Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion rustyrelicsart Ebay seller

This guy is the biggest fake sign seller there is . Right now as per the usual there is several gas and oil items on his site that are not real . Lets help pass the word and educate future and current collectors.

sellers completed listings: .. ...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/rustyrelicsart/m...=p2046732.m1684

this guy is the worst. ive been thinking of what we could possibly do to try and stop it since ebay wont. im guessing ebay wont take action since he is not claiming the listings as old, vintage, original, etc.

surely there is some copyright infringement going on since he is selling advertising of some brands that are still in business.

also thought about buying something from him just to get his name and address, at least then we would know who he is

his stuff is making its way to swap meets all over... i see them at every show, and its sad.

he is claiming the red indian and Indian motorcycle pieces to be old . I agree Bryce wish we could stop him .

Bryce, His fake signs go too high to buy one... I agree with you... Why would anybody spent 200 plus on a sign they know nothing about? It is Pathetic.

somebody is going to get ripped off on this one

www.ebay.com/itm/SCARCE-1930s-RED-INDIAN-MOTOR-OIL-LIGHTED-SIGN-REVERSE-PAINTED-GLASS-McColl-/291710336517?hash=item43eb4a7e05:g:BOgAAOSwoBtW6MYa

Dave, Why stop this Seller?

If you stop him; more will pop up in his place... At least with him you know that his items will always be suspect...

Fakes/counterfeits/fantasy and repops have been around the Petro World since the early 1900s. Mass Produced fakes from Overseas have been around since the Korean War (my Father brought back some). Production expanded during the 1960s and 70s; during 'Nam (when I brought some back)... Since then cottage Industries in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Philippines, South Korea, South America... Europe.. etc... Have grow up and now flourish....

And of course, we can't forget us here in the U.S.A.

J.C. Whitney catalogs in the 60s and 70s advertised fake signs...


We who have been in this Hobby long before the Internet have been dealing with these items for decades.... As has this Hobby in general... And instead of becoming stagnate or growing smaller; the Hobby has exploded in growth. It gains Members each and every minute....

The difference of course; is that it is much easier to determine if an item is authentic or fake now; compared to back in the 1950s to the late 1990s - early 2000s...

People selling fake items have been around this Hobby long before the Internet and they will be around long after I leave this Earthly World... So; one can either except that they need to be watchful and constantly learning or they can complain about things they have NO control of or the ability to change....

Bob, its not about myself in this case. Yes, i know not to buy from him. and yes, i know how to tell a suspect sign.

but RustyRelics specifically is draining money from the hobby in the form of fraud. then half the people end that end up with these fake signs are posting on facebook and asking questions about authenticity, etc. all in all, it places a burden on the resources of the hobby, both time and money.

Saying that because people were faking items back when the Bears won the Superbowl, is not a reason to criticize people for wanting to inflict a little bit of change in an evolving ebay market that is spiraling downhill.

Bryce; we have a difference of opinion on these Sellers... I have been around Sellers of fakes in this Hobby for over 50 years now... And when I first started Buying, Trading and Selling; I complained about the Fakes...

But, I had the advantage of talking to many of the Founders of this Hobby... They were the ones who clued me in on how long fakes have been around; and they were the ones who said that I "was tilting at Windmills"...

They were correct. I've been watching countless dishonest People selling fake items as originals; since the early 1960s...

And it was as true then as it is now. I don't have the power to stop anyone from doing something dishonest... But, I do have the ability to teach myself and gather information so I don't have to become one of their victims.

Going on and on about "Rustyrelics" doesn't stop him from selling his wares... All it does is get you more and more agitated... You and others have sounded a warning... Now it is up to those who are the consumer to do their part...

But, honestly what do I know? I'm an Old man, who might have been passed by in this Hobby?

I appreciate what people like Dave do, to try and educate us in this hobby. I have used this site, and other resources on plenty of occasions to keep myself from getting taken.

I also think that Bob has a point here. Why try and shut him down. He would likely just start up again under a different name. At least this way he can be kept under radar....repops going for big money, seem to be growing in numbers all the time.
Just like those India sellers...one gets shut down, and two more pop up. I don't see that going away anytime soon.

The ones who get ripped off by these guys,and intend to be in this hobby for the long haul, will eventually educate themselves..

Good points by everyone

i know we can't stop them... but by merely raising the issue & having discussions such as these, it creates more awareness which we can all agree is a good thing

Bryce,

You mention: "but by merely raising the issue & having discussions such as these, it creates more awareness which we can all agree is a good thing".

Awareness?

Here on OG?

Do you mean for "new members"?

Hen

awareness for anyone & everyone

Totally agree the awareness is whats saving the all our collections . We have to stick together on this for sure.

I think everyone needs to take a look at all the "new" stuff good ol Rusty has on Ebay right now. There are a bunch of new gas/oil related fake signs that are fresh to market. The new stuff is getting tough to keep up with. Every week a new one pops up!

All good points and I hate to see the seller profit from uninformed consumers. I tend to agree with Bob's perspective, it's a game of Whack-A-Mole.

You're trying to save buyers that don't want saved...eBay doesn't care either.

Helping members here is great .... outside of that you're wasting your time, might as well go outside and yell at the wind.

Totally agree.

Ebay doesnt care and neither does this con man. Wont answer any questions or comments about his POS signs hes trying to sell.

Because of guys like this passing junk off as originals is one of the main reasons I don't collect signs. When I browsed his site, his stuff looks legit so I can see how he profits from those not properly schooled in detecting original signage. I'll assume those that are buying this stuff don't have the time to do all the studying needed to keep up with what is real and what is fake. It's that or they just have too much money and they don't care. It is sad because it keeps me out of the sign buying market. What I'm worried about is when will these knock off artists start turning out unmarked gas globes. Greed will eventually make it happen as globe prices continue to move up in price. It is just a matter of time. I pray I'm 6' under before it happens.

just an FYI there has been unmarked gas globes around for years also . if your afraid of unmarked signs , IMO the unmarked globes are almost harder to spot sometimes .

I have read all these comments and don't have a right answer. No one does. But the worst thing we can do is do nothing and ignore it. The best thing we can do is spread the word. Also let him know we are on to him. If you known someone that has bought one of these they should try and return it, get PayPal involved, etc. The more damage we cause the tougher time they will have. Remember, legally you can say whatever you want as long as it is true. You could buy a sign and advertise it as phony to the world, repost it on eBay, let everyone know where you bought it, etc. You could take photos of all these signs, post them on eBay as all phony and not even mention his name, but let the world see it before eBay pulls it...That's what I would do...A lot could happen. Just some ideas...Scott B.