Permit me an opportunity to vent a bit.
I recently saw a dealer’s listing on an online site that profoundly disturbed me. The dealer listed a reproduction piece of majolica as an authentic antique, charging many thousands of dollars for something that probably had a value under $50. I wrote the dealer to apprise him of his error offering him examples of why I believed he was mistaken. His arrogant, insulting response appalled me.
Now, I have written dealers occasionally in the past. My primary motivation for doing so is for the benefit of the dealer. Any antiques dealer worth their salt values their reputation above anything else. Without a good reputation it is impossible to operate a legitimate business selling anything, especially antiques. If I am selling something with an erroneous attribution I am always greatly appreciative if a more knowledgeable dealer corrects me. No one can know everything so a little guidance is welcome when I am trying to sell something outside of my particular specialty.
Usually, the dealers I have contacted in the past have expressed their gratitude. Hence a response like the one I received surprised me. Could they have known they were selling a reproduction and were simply annoyed that I caught them in the act? That does happen but I don’t think that was the case here.
When I receive nasty reactions to my correspondence like the one I got from this dealer I am caught off guard because it is so antithetical to my own way of thinking. Goodness knows I’m not perfect and I make mistakes all the time but I am always appreciative of a correction. To be attacked as ignorant or even worse duplicitous from someone who I was trying to help takes me aback. Maybe it’s an ego issue. Maybe I’m the arrogant one for offering a correction. I don’t know. My intention is a good one. I’m only trying to support another dealer so he doesn’t make a fool of himself or find himself in the awkward position of having to accept a return for misrepresentation.
I learned very early on in the antiques business not to insult another dealer’s price. I don’t know what they paid for something, nor do I know what they require their markup to be, but such a ridiculous markup on something that is so obviously a reproduction like the piece I saw online brings out the devil in me.
My response to these things is usually to ignore the ridiculous listings I see online on a daily basis. I guess I should just mind my own business but sometimes I just can’t help myself. As I have written in the past I think there is a real cost to misleading people with reproductions. I hate to see people deceived because it can turn them off to collecting entirely. I don’t like to see that because I know of the joy collecting has brought to me and so many other people I know. I guess hating to see people fooled is a flaw in my own character but one of which I am rather proud to have.
For more on majolica reproductions go here, here, here, here, here and here.
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