Like every original prop collector out there, I'd like to be sure that the items I'm thinking about buying are authentic and not reproductions (this is not to disparage reproduction collectors because that's obviously perfectly fine, just not my thing). Every potential buyer needs to do their own homework and if you are lucky, you have a circle of trusted friends who can share their information and passion for collection. Sometimes this is not always the case, and you have to do your own due diligence in any way that makes you feel comfortable and lowers your stress level.
Mike Burnaugh and I mixed it up a little in the comments section for the Pugliese Pop Culture Collection that is being auctioned in Las Vegas this weekend (and also on eBay Live -- it's fun to watch and I recommend that you do so). His position is that I should have warned potential buyers in my original post that some of the items have "iffy" provenance, but to do so constitutes interfering with an auction according to eBay's policies. I sell stuff on eBay occasionally and I keep a well-stocked Half.com library of books for sale. Warning people away from a seller or an item can get you banned from eBay. You may also be sued for the lost sale. Blogs are in the public realm (well, this one is) and easily searchable and traceable.
I also strongly disagree with Mike's original premise which is just because I posted information about the online auction, I was making a guarantee of the items. Ridiculous idea that is: how in the heck could I? And while he made a comment about items in the Pugliese collection that have been removed, the six items I picked out (just because I thought they were cool) are still active in the auction, some with very high bids.
I'm just curious, has there ever been an auction with mixed items for sale that didn't have some problems with provenance? I'm just asking the question, but it seems to be that this issue comes up every single time any pop culture auction is held. And the reason for that is that there is a lot of fraud in prop collecting. Sane people don't get involved in original prop collecting.
Mike also mentions the Movie Prop Forum (MPF) which is a private message board of prop and costume collectors sharing information about items. There is a lot of good information at this site, but they aren't interested in Xena or Herc items (not iconic enough for them, I guess) and there is a lot of eBay seller bashing. This group doesn't educate newbies, they talk amongst themselves in this private venue, preaching to the choir. I've not visited for many months, for the above reasons.
One well-known collector, Jason De Bord, is posting all of the documentation he can find on historical sales of Christopher Reeve Superman costumes on his blog. It's great to read all of the old catalogue descriptions, but you will notice that Jason isn't judging, he's letting everyone make up their own minds about whether a costume is authentic or not.
The bottom line is: you have to do research if you are in the market for a particular auction item. Caveat emptor is and has always been operative.
Happy Hunting!
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