Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion eBay Repos...an Idea

Here is an idea I thought I'd throw out to you guys. Everyone knows the problem of repops on eBay. Individuals on this site have emailed sellers and bidders alike informing them of misrepresented items. I know eBay had "watchdogs" looking for "unlicensed" and "fraudulant" items. Coca-Cola and Harley-Davidson items are closely watched to name a couple. Now, could OLDGAS be the official eBay watchdog? I know it would have to have Jim's blessing, but the seller would definetly take more notice of a message from an official ebay watcher. I don't know what it all would encompass to become one and Jim may not go for it, but I thought I'd see what you think and if could work.

Gary, I think the idea is super. Maybe it will work. I feel Old Gas is the perfect watch-dog. The hobby needs this for a checks-and-balances to keep EVERYONE honest.

Great thought Gary, but theres a draw back. We are not experts. even the so called sign guys on this site can't come up with information on a particular sign, to know if its real or not. I think all we can do is point them out as much as we know. if we say its a fake and it turns out not tobe. what do we do then???? Who do we have on this site thats an expert on everything??? not all signs are documented. I see Seaside stuff pop up now and then that I've never seen before. there was a sign = flying a that came on and I asked the big flying a collectors about it they all said they had never seen it before. and in a add I had of Gene Autry's ranch he used this very same sign image . so I tell a few that it was from his ranch. then after the auction . a friend of mine in Oregon. emails me that when he worked for service station removel company he remembered removeing signs in Washington and Idaho like that one , but they were never used in Calif. or Oregan.
Sorry Flyingausa=Paul. but thats just my 2 cents.

As I put in my thoughts of the fake forum all items posted there, should be discussed first. In my oppinion, there should be a committe or group of 5 that email each other before makeing a decision on anything. some Texaco signs were made in Canada durring the war, do we know all about these signs??? The Gilmore pump plate that I posted is a fake we talked about it and it was posted. But to post an image on your own makes you an expert. and I don't think everyone should be able to post on there. to many oppinions and to much , hey buddy hows it going , this should be a place for information to look at and to inform other collectors about fakes. agin my 2 cents.

[This message has been edited by Dwaine Buck (edited 11-11-2003).]

Yes , and the day a judgment call that is wrong from here that prevents a legitimate seller from selling an original item, results in a lawsuit, it will all come to an abrupt end.

Remember it is extremely easy for Coca-Cola and Harley-Davidson to determine whether they licenced someone to produce an item for them, it is a lot more clear-cut than this situation.

If you found a never before seen globe , listed it on ebay and had all your bidders told it may be a fantasy piece, and then got 600.00 instead of 6000.00, imagine how upset you would be......................dodogas

Good points guys. That's why I presented the idea. To get pros and cons. Personaly, I wouldn't care if eBay shut down tommorrow, so all I could do was give my imput on items that I know were repops instead of actually monitoring the site. And it would still be up to Jim. All he has to say is "NO" and the discussion is closed. Once again, good insights. Any more opinions?

I think we should just email the high bidders of the auction and say, "hey, you know that "original" sign you bought is a fake?
Tell them to come here and see all the input before they send money! That would cripple some sellers, if they leave neg feedback for the buyer, he will leave it for them. Good luck selling antiques with a neg feedback that says you are selling repops as originals! If I saw that on a sellers feedback I would not bid.
Then the seller has to re-list, do the same the next time.
Ebay might get mad?

You are not suppost to contact the bidder and say its a fake. you can contact the seller and give your oppinion. after that its up to them or you can get into trouble yourself. I have contacted the buyer myself but only because I knew it was Rick Pease. We can't be the ebay cops. all we can do as collectors is watch, discuss , agree, post. then you can inform the bidder to look at this website and make his own decision.

Is it against the law to take a company logo (say cocacola) and reproduce an item without permission from the company? If I decided to make a cocacola sign and sell it for profit, wouldn't I need permission from the cocacola company to do this? And couldn't they take me to court for using their logo without permission? How are all these guys getting away with reproducing these signs of old companies without getting in trouble? Is it because some of the companies don't exist anymore or is it because these guys are only reproducing in such limited quantities that they never get caught?

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~Jason
http://www.galtsmiles.com/Jason's%20Antiques.html

Jason,
It is against the law to reproduce a trademark without the trademark holder's permission. But the police don't go after you. The trademark holder has to file suit to get a stop order and damage awards. Some old companies are out of business, so there is nobody around to file the lawsuit. But some of these old companies were bought by another company and so on, so that today the ownership of the old trademark is still valid with some successor company. I was contacted last month by a trademark owner who is upset about someone making repros without permission.

As for Oldgas.com being an official watchdog...
I would rather have us discuss the items on Shop Talk and by email. Post the pictures of known repros. Educate each other on what to watch out for. Warn each other about specific items. Ask questions if you don't know. Read the eBay rules about bidder contact, you can easily get in trouble.

The key is what you may have to show in proof in a court of law. It would be very hard to absolutely prove the originality of some collectibles. I would like to avoid being drug into court by an unhappy seller or eBay. By carefully wording their description, a seller can avoid trouble from eBay or lawsuits. A seller can claim ignorance or base their knowledge on a story from the person who sold the item to them.

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Jim "Oldgas" Potts
Your host and moderator

One word sums up your idea.


"Liability" Don't do it

Craig