Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques By The Thousands
Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques are nothing new. They frequently offer fairly exact replicas of some of the rarest examples of Chinese art in existence. It's true some of them are so badly done that even a beginner can spot them. At other times these objects leave seasoned dealers and collectors scratching their heads. Over the last 25 years even the experts at Christie's and Sotheby's, though they hate to admit it, have been tricked.
The good news is as time goes on, spotting them is getting easier.
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Ebay's Guide About Buying Asian and Chinese Antiques and Dealing With The Copies
While eBay does spend a lot of time trying to ensure a positive "Buyer Experience", when it comes to Asian Antiques its 100% lip service. After all, admitting you know about fraud being committed and doing nothing seems a bit odd for a business whose reputation relies on trust.
Ebay has been aware of the "fake Asian Antiques" problem for nearly two decades and have completely ignored the problem. To date eBay has taken no steps that we're aware of protecting buyers from being mislead into buying copies and reproductions. The "Chinese Antiques" area of the site is a sewer for the ill-informed. If you know of any I can add below, let me know.
EBAYS's Own Site Guide Admitting to Fakes Being Sold on the Site.
Fake Chinese Ming Meiping vase, from eBay.
EBAY Published a Guide Warning Buyers. Click this link "Guide" eBay published on the topic of buying Asian Antiques on the site. It says the following.
"No matter why a buyer wants Chinese antiques, one thing's for certain: he or she wants something that is authentic and genuine.
Because of this, it’s very important for buyers to do careful research when buying an item described as a "Chinese antique." It’s important to realize that not all items marked as such are genuine; buyers will therefore need to exercise caution when making purchasing decisions. The following guide is intended to help users find the authentic Chinese antiques, whilst avoiding the fake items.
To begin with, there are actually a great number of laws in China that prohibit the exportation of Chinese antiques. It is illegal for anyone in the People's Republic of China and the Taiwan Republic of China to export a Chinese antique that dates earlier than the end of the Qing dynasty (1911). This means that if a buyer finds an antique dealer located in China who’s selling items dating before 1911, that seller is either breaking the law, or deceiving the buyer."
If eBay knows full well that exporting antiques from China is illegal, why then do they permit sellers in Mainland China to list any items in the Chinese or Asian ANTIQUES category. The word ANTIQUE is a legal descriptive term in many countries and as a good rule of thumb means any object over 100 years old.
- NOTE: The US Customs Department deems anything to be an ANTIQUE if it is at least 100 years old at the time of importation in order to qualify for no duty status upon import.
Who Are
The Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques ? (see the list below for a few)
Why eBay does so little to protect it's buyer's regarding fake Asian and Chines Antiques on their site is hard to understand. They should take action but never have. So don;t hold your breath, jst be smart about buying. For eBay blocking sellers in China would be an easy and positive first step. However, the problem of sellers outside of China doing it would still remain. To help you from beinga victim, we would like you to know who some of them are. This is not all of them as I do not have a lifetime to devote building the list.
Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques Intentionally As Their Business Model, aka "The Fakers"
Before we mention names, we do not consider "Fakers" sellers who generally try and sell authentic items. They try to honestly represent things to their best ability. We do not consider a seller a faker who for example labels an 18th C. Japanese Imari Plate an 18th C. Chinese Imari plate. They obviously do not know the difference, but aren;t being dishonest. (A little benefit of the doubt is reasonable)
Below we're pointing out a few sellers who handle primarily slick copies of Chinese antiques most of the time. By listing them in the "ANTIQUES" catagory by default they are deceiving unwitting buyers. If you've bought from these seller, accept my condolences. However please do not start emailing me telling me you've bought an Imperial mark and period vase from them, you haven't.
Listed Below: Active Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques on the site. Some sell a mix of low end real things mixed in with modern copies.
Click any of the user names below to see what they are selling
Note: While some may on "occasion" offer authentic things, it's pretty rare.
- Any and ALL items being sold from Mainland China are immediately assumed to be fakes, their names need not be shown.
- UPDATE January 15, 2016 Chinese Fakes are starting to come through INDIA, be very careful
A list of Sellers with Histories of Selling Fakes on EBAY
999share (a major seller, mixes old and new, be careful)
antiques_hub16 (Chinese fakes from India)
benbid_inc (a major seller)
billinsly (sells old and new be careful)
bluemirage95 (mostly fakes mixed with occasional old mediocre items)
byjoan (sells old and new be careful)
coinsandantiquesgallery (sells some antiques and fakes as well)
dc.collector (sells old and new be careful)
ethnikaantiques (sells old and new be careful)
fineestatesrus (sells old and new be careful)
gamedaydesign (sells old and new be careful)
home_decoration_and_gifts (a major seller)
huyentrangift (a major seller)
judy-jade-collectables (also sells under the user name "thepotalapalace")
keileyleung (sells old and new be careful)
lavalenciainc2013 (sells old and new be careful)
nistradingco (a major seller)
revivalstars (a major seller)
thepotalapalace (a major seller)
valuetreasure (a major seller)
zero-distance (a major seller)
zk_collectibles (a major seller)
A few more thoughts
The list above is NOT all of the sellers who handle copies, but a sampling of just some of the better known dealers.
NOTE: If you are one of these sellers listed above and would like to be removed from the page, get in touch with us. After you remove the copies from the Asian Antiques or Chinese ANTIQUES category, we'll be happy to do so.
Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques will no doubt continue, eBay has no interest in fixing the situation. As long as no Copyright infringements are involved eBay will simply sit back and collect their listing and final value fees.
A Video on Ebay Dealers Selling Fake Chinese Antiques, what to look for.
Also watch out for:
>namarama
>brictobrac
…and others that don’t directly claim a period, but rather disclaim by using the term: “FINE OLD CHINESE” an ‘SCHOLARS WORK OF ART”.