Fake antiques are naturally abundant, here in the Far East, as there are lots of antique Chinese ceramics for sale everywhere, both online and in antique shops. Most of these so-called antiques are really new or made-to-look-antique reproductions. Genuine antiques represent a very small percentage nowadays. Buyers in the region are probably mostly aware of the situation, but worrying is that many collectors in western countries are not. Especially those just beginning to collect Chinese ceramics are vulnerable.
The trade of fake antiques is big business in China, and so is selling them overseas. But collectors in the west are often not aware of the magnitude of the problem. Or, maybe, they prefer not to know?
Unfortunately, the Internet has given the antique forgers access to a huge market and direct access to large numbers of unknowing buyers with little knowledge of business countries in other countries. And they sell and sell, and the naive western buyers buy and buy, thinking they get "real" antiques directly from China.
A combination of factors like the impossibility of seeing the actual item before the purchase or bidding, the difficulty of discerning between real antiques and fakes, ignorance in view to certain sharp selling practices, as well as the generally trusting attitude with which western buyers act, trusting the seller ls if he/she were a local dealer, these factors all contribute to the problem and are one of the main causes that many become victims of these very business practices. Don't miss to read this, especially the bottom paragraph.
Faux Chinese porcelain is everywhere Online antique auctions, Ebay, smaller online shops...they all have lots of these on sale. Just search for sellers from China on Ebay and you can see large quantities of reproduction antiques (my apology to the very few honest Ebay sellers based in China!). Be on guard. They sometimes sell from accounts in third countries too, and some provide false certificates with their ceramics. All this to make the naïve western buyers more comfortable and trust them! In addition to all this, now a number of western sellers is offering recycled fake antiques too. (Recycled means fake antiques that changed hands, and of which a subsequent seller/owner believes - or prefers to believe - that they are genuine.)
Inexperienced western buyers are easy prey because they are not on guard against any such deception. From everyday life they are accustomed to be trusting dealers because they can trust those in their own places. Or at least, deception occurs much less frequently. Chinese people on the other hand are more accustomed to such sharp business practices, because they have encountered these in their everyday life; so they are always on guard. This does not mean they are not subject to buying reproductions or imitations, they do. However, more often than not this is because they let down their guard in the desire to obtain that rare or unique antique against better judgment. Collectors anywhere can just not depend on the integrity of dealers alone when it comes to Chinese antiques.
As forging techniques of porcelain are changing and getting more advanced by integrating new methods all the time, only few experts are able to recognize the better forged ceramics. Many sellers are completely unable to know if such an item is a genuine or faux antique, but it appears they often prefer to think it is antique. Insiders know that they mostly are not. Thus, on sale in shops are often items that are actually recycled antiques.
The difference between two worlds - what you have to know when buying antiques in or from China
In the West, a guarantee that an item is antique or old means it probably is (or that is at least what it used to be). The dealers/sellers in western countries know that legal implications and social responsibility come with such a guarantee and they act more carefully.
In the Chinese society and some other Asian countries many people are accustomed to an old mindset that once an item is sold, the seller needs not answer for his guarantee anymore. If the buyer later detects that it is a fake, the dealer denies any responsibility.
Dealers in such places will often try to find out first how much you know about antiques. The items you are shown will be fake or genuine accordingly (if they have authentic ones). At the very least, if you are not sure, you must ask for confirmation. However, this may work only with sellers outside China, and they may tell you the truth, but this is not necessarily applicable in China, where more brazen selling tactics are used. Also, if a dealer let's you 'decide yourself', then they want to avoid the responsibility for selling you a fake!
Equally, buyers in the region have an attitude of shrugging off their loss and seldom do they demand a refund or take any legal action, unless a very large sum is involved. Well, attitudes are changing slowly, but it still will take quite some more time.
To summarize it... Do you see the difference between the attitudes? The western buyer bases his purchase at least in part on trust. He believes the seller more easily than a Chinese person does. The Chinese people, both the dealers and the buyers, on the other hand, often do not see the selling/purchasing as trust relationship, it is mainly a commercial act that is complete when the goods and money change hands.
So here is an answer to the question why people do buy fake antiques! If the buyer purchases from a seller with a trusting attitude, but the seller does not care about a trust relationship, then the buyer is likely to get a fake! It is so simple as that. That is also why Ebay and other auction venues online are so flooded with fake antiques today. You cannot get back at the seller later, mostly. And companies like Ebay shy away from their social responsibility. They want the fees, not the trouble of going after fakes! The sellers of fakes get away with it…
There is one more point to mention - certificates of authenticity. On Ebay and other places online certificates of authenticity are often presented by sellers, supposedly to prove authenticity of an antique.
Many of those who are in the know regarding the situation in China in this respect are aware that such documents cannot be relied upon. There are two reasons for this. One is that many such certificates are simply fakes, the other is that a bribe may produce a genuine certificate with a false authentication statement.
