Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardSimon
+1 with a caveat
Not only local auction companies but local shops, malls, etc.
All of them are guilty as sin.
Some will argue that the dollar amount is what is important and it certainly is but the number of items making there way into peoples homes is overwhelmingly doing it with COA's that come from the crapola companies.
And when those people discover what they own is crap, well you can forget about them ever becoming a serious collector.
A pox on all of them.
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+1
As with any fakes, just because no "serious collector" would be fooled by them doesn't mean that they don't hurt the hobby. Serious Collectors don't spring fully-formed from the head of some old-time collector. We can hope that they cut their teeth buying from reputable dealers and that all of the lessons they learn are from research and handling genuine items, but for every collector who comes up that way, how many dozens more are there who happen upon something in an antique mall or flea market that sparks their interest, is purchased, and later turns out to be fake? If they're new to the hobby and don't know FDE's from ABC's or otherwise, that first lesson can be too hard to swallow, and will turn many away from the hobby altogether. Many will say, "Good, that leaves less competition for me to get the good stuff," but I find that attitude woefully short-sighted. For any hobby to thrive, there have to be new collectors coming in.