Ebay's tolerance for sale of art fakes on the site
As a seller of paintings, prints and drawings, I try to do my best to describe as accurately as possible the authenticity or questionability thereof on any particular work offered. I try to be honest and transparent. Occasionally, it's possible that I may slip up and unintentionally err. But I try to be generally honest.
But other ebay sellers of art have been openly selling fakes for years, with ebay's apparent blessing. Some sellers either don't actually know themselves, or while chasing the almighty dollar, don't care to share, that the works they're offering are fake, and not by the hand of the artist named. I can go any day onto ebay and within seconds find absolute fakeroonies. This has been going on for years. But now I am concerned about a FLOOD of dangerous fakes coming out of Lima, Peru. Countless names, countless works (apparently thousands sold) often around $100 or $129. The signatures are spot-on, the work very often, admittedly, quite impressively and convincingly in the style of the given artist.
The seller is always careful to say in the description that they adhere to ebay's requirement that it be offered "in the style of", so they're not breaking ebay's rules... But the works, once out of the hands of this seller and out and about in general circulation in the coming years, will cause untold huge difficulties as future appraisers have to deal with them. Clearly they are crafted with intent to deceive; most with coffee-stained old typed labels, rubber stamps purportedly from a museum, collection or collector, etc., rubber stamp of an actual residential address on Cartwright Street in North Hollywood, etc.!! Take a look!
Should this be permitted? Is an ethical line not being crossed here? I imagine it's impossible for ebay to police the art market as they try to police all things Louis Vuitton and other designers, etc., but this art thing is out of control, disgusting, and ethically very questionable at best. And it makes life and business harder for art dealers who DO try to follow a higher road, making buyers ever more suspicious. Not to mention giving future auction house personnel and artist estate people huge headaches, as these works age, acquire more signs of wear and tear, etc., and circulate in the marketplace. Take a look at this seller's offerings. I assume it is one seller, but that may not be the case.
Years ago, a gentleman by the name Alan Bamberger, who has written books on how to buy art, would with great humor do tongue-in-cheek reviews of oh-so-obviously fake works on ebay. I wonder what he would have to say about this seller in Lima, Peru and the thousands of fakes they are aggressively pumping out every single day.
soh.maryl
·11 months agoAs you know, eBay doesn't allow fakes, counterfeits, replicas etc or "in the style of".
But, as you also know, no one from eBay actually inspects most of the items that are listed here.
About all anyone can do at this point is, as a buyer, be sure they know what they're buying and, if it's not as described (as in counterfeit) the buyer has access to the MBG.