Collecting Clubs Voice Their Opinion on Reproductions
In March 2003 the Association of Collecting Clubs queried several dozen collecting clubs about the effect that reproductions were having on their respective collecting areas. The leadership of over 40 clubs responded to the 12 question survey. Here's what they had to say...
Nearly all of the clubs felt that reproductions were a problem in the collecting area they support; two clubs said they were not aware of any current problem with reproductions or fantasy items and felt extremely fortunate. Thirty-one of the clubs said that sales on the secondary market was their major problem, two felt that initial direct sales was the biggest problem, and eight of the clubs said "both."
The club leaders were asked, "In your opinion, is the problem of reproductions in your collecting area increasing, decreasing or about the same as, say three years ago?" Twenty-six of the clubs indicated that the problem of reproductions is increasing, 14 felt it was about the same as three years ago, and no clubs felt that there was a decrease in the problem.
Thirty-seven of the clubs said that reproductions are the bigger problem; three responded that fantasy items (or fake items) is the largest problem.
The leaders were asked if new reproductions are getting better and harder to detect, or easier to detect due to mass production. Twenty clubs responded "harder to detect," two said "easier to detect," and 18 felt it was about the same.
When asked if they knew in what country the reproductions in their specific collecting area are being made, eight of the clubs responded that they did not know. Eleven said that a lot of the reproductions are being made right here in the United States. Several dozen other countries were referenced, including China and Taiwan heading up the list but also including Korea, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Turkey, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and England, plus others.
Examples of Permanently Marked Reproductions
The club leaders were asked, "Are you aware of reproductions in your collecting area which are PERMANENTLY marked "reproduction" or "copy" and permanently dated similar to the requirements for reproduction coins and political items under the Hobby Protection Act?" Nearly 75 percent responded that they were aware of no reproductions being permanently marked in the collecting areas they represent. Several of them, however, did indicate that there were some reproductions being marked.
Representatives from glass clubs indicated that reproduction items manufactured by reputable museums such as the Sandwich Glass Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are always properly marked. It was pointed out that The Fenton Art Glass Company marks all of their reproductions (very critical since they use some of the original molds to make their reproductions.) The Insulator Collectors report that an individual glassmaker in British Columbia is making commemorative insulators in a very small quantity and takes careful steps to mark his reproductions for easy identification and so people cannot alter the marks and later pass them off as old originals. (The insulator collectors are an example of a club which makes an annual commemorative...and makes sure that it is marked appropriately. A number of collecting clubs make annual commemorative in this manner.)
Pie Birds Unlimited reported that there are a few potters who copy the old pie birds and date them as being made now. The Mid-American Reamer Association pulled up Edna Barnes as an example of someone who makes beautiful reproductions that she has marked and that "everyone who is active in collecting reamers knows that an Edna Barnes reamer is a reproduction."
The president of the International Perfume Bottle Association says that at least one manufacturer is marking its product with it's name which signifies it is a new product, but other manufaturers are not doing so, or the name is being removed by mechanical means. The International Nippon Collectors Club says that no manufacturers are correctly marking the Nippon reproductions and, in fact, it's just the opposite. Whenever it is possible, the makers of fake Nippon porcelain mark it with a backstamp that closely resembles the real backstamp. Occasionally you may find a piece of Nippon with a paper label indicating it was made in China, but that label is easily removed.
The Antique Telephone Collectors indicate that several collector-run businesses which produce reproduction parts for antique phones do mark their parts, while many others do not.
Reproductions - An Expensive Business
The club leadership was asked, "Can you estimate, even in the broadest terms, how many items in your collecting area (the area your club or society represents) have been reproduced?" Twenty-three clubs indicated 10 percent or perhaps slightly less, 11 clubs said 10-25 percent, two clubs estimated 26-50%, two clubs reported over 50%, and 3 clubs did not know.
When asked what they would project the annual dollar volume of reproductions sold in their collecting area would be, responses were from $100,000 to "millions" for nearly every club and each collecting area represented!
Clubs Perform Educational Role on Reproductions
The club leaders were asked if their club had an educational program about reproductions. Nine reported that they did not, however over 30 of them do have some type of educational program. Most of these efforts included articles in the club's magazine or newsletter, seminars or workshops at club conventions, table top displays on reproductions representing their collecting area, reference books including reproduction/original comparisons, and reproduction sections on the club's website. Several clubs, the International Nippon Collectors Club, for example, have devoted a significant portion of their website to reproductions. They feel this is extremely important as their website is the one service they have which reaches far beyond their membership and is capable of educating collectors and site visitors who are not members of their club.
The Early American Pattern Glass Society reports that a specific reference book has been published on early American pattern glass reproductions. Another book has been produced on reproduction toothpick holders. The American Cookie Jar Association has presented seminars on reproductions at antique shows and also has a segment on their website dealing with repros. The president of The American Numismatic Society reports that they occasionally teach classes and seminars on reproduction coins.
Some clubs are fortunate, like the International Match Safe Association, to have a member who is an expert on reproductions and fakes and encourages members to contact him if they have a question on a particular item. The Vaseline Glass Collectors, Inc. is a good example of a club which has several e-mail groups through Yahoo whereby a member can ask about whether or not an item has been reproduced that they had recently found on eBay or at their local antique mall, and almost always there is someone in the group who knows for sure whether or not it has been reproduced.
Clubs also serve a "watchdog" function, both for their membership and collectors, in general. The president of The International Scouting Collectors Association explains that they have an ethics policy whereby if a member were to knowingly sell reproductions to defraud someone, we would have grounds to remove them from our organization and also prohibit them from attending organization-sponsored activities. The American Political Items Collectors has a similar policy whereby members knowingly in violation of producing, selling or altering reproductions can be referred to the Ethics Committee for review and action. The APIC also has documented a thorough project on brummagem items (fakes and reproductions) in the political area (including hundreds of examples of political reproductions and fantasy items correctly marked in compliance with the Hobby Protection Act.) The Orders & Medals Society of America uses their Ethics Committee to monitor members in a similar fashion.
The International Watch Fob Association has initiated a program whereby they ask each member to sign a sheet assuring they will tell customers when a fob they may be selling is new.
The National Knife Collectors Association has an established committee which monitors their national shows for reproductions. Any reproductions sold at the annual show of the International Perfume Bottle Association must be clearly marked as such. The president states, however, that unfortunately they do not have any way of monitoring sales during the rest of the year.
Several of the clubs specifically targeted eBay as one of the major problems relating to the sales of reproductions on the secondary market. Some clubs routinely monitor eBay and contact both sellers and buyers when a reproduction item is offered for sale and not fully disclosed as a reproduction. The reports, however, indicate that the clubs have found eBay either unwilling to accept direct assistance from clubs or disinterested in any help that the collecting clubs and societies may offer. One club president stated, "there are numerous eBay auctions in our specific collecting field that sell reproductions and do not mention that they are new, other than they say that the piece is in `mint condition,' i.e. no damage. Some do it from ignorance, but there are those who bought it as old, were informed that it was new when they asked about it, and then listed it on eBay in an effort to cut their losses, and they did not mention in their description that it was a contemporary copy of an old pattern. When confronted, they usually respond with rudeness and continue to do whatever they want. eBay mentions `let the buyer beware' in every auction, so it is up to people to educate themselves by joining an organization to keep informed of the latest developments."
The president of the Keystone Carnival Glass Club says, "the Internet has greatly increased the number of collectors buying carnival glass. In the past, most collectors belonged to clubs like ours, and they learned information about reproductions. Defrauding collectors is much easier with the increase in buyers that are less informed about reproductions."
Expanding the Hobby Protection Act
The survey asked, "Would you like to see the Hobby Protection Act expanded to cover other collecting areas? Results: 100 percent replied "YES". Additionally, nearly every respondent had something to add. We heard similar comments over and over...
Yes, so that all reproductions are marked as a reproduction and clearly stamped with the country of origin, not with a paper label that can be removed by a secondary seller and then passed off as an original piece.
It would give our hobby a clear avenue to pursue and stop fraudulent reproductions.
Any item made to represent an original should be marked as a reproduction.
To help protect unsuspecting collectors from being ripped off by fakes; reproductions and fantasy items are discouraging people from collecting because of the fear of being duped.
People who collect antique glass may pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars for a piece which is not authentic. Manufacturers and distributors of such items need to be made aware that there are severe penalties that can be imposed.
All unmarked reproductions hurt all collecting areas - all areas should be protected!
We need to expand the Hobby Protection Act to prevent fraud and to protect the hobby.
Significant investments can be quickly undermined by a repro.
The legitimate collector would like to preserve the value of his/her collectibles and not have their value erode by cheap imitations.
The Role for the Antiques & Collecting Industry
The final question of the survey asked, "Do you feel the antiques and collectibles industry could do more in confronting the reproductions problem? All but two replied "yes" and the remaining two indicated "maybe".
Areas where it was felt the industry could do more included: 1) educating the public on reproductions, 2) push for more state/national legislation like the Hobby Protection Act, 3) put more pressure on the manufacturers to mark and date repros, 4) work more closely with U.S. Customs on imports of reproductions, 5) monitor and expose those dealers, auctions, shows, malls, internet sites which knowingly sell repros without stating that they are reproductions.
Most additional comments related to three of the above areas: Expansion of the Hobby Protection Act could be a strong, positive move benefiting the entire industry; Placing pressure on manufacturers and importers for permanently marking and dating must be a goal of the whole industry; and, collecting clubs could be of great assistance to eBay and other Internet auctions in helping to monitor auctions and targeting sellers offering reproductions without stating that they are repros.
Some Final Club Quotes
From the president of the Candy Container Collectors of America, "the legitimate collector would like to preserve the value of his/her collectibles and not have their value eroded by cheap imitations."
From the National Association of Milk Bottle Collectors, "the Internet poses the greatest problem, direct sales to the unwary is prevalent."
From Pfaltzgraff America Collectors Club, "expansion of the Hobby Protection Act is the best way to educate new collectors and protect authentic collectors."
From the chairman of the Standards Committee, Train Collectors Association, "yes, we would like to see the Hobby Protection Act expanded - repros not marked as such increase the value of collectibles falsely."
From Hamm's Club, responding to the watchdog role on reproductions, "We see it, we expose it, and criticize it!"
From International Willow Collectors, "Yes, we need to broaden the Hobby Protection Act; we are obviously seeing items that clearly are reproductions (to a knowledgeable collector), but that are not marked and cannot be identified as reproductions by the novice collector."
From the International Nippon Collectors Club, "Yes, expand the Hobby Protection Act...because, while there is nothing wrong with reproducing items, there should be some indication that it is not an original item. This would still allow reproductions to be produced for those that just want a decorative item but would protect those interested in purchasing only antique items. What would be the harm in marking these items as reproductions? Nothing, except for those who are unscrupulous and want to deceive collectors. I'm sure there are some new collectors who stop collecting because they get "`taken' by both dealers and auctioneers who sell repros. Also, sometimes even dealers don't know that an item is a reproduction. It would benefit everyone in the antiques industry if these items were clearly marked."
The Final Word
The Association of Collecting Clubs (ACC) wishes to thank the clubs which participated in this survey. Although we have not publicly named the participating clubs, many of them are referenced throughout the report. You will note that the clubs represent many different collecting areas, but all with a very similar need.
We would like to provide our observation from the survey. First, it is difficult to get unanimous decisions on practically anything. When asked, "Would you like to see the Hobby Protection Act expanded to cover other collecting areas?" we knew we would get a positive response, but 100 percent "YES" coupled with their responses as why, is most gratifying. Expansion of the Hobby Protection Act is a serious need in our antiques and collectibles industry. As many clubs referenced, the Internet has brought this issue to the forefront. The Internet makes it easier to distribute and sell reproductions. And, most importantly, the Internet has expanded the collecting field by millions of people, many whom are not thoroughly educated in the area of reproductions and fantasy items.
Our second observation, collecting clubs are playing an active role as educators in our industry - both to their own memberships, and to the collecting public in general. And, they are prepared to play an even greater public education roll, working together across club lines and across the industry. This survey bring home more than ever the fact that the best way for collectors to learn about their chosen collecting area is to join a collecting club serving that area!
The manufacture and distribution of reproductions is big business...and getting bigger. It is obvious that collecting clubs feel not only can government do more to curb the manufacture and sale of unmarked reproductions, but the entire antiques & collectibles industry can do more, too.
The ACC has been working on the program area, The Project on Reproductions, for some time now, a project not against reproductions, but devoted to the permanent marking and dating of reproductions. This is what the Hobby Protection Act is all about. It is our sincere hope that the Federal Trade Commission will hear us and recommend the expansion of the HPA to all other areas of antiques and collectibles. The ACC can be reached at: info@collectors.org or by writing: Association of Collecting Clubs, 18222 Flower Hill Way #299, Gaithersburg, MD 20879.
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