Dealing with fakes

**ww2relichunter** · 06-01-2013, 09:29 PM

i do not personally have many fakes if any but i constantly see fakes posted on the forum !! so my question is what should be done about these fakes what should people be told to do with them ?? should they be destroyed,, should they be engraved as fake !! i know some people have boxes they put fakes in but what happens when they pass on and the collection is sold and then the badge is back in circulation again for a young or less knowledgeable collector to waste his money on what do you guys think should be done to the fakes badges, armbands, patches and so on just wondering and interested in you guys ideas !!

**Adrian** · 06-01-2013, 09:35 PM

Fakes should be returned to the dealer or seller as soon as possible to get your money back. No point wasting several hundred quid just to prevent a fake getting back into circulation.

Most people don't buy fakes as they ask before they buy if they don't know what they're buying. Those with more experience know what to look for and avoid them that way.

The fakes that I bought before I knew any better I still have and will only let them go to re-enactors who want decorations for their re-enacting uniforms.

Some people keep them, some destroy them, some mark them as such. There is no right or wrong thing to do, it's up to the individual moral compass to point them in the right direction and to do the right thing as they see it.

**bigmacglenn** · 06-01-2013, 09:36 PM

Reproductions serve a purpose for reenactors and countless others as well...It's only a problem when they are intended to deceive an unknowing buyer...in my opinion...
cheers, Glenn

**ww2relichunter** · 06-02-2013, 04:49 AM

agreed but sadly lately this has come up more and more where people are trying to pawn of their stuff as original !! i also see all the time just picked this up is it original and many pieces from flea markets antiques stores and so on the items can not be returned !

**Eric Zentner** · 06-02-2013, 05:13 AM

I did this about 3yrs ago here with one of mine.

My first fake i bought years ago.

Eric

**meyle77** · 06-02-2013, 05:17 AM

Returns to dealers should be the norm. The problem is that dealers will resell them in many cases or pass on to other people in trades and they will be back on the market in some form sooner or later.
Reproductions should have markings to prevent them from becoming "real".

**Wagriff** · 06-02-2013, 05:35 AM

Return them for refunds, of course, but if this is not an option, personally, I'd like to see this endless ocean of fake garbage permanently destroyed and done away with for good. It's like counterfeit rare coins-why would a person keep such a thing except for a curiosity? It'll never happen, of course, but it would be Nice...

**Glenn66** · 06-02-2013, 09:25 AM

I think marking or engraving the reverse is the best option. Destruction would only work to the benefit of the fakers as there would only then be one less fake on the market which gives them one more opportunity to sell another.