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Originally Posted by Dajak
The problem is only if people that don t now much about what quality and low end stuff is keep on buying ,
the prices go up .
It is easy with the stuff no buyers no market .
And people do this and buy from this people .
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4987
Ben |
Good point Ben. Do you have an answer?
I got on a vendetta several years ago contacting people who were buying fake Chinese swords. I soon realized that most people really did not care if it was fake or not. They bought the artificially patinated sword. Sometimes cleaned off the carefully applied rust, sometimes didn't and just hung it on the wall.
They were satisfied, even happy with their purchases. They did not buy another sword. One was enough. $500-$600 was fine for a wall decoration. Many did not belive they were fake, that they had actually bought a rare Ming dynasty sword.
As far as I can tell, there are only a very few people who do care (us) if these weapons are fake, composite or hybrids.
Add to this the fact that there are a small finite number of authentic pieces. And there are many village craftsmen producing weapons in the same manner their ancestors made them. Are these authentic?
I have asked experts why they don't publish books about how to spot fakes. They have told me that the fake makers would then adjust their craft to make pieces that would be even harder to distinguish from the authentic pieces.
Even museums make huge mistakes. This has been pointed out on this forum many times.
And collectors who have studied in certain areas can easily be fooled in other areas by fakes. I have been studying Japanese swords, an unbelievably complex area of microscopic differences making huge differences in value. These collectors have incredibly keen powers of observation.
People with quarter of a million dollar Japanese swords with fake tourist Balinese keris and Chinese armor, fooled by fakers.
So.
Hopefully any collecting venue will have increases in prices. I like it that my collection is worth more. A few years back a fairly good Moro kris was $200. Now you may pay $500-$600.
This is not an announcement, but I plan to put some of my lower end pieces on eBay, I am finding better bargains with dealers and want to upgrade my collection. I would also like for some other people to enjoy pieces that I do not regularly handle.
And as the reach of the Internet expands, especially eBay, prices do go up. Where prices increase, there will be people making fakes.
I am buying from dealers and collectors who I either have a relationship with -- have sterling reputations or who I can visit and hold the pieces before buying.
Like everyone else here, I have bought un-authentic pieces on eBay. Some were so bad that I threw them away. I have also found some real sleepers.
But the bottom line is that I am the one I have to please. I appreciate this forum and the people who post here. I have learned a lot and continue to learn each day.