Repros, Reactions, Refunds and Retards

Bob Treend · Site Admin Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 153

''If I can't sell this on your web site then just send me a refund and screw your damn site.''

Running our web site is like doing a juggling act. I'm constantly trying to keep the members happy, keep the repros off the site and not make too many people mad at me...all at the same time.

The simple fact is, guys don't like it when you tell them their expensive uniform, dagger or whatever, that they're trying to sell for big bucks, is a fake...whether they knew it or not. Unfortunately I have to do that almost every day. Most of this stuff only stays on our site for a very short time before it's removed. Some, that I'm not sure about, sets longer while I get info from various sources. I don't remove things lightly and try to be real sure it's bad before I do.

How to handle removing a repro is tricky. I've tried verious techniques. Early on I learned that no matter how I do it the seller's reaction is usually not good...there are exceptions I'm happy to say. If I give reasons why I pulled the piece I usually just get an argument and frankly I don't have the time nor the inclination to engage in a debate about every fake pulled from our site. For some time now I've made it a practice to send a simple email just saying the piece was pulled because it's a fake. Of course, this causes arguments too. Some times I'll go ahead and give a reason or give them a link showing how I know it's a fake, but that usually does no good. They're still ticked off. If they were smart instead of getting mad at me they would verify that it's a fake, go outside and scream for a moment, then move on with the hobby knowing they need to do their homework better from now on. Getting p.o.'ed at me does no good. There was an interesting post written about just this sort of thing in our forum recently.

In the past couple of weeks I've had the same thing happen twice. A seller posts an expensive fake on the site, I pull it and sent an email simply saying it's a fake and had been removed. In one case I included links showing one just like it being trashed on a forum. In both cases the seller got mad, called me names and wants his subscription refunded. When someone demands that, I always oblige. I guess they think that by demanding their money back I'll back down and let them have their way so I can keep the money. Wrong! Probably 25 years ago I heard about a ''Big'' militaria auction, I wont give the name, who had a deal with one of it's main sellers to post an occasional high end fake amoung the good stuff. Of course the fake was offered as genuine. Seems the auction valued this particular seller so much (..that is the the commissions off his stuff) that they were willing to put up with his dishonesty. In a nutshell, they sold out their integrity for money. I'd like to think I wouldn't do that. However, I'm not put in that position. The most I can get from any one seller is $25.00, so I'm not even tempted to compromise the site for that.

So, the never ending saga of fake militaria goes on. The makers keep churning it out, the dealers keep selling it, the buyers keep getting ripped off and the hobby keeps getting tougher. It all comes down to this. If you're going to be active in this hobby...DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! Don't buy unless you know what you're doing. And if you do get stuck with a fake mark it up as a learning experience and be more careful next time.

Finally; and I tell you about this so you can see how some collectors don't do their homework... I got an email the other day from some Bozo, saying he thought I was a ''greedy b*****d'' because I asked for a membership fee. He thought the ''commissions'' I collected from the sellers should be enough! When I replied and said he should check his facts I got back an even nastier reply...oh, well...

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