JR is completely right about the burden of proof and responsibility...that the burden of proof is not with the buyer but with the seller.
I haven't sold any of the fakes but if I did unknowingly as others have done, it's my responsibility to make it right with my client, the buyer. I would refund their money in full, including shipping and I would deal with whomever I got the piece from. That's the right thing to do and the way I've always done business...not that I've ever had to do anything exactly like this, especially since 99.99% of what I sell, I own. A client and friend paid $50,000.00 for a DRACULA Title Card from a collector. After he received it, he didn't like the restoration that was done to it and asked for his money back. The person refused to give him his money back and after a while, stopped taking my client's phone calls. Subsequently, my client found out the DRACULA Title Card was a fake. If I had sold this piece, I would have refunded his money immediately, including shipping both ways and then dealt with the person I got the piece from, but that's me. Todd Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 00:21:17 -0400 From: jrl...@mediabearonline.com Subject: Re: [MOPO] Poster Villains and Red Herrings To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Red Herring Alert! Red Herring Alert! As far as I know, NOBODY proposed issuing COAs for posters, and yet suddenly we have a full blown "discussion" dissing COAs and talking about how useless they are as if someone *had* made such a proposal. Hmmm... what's up with that? A signed statement from a recognized poster expert stating that he/she had examined a specific poster carefully and concluded that in their best opinion that poster is authentic and original with _______ amount of restoration is NOTHING LIKE a typical useless COA. Obviously, to someone who actually is an recognized expert in this field, like Todd or Sean or Bruce or whomever, such a verification statement is not necessary, but the verification statement would not be for their benefit. Were they the ones who were sold the $2 million worth of fakes over the last several years? No. In fact, I should think it would be obvious that people like Todd or Sean or Bruce and others are in fact the "recognized experts" who would be the ones making the verifications. Who said anything about ignorant self-styled experts being employed? What good would that do? Boy, y'all are going to a lot of trouble to twist a simple proposal for full disclosure and independent verification of certain specific very pricey posters into something else so you can discredit it. I'd think I was in a session of Congress rather than MOPO. One more time: We're talking about what responsibilities the auction houses/dealers have (or should have) to reliably and publicly verify that a very pricey product is in fact genuine *before* they sell it to non-experts. We're talking about taking the burden of proof off of the buyer and putting it on the seller, where it belongs. Funny how everyone keeps wanting to talk around that point and change the subject. -- JR Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you’re up to on Facebook. http://windowslive.com/Campaign/SocialNetworking?ocid=PID23285::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:SI_SB_facebook:082009 Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
