Posted By:
hankronI think this board would be as good as any to point out errors, as it gets good readership and allows people to discuss and even disagree with the situation.
It's always best to contact the auction house first. Gives them a chance to give their side of the story, perhaps point out how they are correct, and correct the mistake right away if they see fit.
Personally, I would rather not have to point out material errors on a chat board. I don't post every error I see (some material, some technicalities), and don't get enjoyment out of posting when I do. I would much rather things were dealt with directly through the auction house, or for bidders to privately contact me about they stuff they are interested in (Which some do).
I also beleive there should be hobby karma. There's more to than just bitching and moaning about auction lots. One should also offer positive information to collectors to help them idenfity, date or appreceate material. There's more to it than saying an ad sign is bad and the auction house should be ashamed. You should also offer constructive advice at some point or other to help collectors identify the fakes theselves. Even if you're correct, only bitching about the hobby or auction lots gets to be a drag after a while.
Lastly, someone would have to be nuts to personally finance/host a site for others' to make wild accusations of forgery and intentional deceit against Sotheby's, MastroNet, Christie's, etc. The site owner would have potentialfinancial liability if there was a lawsuit ... I think this public chatboard is fine.