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Posted By: davidcycleback

If you know something is a modern reprint and do not state that it is a modern reprint at sale, that is fraud. If you made the item, that is forgery.

In short, if you know something is a reprint you have say it is a reprint at sale. No ifs, ands or buts. And that's the law. Saying "Technically, I never said it was vintage" won't get you off in a court of law. The judge is going to say if you knew it was a reprint, you were required by law to tell the buyer it was a reprint.

You can have a sales description that never states the item is vintage or original and still be convicted of fraud. Why? Because you knew it was a reprint and didn't say so.

Obviously the reason a seller intentionally omits that something is a reprint is to gain more money at sale. And if the buyer is paying $600, the seller is perfectly well aware that the buyer wrongly believes the item is original. In other words, the seller is knowingly and strategically defrauding the buyer through deception. In this example, the deception is through the omission of essential fact, rather than included lie.

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If a soda pop maker says to the judge, "We never told customers there wasn't rat poison in the cream soda," do you think the judge will set them free? There are many examples where omitting important information is illegal.