What do you do with your Fakes?

[MP41]

Not sure if this was discussed here before or not?

I'm sure all of us have gotten stuck with a fake or reproduction item once in our life.
Just wondering what everyone else does with the item when you find out you got a fake?
I've posted a poll with several answers. Feel free to discuss your reasons, or if you have another answer than one listed.

Matt

[TP Alexander]

I used to run them over with a train....but now I'm retired.

[Stossgruppe3]

I age mine as best as I can and soaking them in tea normally works
and then sell them on
Have you not heard of " dodgy Dave's dealings "
Regards David

[Massimo F.]

What do you do with your Fakes?

I try not to buy them

[MP41]

Well, 29 votes so far. I'd like to comment on the results so far.

First off, there are 2 people who are either living in denial (that's a river in Africa, been there!) , or they are just liars.

The majority of the votes as expected are "return to seller" or "sell it as a reproduction." This seems good, and I'll admit I've done this in the past as well.
However, by doing this you enable the dealer, or buyer of the reproduction to sell it off to someone else as original! I've seen this happen! at shows, on dealer sites, on auctions, and yes, even here on the estand.

So, now I've been keeping or destroying any fakes that I have gotten. I still have a fake Destroyer's badge I got years ago form a very well know collector/dealer, and author of a well know book on badges. I kept it as a reminder.

Matt

[Ian Hulley]

Well I sold most of my stuff years ago ... knowing what we do now some of that was bad, most good though.

I've never deliberately sold a fake as original but having sold a load of repros AS repros quite recently they re-appeared almost instantly as original on a UK dealer's site for top dollar + it's easy to see how these things get around the market. Maybe I should have just cut them in half ? (they were sold for £40 in with a whole load of British EIIR tunics and other surplus items)

I keep my 'Deutschland' bookmark cufftitle as a reminder of how dumb I was and use it every day as a bookmark... currently in a Sepp Dietrich biography I'm trying to read.

Cheers, Ian.

[Hellemons]

I just trow them in the garbage.
Dont wont them to turn Up as
original at Some dealer.

Kind regards Robert

[coogan]

My fakes were bought knowingly for study. My wife knows I would never put a fake in a display case ( should I croak suddenly )

I'm hoping all my real pieces are real. I've had them all reviewed on here and so far so good.

If I were to get burnt , I would either mark it as fake or sell it on as fake.

[SScollector]

I too, buy many fakes as fakes for learning and teaching purposes.
However, I think that this is not related to his poll here.

Luckily, I have only unknowingly purchased a fake SS item 3 times
throughout my years of collecting SS, (and one of those was due to the old switcharo trick,
where the seller shows an original piece on their website and then sends you a fake when you purchase it). Even more luckily, I was able to get a refund for all 3 of those items.
Bottom line, if you do not understand how highly faked these items are, and that about 99%
of all of the sellers in this hobby are just low down crooks, then you are most likely to be very disappointed in the near future.

Keeping or destroying these fakes isn't really going to make a bit of difference out there, imo, because the fakers are making new ones everyday.
There are so many fakes out there, that none of us really have any idea as to the full extent of it.
The only way to safely enjoy this hobby is to do as much studying as you possibly can,
and always be extremely skeptical of everything.

Lastly, I would recommend that collectors should never spend more money on these items than they can afford to loose, so that in the worst case scenario, you may still be alright, (minus the heartbreak and disappointment). This hobby can become an addiction really quickly and it has also been known to ruin people's lives, whom are not careful enough.
I say, do your homework and avoid being the victim in the first place.

Just my thoughts,

Chris

[DanCz]

I too keep my fakes in my "Black Museum" for reference - - - - since i have been collecting now for almost 50 years i have quite a collection !!

Sometimes i will purposely buy a fake item because they are just so good. However, i did once sell what i considered to be a reproduction badge but it turned out to be a genuine late war production piece !

[Immelmann]

I like to sell mine as original whenever possible.

[TWS]

I like to sell mine as original whenever possible.

That just hit my funnybone and I burst out laughing.

[FESTUNGBREST]

Good Karma

The Hipocrisy is is astonishing
hypocrisy:
noun hy·poc·ri·sy \ hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī- \

A visit to the Estand will confirm and illustrate the fact that TR collecting is in fact a process of purification in which one must go through self cleansing of one's mistakes ,infecting others in the process...A "learning" experience so to speak. Those who dispatch to their "black box of mistakes"
are very rare.

The Estand used to have self regulating proprieties in which some items were flagged as obvious, blatant forgeries and some restraint was eventually enforced. Deregulation paved the way for an increase of shamelessness. The Estand has produced some excellent items in the past, however if allowed to decay and pollute it will inevitably contaminate the core of the structure.

Only the most abject parasitical individuals ( "new" members or old creeps in disguise) unflinchingly and repeatedly offload of their mistakes on other the WAF members. Get your fake items OFF the Estand. Do not S___where you eat!
So why was this referendum called for again.....? Fake items off the estand.

[Der Texaner]

If I had any, I’d use them as display so I don’t have to worry about the original items being harmed by things like sunlight.