how to spot repro/fantasy signs is going to get a very expensive education buying on ebay.

How you gonna do that,read every listing.

I still think you should be able to comment on stuff for sale on eBay. For instance, when 100 people comment on how fake a PPP or some other sign is, then I think a lot of people will hesitate to buy it. This would kill a lot of the fake sales on eBay.

The only problem is when someone comments that a sign is fake (when in-fact its real) to discourage other bidders from bidding on an item that they want. However, in that scenario, you might only get one or two guys saying a real sign is fake and then 5-10 more saying, "no it's real." Also if it is real and someone comments it is fake, you can still rely on your good ol' education, knowledge and friends in the business (such as on Old Gas) to verify its authenticity. And if you really don't know, then maybe you shouldn't be buying it.

If eBay would allow comments I think it would be real obvious on the fakes when 50-100 people comment that the sign is fake. It would at least be a start and curb some of these sales.

....... But we all know, if eBay did that they would lose out on millions of dollars in the Internet auction business, so it will never happen. Because it's all about money for them.

Matthew

I am guessing your pm signal has been blinking because you have identified yourself in the non petro section as having 'high end taste.'

As you explore all the forums on this site, you'll see this site is a good place to start to educate yourself. There are also some really good reference books (see Jack Sim's post on the 'Love this Site' thread).

There are many knowledgeable and good collectors on this site who will reach out to you. There are also those wanting to make a quick $$$. No harm in that, but to get a good feel for authenticity or to prevent paying way more than you have to on a item; go to some of the local shows, and get to know the guys or gals you may be dealing with. It turns out to be a close community with east and west coast collectors knowing each other. If someone has a good reputation in the business, these are the folks who will verify this for you.

You can find out about these shows by going to the Petroliana News section.

Nicole
BTW if someone lets you know about something you were looking for...Not everyone will ask for a finders fee if they locate something you want, but it's always nice to offer it.