manwon said:JV, in my opinion, you should not be in the business of authenticating or selling antique cues unless you are able to do the job correctly and honestly. By this I mean, that speculation on what something is must be out the window, and the item can only be sold for the quality that was put into making it, without a name attached if you are uncertain.
Honesty is the best policy, an honest person would sell something as Unknown rather than speculate and attach a false label. It really matters not if you are educated on the subject or not, when you attach a name to any item to increase it's value, you have responsibility after the sale.
This is all very true. Which is why a smart (reputable) dealer gets his cue authenticated BEFORE he resells it. Had a cue I had been flagged in a forum I would have pulled the cue immediately from the site, instead of some lame a$$ lie about selling it because of the thread.
manwon said:I think way too many people forget the value of ones word. People who are intentionally deceptive or even just ignorant are viewed in the same manner where their reputation is concerned. We all see those people who's world gets smaller and smaller everyday due to their dishonest behavior, and dirty business deals right here on AZ.
I think an honest man would take a measure of responsibility if they authenticated an item that was proved to be a fraud anytime later. Also in my opinion if you sell an item and attach a name to it, whether you realize it or not you have just offered an authentication.
If you are the first seller who brings an item into the market, that is proved not to be as described later at a minimum, you should take responsibility and buy the item back until the dispute can be settled.
If you get stuck, thats the chance we all take, because we all take a loss once in a while, it is just the nature of the beast, and your reputation is worth far more than the lost money.
Just my thoughts!!!!!!
All this is true and again if I had an item and one of the owners told me an item was not how I described it, I would have taken the item down before I looked like more of an a$$ than I already was.
JV