Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Online Auctions, eBay Craigslist Petroliana So I bought an India repop.

I have been reading this forum daily for quite a while and I actually discovered the repops from this forum. Now I do know some of your feelings on repops and I was shocked that some felt the value of the Ford from the other day was only $20 or so. I didnt think you could even buy a tin one for that hardly. I just thought yall might be interested in my experience and I was surprised at the message the seller sent in reply to my feedback. I felt like I owed it to at least post that the sign was a repop after all that I had learned on this forum. In fact I had thought of asking yall what to leave for feedback. I like the sign and I have been looking for years for an original similiar but didnt feel like I wanted to make that kind of investment so when he had this one I jumped at it.260941976992 my feedback:THANKS! THIS IS A REPRODUCTION SIGN. BUT IT IS WHAT I WANTED. his message in reply:"Dear freind, we are not doing businness only for profit just for feedback. this feedback of your will spoil my other feedback. we are selling only genuin sign and sign is also old handmade sign in india from bengal enemal co."
thanks

The sign you bought has very little resale value if it is honestly represented. I believe your sign to be a fantasy sign. As i do not believe it was ever made. If your sign was advertised as an original sign, and you paid with paypal you may be able to get a refund? On the other hand if you are happy with the price of your sign and acknowledge its true identity, thats ok too. You are welcome to post questions befote you buy.

I can understand if you like the sign...but by buying something from these indian sellers you are only helping fund these people to make more signs. Tons of these Indian signs have been selling. Only an advanced collector can tell the difference and sometimes advanced collectors get burned too!! These sellers are bad news and flooding the market with this junk!!!

The Mumbai sign manufacturer plainly says it is a "Handmade Sign ",,, can't get much plainer than that, even the buyer acknowledge's that,,, he knows he bought a repop and he likes it..whats a $150 bucks,,,everyones happy except some of the guys on OLDGAS... Hmmmmm why ? No body is getting hurt here .

Thank you, Thank you! Yes I knew what I was buyimg. i like the sign and it is hanging on my office door and probably will until I die. I understand the frustration of unkown repops and I guess I should have just "stayed in the closet!" about my purchase. I just thought some would be interested because I doubt anyone on here has bought any of these repops, or for sure not told anyone.

I agree with Wes (for the most part), except for the idea that "no body is getting hurt here". Bigboyga isn't getting hurt, he knows the sign is a reproduction, but what happens when this sign is sold a few times away from Bigboyga? Perhaps to a buyer that thought it was an original, and when they find out it's a reproduction they stop collecting signs. If this happens enough there won't be any buyers confidence in the market and value of originals will drop.

It's happened before (Model A's, and globes come to mind).

Just my opinion.

Jamie

Jamie I totally agree.
Its the 2nd/3rd buyer of the sign where the "from India" part gets dropped.
It goes to a local auction or stays in "grandpas barn for 20 years" and then all the sudden its a original sign.
Then its up to the oldgasser versus the auction crowd/seller to somehow prove its fake.
Its the same problem here with TGI Fridays signs made only 25 years ago.

Bigboyga, collectors with original signs are the ones that get hurt. Their 1 original rare sign is now 1 of 100 on the market from India or wherever.

My 2 cents
Mark

One thing I don't understand on here is why does everyone think it is their duty or job to inform someone if they buy a repro anything...why can't everyone mind their own business and leave everyone else alone UNLESS they are asked.. just because a few guys on here think repros are junk, doesn't make up the rest of the world,,and no I don't have any repros of anything and don't buy any... or sell any...There is a place and a market for everything, always has been and always will be..it's a big world out there..

Wes, there is a market out there for repros.
Thats not the issue. Repros are needed for many things, restorations, decorations, people that dont have deep pockets.

The issue is the deception is with buying a repro thinking it is genuine. Huge difference in asking price and future resale value.

Why people on here think its a big deal and make it a point to show what is repro and what is not is because they care.
They care for their friends, new collectors, and total strangers that come to this sight for info.

"why can't everyone mind their own business and leave everyone else alone UNLESS they are asked"

So you are saying its ok for a friend/neighbor/stranger to knowingly spend $1000's of dollars on a known reproduction thinking they are getting an original and for everyone else to stand idly by while this goes on?

Only for the buyer to find out later they've been duped and find out there were people out there that knew it was fake and didnt tell them because they didnt ask?

Is that what you are saying?

...undated, unmarked repros HURT the value of original pieces, and thus the investment made in originals...a couple of examples:

Texaco Marine sign with the gulls
Esso Kerosene

...are originals still worth it? Yes - but there are fewer people willing to stick their necks out to buy them, because of the uncertainty that the piece is in fact authentic...

...the sole reason for that uncertainty, is the existence of undated, unmarked repros...

...the only reason for the existence of undated, unmarked repros is to fool unwitting buyers...

Repro items do have their place in the market. Problem with these signs is they are using techniques to make these signs look original putting made in USA and property of ford motor company markings on the ford signs they are making. Marking these signs could easily decieve a buyer as we have seen some members purchase these signs with intentions of the sign being real from people that have been in this hobby for a long time. If people keep getting burned they will leave the hobby.


Wes I'm sure you have some high end signs in your collection. How would you feel if one of these shmucks started making red indian signs and your $5000 sign became worthless? Not just from a financial view but people were afraid to buy it. This has nothing to do with you personally it's all about how people precieve the market. These Indian repros are and will be an ongoing concern. These are not $12 repro signs. Theses Indian sign makers are selling these with intentions of pure profit and to screw people!!! The poster that started this thread wanted this sign for his personal use which is fine with me. My problem is with the makers.

Don't usually involve my self in the repop argument but I'm wondering what your stance is on the globe maker that produced the fake Polly lense (and others) that sold for upwards of 20k, I don't think that's OK at all. The world is also not that big and it's getting smaller all the time. I think I will still point out repops, asked or not. If you don't you're helping to line thieves pockets, not a good thing no matter what country they're from

Mark it repro w/ permanent marker on back.
Then after you are gone there will be no guessing.

What I'm trying to say is sure I like this site for info and thats what it should be used for, not bad mouthing the sellers that are making and selling reproduction items and saying they are either "new", "handmade" "20 yrs.old" or whatever. I personally don't think repros have hurt the original stuff, people NEED to be educated and thats what this site does, is educate collectors, not bad mouth sellers.. it just isn't in me to do that..There is lots of good advice from expert collectors, auctioneer's and so on and I don't hear expert, professional people running someone down. Express what is original and what is reproduction just leave the sarcastic remarks of others out of the conversation... to me it takes away from the respect of OLDGAS.COM memnbers and makes US sound like a bunch of amatures...

This is what happens when unmarked reproductions change hands a few times.

http://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=3249&aid=49110&lid=12544183#topoflot

all the way at the bottom
http://rjvintagegarage.com/category/replica-ford-nostalgia/

Jamie