eBay Fakes = less looting

[Buckeye]

A very interesting article in Archaeology about how eBay has actually cut back on looting.


Forging Ahead - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love eBay

[Mud Hawk]

Good read Buckeye, thanks for the link. I don't do the eBay thing but I realize that might be some peoples only option for relic collecting. At least we know there are some reputable sellers there... Like Indy for example!

I wonder the annual income of an authenticator these days?

[joshuaream]

Originally Posted by Mud Hawk

I wonder the annual income of an authenticator these days?

I've wondered about that as well. I am pretty sure my earliest Tom Davis certificate is from 2003 and numbered in the 30,000 range and one from 2009 that is mid 50,000. So a quick guess is that he did at least 20'000 certs in 6 years. If he averaged $10 a paper that's 200K or 30K per year. (I'm sure some dealers get a bulk deal, or buyers of a relic request a paper, etc.)

[eddies]

Very good read. Thanks

[Wildhorse]

What about our hobby? I feel that a lot of this happens to us. Ebay seems to have a good amount of fake artifacts as far as I can tell anyway. Stuff selling called Columbia river is not like anything I have ever seen.

[paleo_joe]

The beauty of it is that after the transaction involving fakes, everyone is happy. The buyer is happy they got a 3" Clovis for $300, the faker is happy, the archaeologist is happy, ebay is happy. Happy happy happy.

[Mud Hawk]

Originally Posted by Wildhorse

What about our hobby? I feel that a lot of this happens to us. Ebay seems to have a good amount of fake artifacts as far as I can tell anyway. Stuff selling called Columbia river is not like anything I have ever seen.

Well it's horrible if you are a collector that is limited to buying. Unless you know the seller is totally legit, it's always going to be a gamble.

[CDEAN]

The page with the article isn't loading. But I will never support the selling of fakes on ebay, even if it cuts down on looting. It is wrong and it harms our hobby.

[Scotto]

The only arrowheads that I put in my collection are the ones I pull out of the ground myself.
I do get some others from a couple people that are common points that I put in frames for display purposes, but I do not trust ebay for stuff like that.

Ebay ended up being a nightmare for some sport cards sellers and comic book sellers, but a great thing for collectors who now could buy one from anyone, anywhere. And a LOT cheaper than they used to from the local guy who could charge sky high prices.

In the meteorite biz, everyone knows you don't buy them off of ebay from China. Ever. The fakes coming from over there are astounding, and now the Chinese people are really good at faking rare American coins. Yes, they use real silver, but they are molded carefully off of an authentic coin and it's impossible to tell without magnification sometimes.

It's a scamming world we live in people.

[DesertWalker]

Originally Posted by Wildhorse

What about our hobby? I feel that a lot of this happens to us. Ebay seems to have a good amount of fake artifacts as far as I can tell anyway. Stuff selling called Columbia river is not like anything I have ever seen.

Much of the African stuff resembles NW stuff.