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Well said .


Seeking Knowledge and a Good Deal.
Always looking for neon signs and skins , Flying A ,& Wayne 60s.
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Let's agree to disagree Bob. I know you wouldn't have the same attitude if you had a large Pam clock collection right now. Or if you purchased a high dollar sign only to find out it was fake and you could have bought it for $20. Making fake signs is legal, you're right. Selling them is legal too. Marketing fake signs as original's in order to take more money from the less-educated in the hobby is being a dirt bag. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. It's lying.

Only 25+ years in the hobby here, so take that for what it's worth.

Last edited by gaswagon; Sun Jun 29 2014 09:46 PM.
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Think you got that all wrong Bob, you don't have to be in the hobby long to see that if you spend your thousand dollars on three pump plates that some low life aged that it hurts the hobby. A new collector may get very discouraged by wasting that much money, that hurts the hobby. The new collector then has $1000 less to spend at a gas bash or Oldgas for that matter, that hurts the hobby. The crooked seller decides to age more items and maybe make some to flood the market, that hurts the hobby. I've been collecting for 40 plus years, aged, unmarked repops hurt the hobby, period.
Originally Posted By: Bob Richards

Unless you have some time in the Hobby and sometime is atleast a decade... You have no idea what helps or hurts this Hobby!....
I don't know how to break it to you folks... But, the Hobby is not being hurt by these items!!!!


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You are wrong on a lot of points Bob, I bought an original Esso Elephant sign several years ago for just under $600. I was finally able to "Dump" it last year for $200. The "1 AND ONLY REASON" was because they had been repopped. Nothing today is the same as collecting was even 20 short years ago.


"Remember, history that is forgotten is doomed to repeat itself!"
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KZ,

You wrote: "Nothing today is the same as collecting was even 20 short years ago".

Really? Have you been to an auction recently?

Hen

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Bob...I agree with all your points. People who are worried about a new collector spending $500 or $1000 on a sign only to find out it's new.......well, if someone, new or old is spending that kind of money without doing any research ( which the internet has made ***** proof) ....can you imagine on how they got took on their car, or house or whatever? Some here seem determined to save every fool on the planet...good luck with that.

And no matter what it was at the time, I have always over paid for something(s) when I got started collecting it. but I realized it was MY mistake and certainly didn't scare me off from collecting that field, just made me smarter about it.

The internet has made information more available than ever before. There is no excuse for someone spending $500 on a $20 chipped there re-pop...period.


Last edited by really; Mon Jun 30 2014 09:00 AM.
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The bidding started @ $15.00 not $300 or somthing crazy! It's the uninformed buyers that see a sign with some "patina" and automatically assume it's "original".
Shame on the buyers for not doing their homework. The seller didn't mention it was fake but also never mentioned it was real. I understand the dilema but that's Ebay gotta be careful.

Last edited by luminor89; Mon Jun 30 2014 09:57 AM.
really #545609 Mon Jun 30 2014 10:27 AM
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All of the bidding activity on re-pop / fantasy items is HIGHLY suspect to me.

Personally and it's just my opinion,...

I think that the major offenders work together and place bids on each other's items over a network of conspirators trying to scam people - both from here at home as well as abroad.

The insane bids you see on re-pops is this network of crooks at work bidding up their own junk in hopes that beginner collectors will just see the bids/price and come to their own false conclusion of authenticity/value (which we all know happens).

The New Collector might do a past ebay search trying to research the item and find a value. This is ineffective to the beginner or even those of us who think we are experienced in the hobby. Why? Because the reproduction items look identical, have "patina", are sometimes the same dimensions, etc.

Now I am sure some of their items come back if they offer a legit return policy, but they bank on the customer (or should I say victim) not noticing anything is wrong for the 45 days ebay&paypal will back it's buyers. Once the 45 days has past, there is nothing the person can do except learn from their mistake.

Say a New Collector sees a sign bid up to $450 with only minutes left. They get the false pretense that it's real because of the bid amount, aggressive bidding activity, and because these scammers item descriptions are very vague.

This network takes the hit on ebay fees when they have to, because obviously this scam works and they make up for it on the next scam. Not to mention, if the network of those involved is large enough, ebay would have a very hard time realizing what's going on. More than likely, they file unpaid item strikes on their counterpart or try to cancel the sale(so they don't have to pay the ebay fees). A ebay seller is allowed 3 unpaid item strikes within a certain time period before they are shut down by ebay. Now if there are 150 scammers involved, that's 450 unpaid item strikes they can receive as a group without being penalized by ebay within that time period. Also, it is very easy to set up a new ebay account when one gets shut down.

Why do I think this? Because of my years of ebay experience and because this reproduction ***** gets many more and bigger bids than good quality ORIGINAL porcelain gas/oil signs I sell at .99 no reserve. Too Fishy...

The key for new collectors is to get used to authentic items and their characteristics by reading up, going to shows, spending some time on this site, and most importantly - if there is a shade of doubt in your mind, STAY AWAY from it!!

I buy, sell, and collect signs. I am one of many GOOD ebay petro sellers out there who:
1. Sells Great and all original items (unless clearly stated otherwise)
2. Stands behind their clear and accurate item descriptions
3. Posts many good pictures from as many angles as possible
4. Offers a legit return policy that protects their buyers
5. Takes extra care in quality packaging and fast shipping
6. Genuinely loves signs and advertising - it's a passion
7. Has the ebay feedback to support all of the above
8. Is right here in the good old USA!

New collectors - be smart, protect yourselves, and buy from a trusted source or in person!

Where there is money to be made, there will always be scammers!!

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lets not pretend that this is ONLY an ebay problem... its antique stores, auctions, swap meets, and even petro shows... these signs are being bought/sold as original pieces at every venue.

I have never been to a petro show where there hasnt been at least 2 vendors with some unmarked repop or argentina sign that they are trying to sell... and it's rarely disclosed as that.

my point is... its everywhere, not just ebay.


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You can find fault with both the buyers and the seller. I agree the buyers are being morons. HOWEVER, if you see someone doing something shady do you try to intervene? Or just say "oh well, the person getting taken advantage of should have known better..." ?

I guess I'm just the type that tries to do the right thing. The buyer is providing a BLATANT LIE for a back story on the signs. He's also using multiple accounts to bid the price up and make it look like there's activity. It's wrong.

Let's say it's real estate rather than signs... All these crooks that faked their "investment" stories and took people for millions. Took entire life savings from elderly folks with the promise of a great return. Did they do anything wrong, or was it "just the stupid investors that fell for the scam" ?? Shame on the stupid investors for not doing their due diligence and research, right?

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Quote:
The seller didn't mention it was fake but also never mentioned it was real.


Wrong. He was vague in the description, but when I emailed him to ask about the sign I got an AMAZING story about the sign(s) all coming from the same place that had been there for at least 50 years... Including pictures of the old run down building! They were just "sitting" in a truck that was going to be crushed.

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Even through most Bar Tenders/Liquor store sellers know who the Alcoholics are & who have been charged w/ DUI's, they continue to serve/sell them alcohol. Most Bar Tenders/L.S. sellers will say that IF I cut them off, they will go next door to spend their $$.

You don't make your teenagers wear Chastity Belts, knowing the Temptation is out there. It takes 2 to tangle & Both are equally to blame when IT happens.

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Dick, have you questioned "most bars and liquor stores", or how do you know that is what "most" of them say. I find your post lacking any real info relevant to this post...

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DB speaks/writes metaphor, you have to be bilingual to get it!

Last edited by Gasman84470; Mon Jun 30 2014 11:06 AM.
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Gaswagon......to make the statement about using multiple accounts to bid up his on stuff, tells me you know nothing about shill bidding and how ebay has cracked down on it over the years...talk to your friend in ebay fraud and have them educate you...it's not even wildly as simple as you indicate. Anybody that shill bids is nuts these days...it would take me a long time to tell you all the ways ebay has to catch that, so have your friend at ebay fraud do it.

I'm not saying it isn't done every day, but they also kick those people off everyday.....if you shill bid, you have a very short ebay life nowadays.

Last edited by really; Mon Jun 30 2014 12:42 PM.
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