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Originally Posted by katana
Point taken Mark.
However, with the increasing number of fraudulent and colourful listings put on eBay, discussions like this can be highly informative.
If the comments and ideas help members in spotting these listings and prevent mistakes being made then I feel its serving a purpose.
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You are correct, Katana, which is why the I encouraged people to offer constructive comments about the blade, condition, perhaps warning signs, etc. What should be left out are comments that may be interpreted as being directed to the honesty, integrity, etc. of particular sellers. We are a scholarly forum, not an investigative watchdog.
Speaking from the point of view of a personal collector, I am of two minds regarding pointing out specific ways that a reproduction, aged or not, does not match a genuine article. While it is very helpful in spotting a reproduction and avoiding a costly mistake, it also gives an unscrupulous person desiring to fake an antique exactly the information they need to perfect their products. There is no easy answer to this conflict, but personally I am falling on the side of keeping that sort of information in private communications.