Reference Archive

We Can't Give Up the Fight

from "CIRCA column by Connie Swaim, Editor, Eastern edition, AntiqueWeek

Reprinted with Permission of Connie Swaim of AntiqueWeek
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AntiqueWeek readers, stand up and take a bow. I applaud you.

Of the 1,145 comments regarding the Hobby Protection Act, more than half were sent in by AntiqueWeek readers. In April of 1997 AntiqueWeek printed a form letter regarding the review of the Hobby Protection Act. We asked readers to clip it and send it to the FTC. The Commission, which reviewed the rules and regulations issued under the Hobby Protection Act, reported receiving 721 of those letters.

Nippon collectors are also to be congratulated as they sent in 223 form letters. While I'm sure most of you do not make a habit of reading the Federal Register, I do urge you to take a look at the July 7 report. For an overview of the Hobby Protection Act and the Commission's review, please see the article on Page 2.

Like everyone else I've spoken with in the industry regarding this issue, I am deeply saddened that the Federal Trade Commission did not make any recommendations to expand the act. While it is true the Commission does not have the authority on its own to make changes in the act, it certainly could have made the recommendation to Congress that maybe someone should take a look at it. While it was kind of the Commission to pass along the comments to the U.S. Customs Department, I have to agree with Mark Chervenka's comments on the Page 2 article (Hobby Protection Act Review Draws 1,000 Comments). I would like to see some conviction statistics in which Customs agents have made arrests because people have sold reproductions without their country-of-origin labels attached.

The Commission report urges anyone with information regarding the removal of the required country-of-origin markings to contact U.S. Customs officials. It is illegal to remove the country-of-origin tags before the ultimate consumer owns the item. If I buy the item to keep in my home, I can remove the label. However, the dealer selling the item at a flea market or antique show or an auctioneer cannot remove the label. U.S. Customs even has a hotline and I have to love its number. Anyone with information about a country-of-origin tag removal is asked to call 1.800.ITS.FAKE. I hope you are all writing down this number now and keeping it with you. Maybe if we bombard U.S. Customs officials with phone calls we will get farther than we did with the FTC.

While everyone else seems to be displeased that nothing was done, I can't help but feel we won a small victory. We proved that antiquers could be organized to make their voices heard. When I started writing about the Hobby Protection Act in 1997 many people said that there was no way to get people organized. People predicted I would get few responses to my call for people to write to the FTC. But, AntiqueWeek readers proved that they do care. A large part of the Commission's report in the Federal Register is in response to the many comments which were made by those who took the time to write. The Commission's report uses an extensive footnote system in which it cites different people who wrote. It is like a Who's Who of the industry. AntiqueWeek Associate Publisher, Gary Thoe, is cited twice for comments he sent to the FTC. I lost rack of how many times the footnotes referred to Mark Chervenka or the ACRN. Likewise, Jim Tucker of the Antique & Collectibles Dealers Association was also cited several times in the footnotes. "Pieces of Glass" columnist Johanna Billings was cited twice for comments. Of course the American Political Items Collectors and the American Numismatic Association also made numerous comments which were cited. Other groups, organizations or publications I saw mentioned were the Appraisers Association of America, Wayne County (PA) Antique Dealers Association, the Gallery Mint Museum, the U.S. Mint, Antiques Journal, Coin World and the Nippon Collectors Club.

According to the report, all of the comments are filed on the Commission's public record. All Rule review comments are on the public record and are available for public inspection in the Reference Room, Room 130, Federal Trade Commission, Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. The room is open from 8:30 to 5 Monday through Friday, closed on Federal holidays. If anyone actually goes and reads all the comments let me know. I think it would be fascinating.

My big fear is that everyone will give up. this would be a huge mistake. Both Larry Krug and Yvonne Tucker urge people to keep trying in their comments in the Page 2 article. I couldn't agree more. Harry Rinker in his column in this issue urges trying to locate someone on Capitol Hill or in the White House to help us out.

We definitely can't stop now. The discussion of our comments take up five page in the Commission's report in the Federal Register. I feel that can't be too bad! We are making our voices heard. We just have to find the appropriate avenue for those voices. We definitely need to start calling the 1.800.ITS.FAKE number and alerting U.S. Customs to just how bad the problem of peel-off country-of-origin labels is. According to the FTC Commission report, many people who wrote commented that if the country-of-origin labels were more permanent then much of the problem of unmarked reproductions would be solved. I have to agree. Many of the reproductions causing problems in the market are made overseas. If U.S. Customs would toughen its laws or police the removal of country-of-origin tags more effectively, there would be fewer problems. Now, before some of you begin writing me letters, I do realize this won't solve all the problems. Yes, people will always find a way to remove even the most permanent of marks, but it will make it more difficult and fewer people will do it. And of course there are reproductions made here in the U.S. that wouldn't come under the U.S. Customs laws. But, more strict country-of-origin label regulations would certainly cut down on the problem.

I definitely agree with Harry Rinker. We need a friend on Capitol Hill. There has to be someone out there who is a member of Congress and who collects something other than political items. When I wrote the original articles AntiqueWeek ran in april of 1997, I asked readers to let me know of anyone in Congress who collected. Three people were identified and I wrote to all of them. I never got a response. But, we can't give up. Maybe if enough people write and can strike the right note with a Congressional collector we will have a chance to get something done. So, if you know of any die-hard collectors who also call Capitol Hill home please let me know. I'll pass that information along and maybe we can get a better letter-writing campaign going - one that will be directed at the correct organization this time.

Antiquers proved their voices can be heard. The comments of 1,145 people are now on file in a government office to prove it! But, we can't stop. We have to keep making noise in spite of all the naysayers and people who say it can't be done.

And don't forget call 1.800.ITS.FAKE. You just can't ask for a better phone number than that! 200205