The Seattle Times published an article this week about collecting original movie props and costumes, presented as a Q&A interview with Antiques Roadshow appraiser Philip Weiss of Philip Weiss Auctions. As is typical with mainstream media coverage of the hobby, much of it is preoccupied with discussion of high prices realized at auction. However, there is also a focus on questions about authenticity and fraud (which I applaud), though some of the responses – particularly those about eBay – have prompted me to share some of my own personal opinions and reactions.
The feature can be found at www.seattletimes.com:
Below are a few excerpts from the article with my thoughts and reactions…
Q: Any problem with forgeries?
A: I don’t see a lot of forgeries when it comes to ruby slippers and like that. But where you do see a lot of forgeries is with celebrity autographs and items that are supposedly celebrity-owned. People will say, “Hey, I have Humphrey Bogart’s handkerchief, or cigarette lighter, or Marilyn Monroe’s pocketbook.” And you have to be careful, because if you can’t prove it, it’s meaningless.
I was really surprised with the first part of this answer, in that the marketplace is absolutely rife with fraud – high end, mid-range, low end, iconic, obscure, props, wardrobe, production used, star-owned, autographs… all of it. In fact, with regards to the ruby slippers example given, I am aware of at least two different sets (at best “inconclusive”/at worst fake) introduced into the marketplace just within the last two years.
More, Mr. Weiss himself had announced the sale of a collection of Superhero costumes through his own auction company early last year, and then canceled the event (see Philip Weiss Auctions Cancels “Special Superhero Weekend”). Though no explanation was provided to indicate the reason for pulling these costumes from the auction catalog, costumes attributed to the Superman films of the 70s and 80s is one high profile example of a specific type of costume and property that have been determined to be highly problematic with regards to authentication (see Original Prop Blog | Market Watch | Superman).
Q: What about buying Hollywood memorabilia on eBay?
A: eBay really tries to get things that aren’t authentic taken down. So I think they do a very good job policing themselves. But you have to do your homework, and look for good provenance and good authenticity.
And look at the return policy. Just be careful who you’re buying from. If you do that, you’ll be all right.
Based on my nearly three years of publishing articles for the Original Prop Blog, and about eight years of collecting, my opinion of eBay could not be more different.
In my experience, eBay makes little to no effort in taking down questionable or even clearly inauthentic items in their “Original” categories. The policing of their own marketplace is, in my opinion, nearly non-existent.
In fact, eBay has been sued in highly publicized court cases over “counterfeit” issues outside of our hobby (see “Tiffany & Co. Loses Lawsuit Against eBay”, see “French Court Orders eBay to Pay $61 Million for Sale of Counterfeit Goods”) as well as made national headlines about out of control fraud on their auction site (see “Latest High Profile eBay Fraud Story in the Media – Millions Lost in Fake Golf Goods Scam”).
Many times I have provided eBay of concrete proof of fraud and they have taken no action. In some instances, they do not even allow free discussion about such issues on their own “Trust & Safety” discussion forums (see “eBay Deletes “Trust & Safety” Discussion Topic About *stoneark* (AKA stonark, AKA Corner Collectibles)”). Further, if a member wanted to report an issue directly to eBay, even that poses a challenge in trying to figure out how exactly to submit such a report or complaint (see “eBay & Third Party Reporting (Fraud, Violations of Policy)”). To further complicate things, eBay has disarmed its members’ ability to perform their own research more and more over the years (see “eBay Announces More “Progress”, Less Transparency”). Additionally, my sources within eBay have claimed that there have been significant layoffs within the “Trust and Safety” department in the past year.
In any event, there are a number of dealers openly and publicly selling large quantities of props and costumes in the “Original” categories on eBay today that are selling fraudulent goods and have been doing so for many years and with impunity. In those categories in general, outside of a handful of dealers selling on behalf of the studios, it is a challenge to find any items that are clearly demonstrated to be genuine, among the sea of inauthentic and inconclusive junk.
Jason DeBord