Rick Spector of Stairway to the Stars directed me to an interesting article on the Maine Antique Digest website about art dealers who have plead guilty to a scheme involving their passing off art with manufactured origins, fictitious artist names and identities, and fraudulent certificates of authenticity (COAs). [Read more…]
eBay has published an “Important Security Announcement”, which equates to more “progress” and less transparency. The latest announced change will result in the privatization of bidders identities not only during bidding, but following the close of the auction. [Read more…]
Based on the transfer of ownership of Elstree Props (see Elstree Props, New Ownership, Announcement On Redesigned Website) and a near complete lack of evidence of it ever having been on the Internet, it appears that the “Production Protection Program”, or “P-3”, has been retired. [Read more…]
Rick Spector of Stairway to the Stars published a “Reader Comment” to this week’s editorial about eBay “drop-off” sellers (see A Case Against eBay “Drop-Off” Vendors Selling Original Props). Given that Rick takes issue with me on a number of fronts, I took the time to respond to each of his points, and thought it would be appropriate to highlight his concerns.
As inherently problematic buying “original” props and wardrobe on eBay may be, the risks are that much higher if the seller listing the item is a “drop-off” company. Such offerings introduce additional issues that collectors should be aware of and consider. [Read more…]
This is a follow-up to previous articles (see kellysheroesmilitaria Original Props…, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Update 6) in which “original prop” auctions by “kellysheroesmilitaria” on eBay were compared with non-movie prop matching items available for sale from online retailers, as well as non-movie prop purchases made on eBay by “kellysheroesmilitaria” and items that appear to match being offered for sale as “original props” from the same eBay account. [Read more…]
As noted previously (see kellysheroesmilitaria Original Props: Update 4, eBay Third Party Reporting Case Study), I had used the eBay third party reporting systems (see eBay & Third Party Reporting (Fraud, Violations of Policy) to alert eBay to problematic listings while testing the effectiveness of sharing material information directly with eBay through their public systems in an effort to help them to enforce their own policies. This article serves as an update and conclusion, marked by the occasion of kellysheroesmilitaria relisting one of the primary auctions reported to eBay. [Read more…]
The latest edition of AntiqueWeek includes a front page feature by Eric C. Rodenberg on the Global Antiques props sold on eBay by Auction Depot LA, Auction Shop USA, and Historic Souvenirs. Per their website, AntiqueWeek has “the largest paid circulation of any antiques and collectibles newspaper in the United States”. The full story can be read online at antiqueweek.com – “Sales of bogus movie props lead to suspensions on eBay” – also archived below: [Read more…]