A Major Gripe

[ArtisanUK]

Sorry Papa but I'm not quite sure who you are directing your comments at?
I agree that you certainly can't break down categories into every factory that produced, similarly that you can't ask G&M to have a category for every artist that existed, but you can expect them to control sellers who are putting items into non-related categories. It's an absolute killer for struggling auction sites.

An example, If you went to an Antiques Fair - presumably you would be a bit miffed if you went in and found it all to be repro?

And people don't look, neither do they come back to the site. How long can you expect them to spend browsing repro in the hope that they will find something genuine? Their time should be as valuable to us as our own.

There are however categories for repro and that is exactly where these products should be.

[papagran40]

HI art , my reply was intended for all that think things can be done....when in fairness they cannot....
with regard to art and antique....yes there is a big difference....but...how many antique dealers LOOK THRU ART ... hoping to find a long lost Rembrandt . ..or what ever he is called.....I know several who do ....
but what is being said is correct , there could be some sort of clean up or regrouping ....but there is a limit.....but keep this going as it is nice to GET or Hear all the things WE WANT........Papa.

[ArtisanUK]

Oh yes, that lost Rembrandt ... must remember to get it out of the back room

But you've hit the nail on the head there, it is exactly what people want to do and they know they aren't going to find it when they hit pages and pages of modern repro Picassos and the like, they will just go to a site where there are more listings to pry into, hoping against hope that the valuable one will have got lost in the crowd.

[ChoiceAntiques]

When a collector personally buys from a dealer at a retail price he is relying on the dealer and/or his reputation to sell him authentic goods. When he pays a door fee to attend an antique show, he is relying on a vetting committee to protect him from unknowingly purchasing spurious goods. When an online viewer enters a category for antiques he is relying on the site to be offering exactly that, genuine antiques.

Trust for an online site is especially important since a collector cannot personally inspect his article of interest other than by a photo which is far different than holding it in your hand. Reproduction art or reproduction antique pieces are not genuine antiques or fine art and do not belong in those categories because they seriously erode trust in the site overall.

Do we have a system in place here where an item can be anonymously flagged to alert the site to misrepresented items? I know there are other online venues using that system with some measure of success since violators are eventually barred from the site after a certain number of violations. Other venues assign various independent category moderators knowledgeable in their own specific area of interest to review their assigned categories at random times to weed out and report such violators.

[madelaine]

There is a report this item link on every listing (down the left hand side)
Do just a few a day!

[bluebedouin]

...Do we have a system in place here where an item can be anonymously flagged to alert the site to misrepresented items?...

As Madelaine has already said, the report this auction button is the system on eBid.It needs to be "patrolled" by someone who knows what they're doing though,it would be no good me doing it as I wouldn't know a genuine antique if it jumped up & bit me on the nose!
I do a quick scan of items most nights & if a listing contravenes the rules,I do report it.Please see my thread here.

[somersethedge]

you would need more than one person for the antique's section... I have worked in the trade for more years than I care to remember but I am first to put my hand up and say I don't know it all, and I would be VERY suspicious of anyone who said they were. It is too big a field for one person. on saying that ALL antique deals "know" their area well enough to get it 80% right

[ArtisanUK]

In fairness to some of the repro sellers, they do actually advertise them as modern reproductions, it's simply that they put them into the Antiques sections in the hope they will get more exposure.
Most instances are NOT a case of sellers trying to mislead buyers.

In fact a lot of the repro art can be very good - heck at one bit I used to sell quite a bit of it myself (not drop shipping though, it used to come through my hands first so I could check the quality) but I did list it as modern art.

Thing is, if a lot of sellers are drop-shipping repro, then it costs them nothing to list a photo and description in as many categories as possible. They just sit back and hope they get some sales, if they don't then it doesn't matter.

I would recommend though that if any buyer is in doubt about an antique or piece of art, they simply ask if the item is new before purchasing. At least it gives them a leg to stand on if it turns up and it is.

Then again I knew a dealer at Newark whose stock answer to that one was, "It doesn't have any great age to it, Madam!" ;-)

[somersethedge]

Then again I knew a dealer at Newark whose stock answer to that one was, "It doesn't have any great age to it, Madam!" ;-)

that is a stock answer throughout the trade

[ArtisanUK]

Yep, but he used to have mostly genuine antiques - good quality furniture! It was only the odd one or two items ...

Had a peek in the antiques section this morning. It is a bit messy in there. Saying that you could pin some of the stuff down to being sourced from the larger eastern wholesale sites I'm sure ...