Auction Site Titanic FAKE Items

[Bruce Tompkins]

Hello, I primarily buy and sell Titanic and Lusitania items on eBay, the world's largest auction site, and have gone into the realm of
high priced items. I understand that there are many eBay'ers out there that sell FAKE items so that they can use YOUR money to purchase REAL artifacts. Can anyone provide eBay user ID's and specific information so that I don't continue to make the same mistakes in the future?

 

[Matthew Farr]

Bruce

Check out the Today on eBay thread. It is in the Titanic and Other Ships Auctions sub-topic under the Marketplace topic. It is quite extensive as it goes back quite a few years in the archives but there are a lot of posts about fake items and the sellers that are ripping people off.

hope this helps
regards
Matthew

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Bruce, per Matthews suggestion, you may want to check out the EBay thread in the Marketplace folder. Beyond that, I would caution everybody against posting a comprehensive list of I.D.s because of the possibility of lawsuits for libel, even if one has solid proof. There's nothing wrong with pointing out suspect auctions but with Attila The Lawyer looking on, specific accusations are best left to the authorities to investigate.

 

[Bruce Tompkins]

Hello Michael, I completely understand your position. I know specifically of one individual some of whose items have been proven to be FAKE.
This individual has been investigated by the local police department, and at their request, eBay has shut down all of this person's auctions and bidding activities. Now I am awaiting to see if and when I'll ever get my money refunded.

 

[Eric Longo]

"Can anyone provide eBay user ID's and specific information so that I don't continue to make the same mistakes in the future?"

Hello,

You both buy and sell Titanic and Lusitania items on eBay and got burnt yourself? A very large percentage of what is sold on eBay and at auction houses is questionable to put it mildly. What sort of items did you buy (leaving out the seller of course) and what mistakes do you think you made? Did you rely on some sort of COA or other story? What kind of items have you sold if I may ask?

Best,
Eric

[Moderator's Note: This post and the four above it, originally posted in an unrelated topic, have been moved to the one addressing the same subject. JDT]

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Now I am awaiting to see if and when I'll ever get my money refunded.<<

I really wish you luck on that as you may need it. I wish I could be more optimistic, but once a scammer gets their hands on the money, it seldom ever gets back to the victim.

 

[Bruce Tompkins]

Hello Eric et al, my biggest mistake is a personality trait of mine, in that I believe everything that everyone tells me. The items that I have purchased that I am now questioning are the supposed piece of the Titanic grand staircase, a supposed piece of wood used to support the Titanic while it was being built, and fragments of a Titanic launch ticket and Titanic stationery. Those last three were sold by an EBay'er that is now being investigated by the local police, so I would assume that they are all fakes. I did purchase another piece of wood that supposedly was used to hold the ship while it was being built, and that piece reeked of creosote for several weeks. I believe that the piece was in fact what the seller advertised it to be.A few other even more pricey items include supposed silk postcards of the Titanic (both an image of the ship and a H-A-T-S card), and two similar postcards for the Carpathia. Does anyone have any experience with silk postcards? I also have a deck chair that was supposedly removed from the Carpathia. I have written to Andrew Aldridge of auction-house fame, and he told me that there are several eBay'ers whose items he refuses to handle, because of the cloud of suspicion. It is very hard to resell what you believe to be a fake item and still have a conscience. I'll list some of the items on a separate posting that I have in my collection, as well as some items that I would like to sell. Happy HOLYdays to all, Bruce

 

[Eric Longo]

Hi Bruce:

If you look in the archived "Today on eBay" thread from around August forward you'll find a few conversations about silk postcards and questions about their authenticity. I questioned one of them because of the font and other details. Many of these so-called Titanic silk postcards are washed (stripped) versions with added ship names and messages and so on. I recall one auction where the previous message was visible with a few moments in Photoshop - I believe the link to the photo of what I found is still up. In those archived threads you will notice discussion of other items that are very similar to the ones you bought. I am certain you will find it interesting.
It will be very easy to overcome your self described "personality trait" if you just reverse your logic and assume everything is suspect and work from there.

Best,
Eric

 

[Darren Honeycutt]

I say that if a seller is selling any items that are fake and its known 100% that these items are fake, then I think it would be a service to the ET community to post these sellers ID's and names. I know for myself, I am sick and tired of the crookedness of certain ones out there trying to cheat people. If a person was brought to a courtroom over the accusations and there was proof that the seller knew these were fake, that sellers reputation would be more sullied than ever.

 

[Eric Longo]

Hi Darren:

See Michael's post above re legal ramifications. While there is a whole list of sellers (and individuals) I'd never do business with I think if you are doing your homework correctly you'll not be getting into much trouble. For "newbies" buying from someone because they don't have a bad reputation can be as dangerous as buying from someone just because they have a good reputation. In the end all that matters is knowledge, provenance, logic and questions asked. The sellers alluded to in this thread and in the "Today on eBay" thread have/had enough red flags in their auctions as to be seen from orbit and still get bids/buys. Your scenario has already played out and I think some of those people are still doing business anyway.

Best,
Eric

 

[Marko LULIC]

Hi Darren,
Remember this -Today on E Bay, tomorrow in the
trash basket-. Only, direct contact, full name,
address and item provenance.Making this steps
you will not have a headache.

Marko LULIC

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I say that if a seller is selling any items that are fake and its known 100% that these items are fake, then I think it would be a service to the ET community to post these sellers ID's and names. <<

I hear you Darren, and in an ideal world, you wouldn't have to worry about a visit from a process server with a notice to appear to answer for libel if you did something like that.

Unfortuantely, we don't live in an ideal world.

I'm not saying that anyone should be silent about a suspicious auction, but with Attila the Lawyer looking on, we need to be very careful how we say it.