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How to Catch Fake Antique Sellers and Protect Yourself

How to Catch Fake Antique Sellers and Protect Yourself

 

So you've decided to buy antiques and want to be sure that whatever it is you have set your heart on is the real thing. Or maybe you've been burned by a fake antique seller before and have never forgiven yourself for not knowing how to spot a bogus item from an authentic piece. If you want to know how to spot a fake antique and its seller, here are some things that you need to know.

 

Know how to play the game.
You know why seasoned poker players are difficult to fool? It's because they know the game. You can't pull a fast one on these guys simply because they can read the game like the back of their hands and can smell a bad trick from a mile away. If you must know how to catch fake antique sellers, you must know how to spot a fake antique. It's that simple. Now the real work begins.

 

Study.
Unless you have the uncanny ability to read people's minds, there is no way you can catch a fake antique seller without a little research. Get books, magazines and antiques price guides. Spend time looking at photographs and learn what types of logos, symbols, water marks and other indications are associated with real antiques.

 

Read on everything you can about craftsmanship, different materials, period styles, style variations and distinguishing characteristics that mark real antiques. Find out about manufacturing methods. Remember, the trick is to know the game in order to play it.

 

Expose yourself.
Go out and visit reliable shops that sell antiques to see for yourself what the real thing looks like. Go to flea markets, visit old homes and museums, attend auctions and antique fairs and take a look at the pieces to learn how they are valued and what makes them highly coveted.

 

Once you've seen the genuine article, meet the fakes. Go to stores that sell reproductions (yes, it's perfectly legal) and study their similarities and differences from the real antiques. Some reproductions exhibit glaring discrepancies but there are those that are so cleverly reproduced only an expert can spot them.

 

If the story is too tall to be true…
Some fake antique sellers will try to appeal to your emotions by telling you a story of an old lady or a great-great grandfather from someplace just to sell you their wares. Don’t take these stories to heart.

 

Sometimes, though, the story can be half-true. Some dealers disassemble antique furniture and replace some parts with newer materials. Learn to take a good look at items because if there's a pair of eyes you can trust, it's yours.

 

 



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