Thinking about buying Native American artifacts on eBay? Here are a few tips that I’ve learned over the years to help you avoid being taken advantage of by the hoards of unscrupulous sellers that sell on eBay and many other web sites. Don’t get me wrong, for every bad seller there are a dozen trustworthy ones, but all it takes is for one or two crooks to spoil it for many dozens of people, and this is my way of helping you avoid mistakes I and many others have made.

1. Know what you are buying.

We all have favorite artifacts we collect. I’m here to tell you that every single one can be reproduced in some guys garage for pennies. These same people can also take a broken artifact, manipulate it’s appearance, making it look like a complete, valuable artifact. This practice is nothing new. People have been reproducing arrowheads and other artifacts for well over 100 years. There were a few well known artifakers (as we like to call them) that traveled the US from the 1930’s through the 1960’s passing off their counterfeit relics as genuine, trading them for more valuable authentic pieces, and even bartering with them for food and lodging. I’ve seen hundreds of very old family collections, and almost every single one had some modernly made pieces buried in the collection. Usually they were traded for, or given as a gift from a “friend”. Naturally, the counterfeit artifacts are the most valuable varieties such as Clovis, Folsom, Banner Stones, and the list goes on. Knowing your favorite variety is the best way to avoid the counterfeits. Owning some that you or a close friend found yourselves is the best place to start. Study them carefully. Different varieties of stone take on special characteristics when they have been in the ground for a few hundred or thousand years. Minerals (especially iron) stick to the surface of stone artifacts, and are clearly visible with a simple magnifying glass. Those of us who by and sell frequently have several tools at our disposal including a good microscope for detection of surface patina or mineralization, and a black light which helps detect artifacts that have been re-chipped. Remember that these are only tools, and aren’t meant to replace good common sense and your own expertise on a particular type of artifact.

2. Certificates of Authenticity

There are many self proclaimed experts out there that will offer their opinion on your artifacts for a price. A select few have gained reputations as really knowing what they are talking about. Others will issue a certificate for artifacts a 5 year old could tell was counterfeit. Most authenticators do their best to offer a valid opinion on the artifacts they review. But remember, it’s only an opinion. Some people will take an artifact that has been turned down as fake or altered (killed) by one authenticator, and keep sending it to different authenticators until one of them says that the piece is good. Other people will buy a piece knowing that it is counterfeit, and send it to the authenticator with the least experience, hoping to get a certificate of authenticity issued, which they frequently do. These people are crooks and deserve to be prosecuted, but rarely are. People who buy these fakes are so embarrassed that they generally don’t even leave a negative feedback for the seller, and get out of artifact collecting out of disgust.

The best way to protect yourself short of knowing good rocks from bad ones is to find a reputable, reliable authenticator yourself, and use them when you need to. If you buy a point on the internet and you are unsure of it’s authenticity, send it to an authenticator right away. Any good seller will offer at least 2 weeks for you to review your purchase, use it wisely.

3. Choosing a good seller of artifacts.

Ebay gives us many tools the check on the trustworthiness of a seller. First and foremost:

a) Feedback - Click on the feedback rating next to the sellers name, and look it over carefully. Just about every seller that’s been on eBay long enough has at least one negative feedback. But if you see more than a couple, then you should dig a little deeper. Especially if the negative feedback was left by somebody complaining of a fake artifact being sold. As I said before, most people who are taken advantage of are too embarrassed to leave a negative feedback. Fortunately for us, there are some who are perfectly willing to show the world what their experience was like with this particular seller.

If a seller has hidden feedback, they’re hiding negatives they don’t want you to see. If a seller is hiding the identities of bidders on their auctions, that means that other people have tried to warn bidders from buying their artifacts. This practice is forbidden by eBay, but has saved many bidders from becoming victims of fraud.

Also check the feedback the seller has left for others. A common practice among the artifake sellers is to not leave a feedback for a buyer, until they (the buyer) leaves a positive feedback first.

b) Check to see what the seller has been buying on eBay. Some counterfeit sellers also buy their fakes on eBay. If your seller has been buying modern made artifacts, it’s a good bet they’ll have a certificate of authenticity and be for sale on eBay in the very near future.

c) Guarantee - Any seller that has confidence in what they sell, will offer a minimum of 14 day unconditional guarantee on everything they sell. This way, if you hurry you have time to send the piece to your authenticator and verify if it is authentic or not. A seller that offers no guarantee, or 3 to 7 days isn’t doing you any favors, and should be avoided.

d) Picture Clarity - An experienced seller with a fuzzy picture of an artifact may be hiding something. Write to the seller and ask him/her to post clearer pictures. Otherwise, move on to the next auction.

e) Price - If somebody is selling an artifact that is worth several hundred or more dollars, and the starting bid is under $10 with no reserve price to meet, be very suspicious. Those who sell counterfeits prey on the curiosity of new bidders. Those who hope to find a bargain from a seller who doesn’t know what they are selling. They paid pennies for it, and anything they make is pure profit.

f) Somebody that sells many high-end pieces at very low prices should be looked at very carefully. There are thousands of buyers on eBay that will pay top dollar for a high-end artifact. Not much gets past them, and if it’s a great deal, somebody else with realize it as well.

More important than anything I’ve told you is to get educated. Learn more about what you want to collect. Join chat rooms and message boards that are created for people like yourself. The AACA (Authentic Artifact Collectors Association) is an excellent resource for information on buying Native American Artifacts. Look for sellers who have the AACA logo in their auctions. They offer a minimum of 14 days to review your purchase, and for the most part tend to be much more trustworthy that other sellers. Those who sell counterfeits hate members of the AACA, and will bad-mouth them at every opportunity because what they do works. This organization has been instrumental in driving counterfeiters out of the authentic categories on eBay, and educating thousands of artifact collectors. Knowledge is power.

Nobody is perfect, and even the best sellers make mistakes and may sell a modern artifact on occasion. How they handle these unfortunate situations is what separates the honest sellers from the crooks. Any honest seller will make things right, no matter what it takes.

Good luck, and happy bidding.