Hello Albert,
Trocadero is somewhat self-policing in that there is an internal mechanism for filing complaints about any item listed. Some years ago, when Trocadero was smaller, this seemed to have been used more extensively. To be certain, several dealers of fakes have been kicked off the site following numerous complaints, but do not consider it a carefully vetted venue. It is a far safer and much more ethical environment than Fleabay, but there are some questionable objects that show up from time to time. www.artigua.com is only for antiquities dealers, it's a little more carefully vetted and more selective about which dealers are permitted to join, but do not expect perfection anywhere.
It is always difficult for one dealer to complain about the misrepresentations of another dealer on the same venue, as a conflict of interest is easily construed. In general, there is some quiet behind the scenes communication that usually gets obviously bad items removed, but there are certain people who resist friendly suggestions, usually those with minimal knowledge of the material they sell. I don't know anyone who has the time to regularly patrol the listings to search for errors, misrepresentations or fakes……and then to challenge them. I may be asked to comment on particular items by clients from time to time, but have not scrolled through the thousands of items listed in years. Your best defence is educating yourself and seeking the opinions of more experienced eyes, which is one of the things available to you here.
There are always dealers trolling Fleabay for bargains, so you will see constant comments on stuff listed there and the scam artists freely operating there, but far fewer dealers look at Trocadero listings, as most sellers there are more experienced and far less likely to give stuff away. Management does pay attention to the comments of members, especially those folks who have been around and in business for some time. Repeat complaints about particular items sellers do draw action. Unlike with Fleabay, there is no support for flagrant sellers of fakes. However, there are no in-house experts to review each listing for accuracy, the place is simply too large to expect that.
Overall, Trocadero is a much safer place for collectors than Ebay, any day of the week.
Axel
From: Ancientartifacts@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ancientartifacts@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of niuboy08
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 2:48 PM
To: Ancientartifacts@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Ancientartifacts] Trocadero?
I'm newer to collecting, and I recently discovered Trocadero. I
thaught that it would be a more reliable site online in finding
authentic pieces than that of ebay. And, I noticed one item which has
been classified as fake from collector-antiquities.com and I was
wondering if Trocadero polices itself, or if its more or less like ebay?
Here is the link to the item: http://tinyurl.com/2fgdlc
and to the collector-antiquites page with the same item (I think even
same picture): http://www.collector-antiquities.com/353/
http://tinyurl.com/28l9at
Thanks,
Albert
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