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Navigating the Marketplace: Sellers Selling What They Don’t Own…

July 3, 2007 By Jason DeBord

One caveat to original prop collectors, as if there aren’t enough considerations in regards to authenticity, is to research a prop to determine ownership. It may seem to be a silly concern or question to ask a seller, but “do you actually own this?” can, at times, be an appropriate question to ask.

Long ago, on the previous (ezboard incarnation) of the Movie Prop Forum, there was a discussion about this trend, of entrepreneurs who attempt to sell pieces that they do not actually own, but are for sale elsewhere (publicly or privately). The concept is that one finds something for sale, and markets it elsewhere at a higher price – if sold, they then procure the piece and forward on to their own buyer.

Example…

There is a new listing on eBay for a cardigan worn by Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III. Looks legit with wardrobe tag and clear photos, though I’m not familiar with the seller (allstar_memorabilia). The auction (eBay item # 300126853530) is titled “GODFATHER III Movie Cardigan Costum Al Pacino Prop“:

Godfather Cardigan Cropped

Archive of Full Listing: Godfather III Al Pacino Cardigan Listing Archive

If you go to the Prop Store of London website, you can find the same item, which appears to be currently and publicly available for sale: LINK

More, the descriptions are the same (even with the same stock numbers)…

The Prop Store of London description:

Stock # 3153

A burgundy cardigan worn by Al Pacino in his most famous role of Don Corleone in The Godfather Part III. This amazing piece of wardrobe has a sewn in label that reads ‘Al Pacino sc 52A-53 2S’. It can be seen being worn by the screen legend in scenes in his kitchen. The garment is made of pure wool by Austin Reed of London. Perfect for display.

allstar_memorabilia description:

Stock # 3153

A burgundy cardigan worn by Al Pacino in his most famous role of Don Corleone in The Godfather Part III. This amazing piece of wardrobe has a sewn in label that reads ‘Al Pacino sc 52A-53 2S’. It can be seen being worn by the screen legend in scenes in his kitchen. The garment is made of pure wool by Austin Reed of London. Perfect for display.

All of the photos match as well, of course. Interestingly, this is one of few items listed on the PSoL website that do not have the Propstore watermark.

Godfather Costume Labels

To their credit, on their eBay “Me” page, allstar_memorabilia do note:

We have been active on eBay for the last 3 years. We specialize in movie memorabilia with a network of reputable memorabilia dealers in Paris, London, New York & LA. Our goal is to provide the most satisfying buying experience as possible.

One could interpret that to mean that they buy from The Prop Store of London.

Interestingly, conversely, the auction notes, in the actual marketing description for this item:

Item obtained directly from Universal.

The pricing of the eBay listing is a starting bid of $2,500 and a Buy it Now of $5,000.

The price of the wardrobe piece, showing as available on the Propstore website, is $1,289.

In any event, as far as I’m aware (and may be wrong), there are no laws prohibiting these sorts of auctions.

However, depending upon one’s interpretation of eBay rules, it may be a violation of their terms of service:

Pre-Sale Listings

Pre-sale listings are those that describe items for sale that are not in the control or possession of the seller at the time of the listing. These listings generally consist of items that are sold in advance of a delivery date to the public.

eBay permits Pre-sale listings only on a limited basis. The seller must guarantee that the item will be available for shipping within 30 days from the date of purchase (i.e., the day the listing ends or the date the item is purchased from a store front listing). The seller must also clearly indicate within the listing the fact that the item is a pre-sale item with a delivery date that indicates the item will be shipped by the 30th day from the end date of the listing. Additionally, this text must be no less than the default font size of the eBay Sell-Your-Item form. Currently, the default font size is HTML font size 3.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

  • Listing cancellation
  • Limits on account privileges
  • Account suspension
  • Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
  • Loss of PowerSeller status

I suppose this could be a test case, in regards to eBay policies, in that if Prop Store of London reports this to eBay, and the auction is allowed to run its course, one can assume it is permitted; if the auction is canceled, one can assume it has violated this or another eBay rule.

In any event, as noted in the opening, hobbyists should merely be aware that this is not an uncommon practice, and always research any potential purchase to the best of their ability, for reasons that fall outside of issues surrounding authenticity. In this example, it appears that the actual piece can be had directly for far less money.

* Thanks to Jan of www.BehindtheMovies.de for pointing out the auction and links

Jason De Bord

Filed Under: Editorials, Market Watch

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