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Posted By: davidcycleback

In the area of fine art prints, there are two reputable dealers associations. Qualifying members are recognized as knowledgeable and experienced in their specialities and have to abide by strict rules-- providing lifetime guarantee of authenticity and paper description of the purchased artwork is required. For beginners, it's safe authenticity-wise to purchase from one of these member dealers or to purchase art that comes with LOA/Provenance of one of these dealers.

As there is lots of art forgery and scams, having available a list of reliable/expert fine art print dealers is an important service in and of itself. The good dealers themselves consider it a matter of prestige and sales to be a member, and are the first to want an organization that separates the wheat from the chaff.

Shilling is a particularly insidious problem, because its as covert and odorless as cabon dioxide gas. A collector can educate himself about grading, authenticity, book pricing, alteration, but even the best can be scammed via shilling and not know it. It erodes to devastates investments (bought at inflated prices), makes price guides unreliable (guides use shilled prices) and cheats the honest and etheical who don't employ illegal methods at resale. Trust me, if a major auctioneer is found to have widely shilled its customers, don't be surprised to see a class action suit involving anyone and everyone who purchased from the auction house. Getting away with something now, doesn't automatically mean getting away with it forever.