Claude is absolutely corrrect. The selling of fakes (and not just movie memoabilia) on auction sites and through auction houses has been going on for years - decades, centuries.
That's why it's caveat emptor. It's also like trying to play whack a mole. eBay does not care remotely about such matters, because as Claude says, the bigger the end result the bigger the fees to eBay. By all means if you see something being described incorrectly then email the seller and tell them politely that you believe there item to be other than what they describe it to be. Why politely? Because of all the hundreds of misdescribed items offered on eBay (and other auctions sites) are frequently - very frequently - being sold by people who have no idea what they are selling. Getting enraged at something one cannot change, and get the appropriate people to take action about - because they have no intention to do so - simply drives the blood pressure through the roof. Life is too short. Phil -----Original Message----- From: Claude Litton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2009 05:40 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] YOUR CASABLANCA POSTER I think it is highly commendable of all to not want a fool parted with his money but ebay is fully aware of all situations (not specifically this one). Please don't lose sight of their motives behind hiding email addresses. 1. They stop most off ebay transactions thereby increasing commissions on transactions because they are available only through ebay. 2. They don't stop shill bidding because you are unable to report shills. There is no way to prevent shill bidding and guess what-----their commissions increase due to shills. 3. They could care less about reproductions being bid up by uninformed people because again-------their commissions increase. By the time you report this to ebay the auction will be over and the issue will be moot. You will either not get a reply from ebay or a form letter thanking you but telling you there is nothing that can be done. I think we should get back to whether a poster is properly described as faded if the seller only thinks it is faded!!!!!!!!!!! (LOL) because that string was funny. CJL In a message dated 9/12/2009 4:55:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: MOPO-----I AM SENDING THIS LETTER TO THE EBAY SELLER OF THE CASABLAMCA POSTER THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING dear seller: your ebay CASABLANCA listing is being monitored by an internet group called MOPO. I am a member of MOPO, and other memberships include the biggest film poster dealers, film poster appraisers, and film poster collectors from around the world, although most are from the USA. this poster is LIKELY a worthless reproduction. you have been told this previously by MOPO members using the internal ebay email "Ask Seller A Question." you stated that 2 auctions houses authenticated that it is an original. there are no such high-end auction houses in Louisiana. you told me privately via email (as well as other{s}) that you refused to disclose these auction houses. THIS IS WHAT RAISED THE RED FLAGS IN ADDITION TO THE IMAGES. it is my understanding that ebay has already been notified of this possible fraud. moreover, should you ship this across state lines and it turns out to be a fraudulent transaction, you will have committed a federal crime. The FBI has a special task force assigned to consider the sales of fraudulent artwork---and we on MOPO discussed this recently because of a CNN or FOX NEWS report about them. if you are knowlingly selling a repro, lied in the ebay description, purposely trimmed the bottom to hide the name of the reproduction company, i suggest you reconsider finalizing the transaction. The buyer's identity will be disclosed, eventually. I suggest you re-consider. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com___________________________________________________________________How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing ListSend a message addressed to: [email protected] the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-LThe author of this message is solely responsible for its content. ------------------------------------------------------------ Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com___________________________________________________________________How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing ListSend a message addressed to: [email protected] the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-LThe author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
