I collect and sell militaria.  My e-bay ID is also my website, so I take this stuff seriously.  Is it my main source of income? No.  But it IS my number one passion in life after my wife, and I am getting weary with watching sellers scam, cheat, lie, and eventually steal from the unsuspecting.  Whether you collect Civil War relics, World War I or II, or anything in between, you have to be aware of the enormous amount of fakes that permeate the market.  Some are so obvious you can HEAR them.  But some are so good, the experts scratch their heads.  There is a lot of money in militaria, and where there is blood, you will always find sharks.  This guide is a short class on how to avoid getting hosed like a sailor in a strip club when buying militaria on e-bay.

DICTIONARY

REPRODUCTION - A modern recreation of a historical item for display, teaching aide, or reenactor use

FAKE - A reproduction item atlered to look dug, old, antique, etc..and is sold as a genuine period item

FANTASY - An item that never existed during the time it is advertised in.  These are figments of someone's imagination

SHILL BID - Shills are bids made by sellers with other ID's to run an item price up. Most fake sellers have multiple ID's

SCHLAMEEL - Another name for faker, scammer, scum, or crook

E-bay auctions are quick, homemade ad's written to sell a product.  Below are some of the tricks sellers of fraudulent, fake, and fantasy items use to deceive and why they use them:

1. "I dunno if its real..."    How many auctions start off like that, or have a similar disclaimer in it at some point?  As much as we'd like to think that there are millions of folks out there that routinely list high-end militaria items for cheap prices not knowing what the items are, or how much they are worth....THAT AIN'T HAPPENING!  I'm not saying it NEVER happens, but it happens as often as Democrats cut taxes.  Folks that are ignorant of what they sell usually list it in the wrong category, and you get it by luck.  The schlemeels that list the item in the right place with that little five-word addition usually know full well what an item is, and what it's value is.  They add that sentence for two reasons.  One, is to appear ignorant, and two, is to give themselves an excuse later when you get the item and realize you just got punked by one of the e-bay sharks.  It is a CYA line.  If you see it, BEWARE!!!!
2. "There are no refunds on this item.."   This one never ceases to amaze me.  There it is in black-and-white:  NO REFUNDS!  And some poor schlub bids anyway, and gets his fake relic and has no recourse to get his money back.  Let me ask you this:  If you went to Best Buy to buy a computer, and they told you there were no refunds, would you buy it?  I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.  If there are no refunds,  what is the seller telling you?  I KNOW THERE IS LIKELY TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THIS ITEM, AND I AM STICKING YOU WITH THE PROBLEM.  It is a trick the sellers use to avoid giving back money after their victim realizes he got hosed.  There needs to be a MINIMUM 5 day inspection period, and if you are a smart cookie, you'll have the seller e-mail you his policy, along with his name and contact information in case he is a scam artist who has no real intention of giving you a refund regardless of his policy.  At least then you have something in writing to go to e-bay or an attorney with.
3. PRIVATE AUCTION   If you go to an auction and a seller has private feedback, and/or is selling items in a private auction, NEVER, EVER BID UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!  This is the ultimate tool sellers of fake militaria use to scam the unknowing.  This is a way to hide their feedback, which even if good, is probably made up of a lot of shill feedbacks, and it hides the bidders name so that they cannot be warned by others that they are being robbed, and it allows the seller to run the bid up with his shill ID.  The fake sellers make claims in their auctions that they use private auctions, "To protect their bidders from scam second-chance offers, etc..." but in reality, they are just taking away the bidders ability to protect himself.  If you have nothing to hide, and you sell good stuff, you don't need a private auction.  Not ONE reputable militaria dealer uses private auctions.  Only the scammers.  NEVER, EVER BID ON A PRIVATE AUCTION!!!!!
4. BLURRY PHOTOS    Look, I know everyone isn't a professional photographer, but even the worst among us can at least get a clear photo of an item.  How can you expect to sell an item if people can't make out what it is?  Fakers use blurry photos to hide flaws and marks that identify their items as bogus.  On some Civil War belt buckles, you'll get a great, clear shot of the face, and a blurry, horrible shot of the back.  This is because the makers marks, and the buckle hooks, are the biggest giveaways to fakes.  My philosophy is simple:  if a seller can't take the time to give me a good photo, I can't take the time to bid, period.  And another bit of advice on photos:  always ask for at least 2 more shots of an item, and if it is a very high-dollar item and a seller has little or no feedback, or is overseas, have them write CAROLINA PANTHERS RULE! on a sheet of paper and photograph the item over it.  This is to be sure they actually have it, and didn't just steal the photos off a dealers website.  This scam has been run several times.
5. CUT AND PASTED UNIT HISTORY    Anytime I see an auction with 20 paragraphs of unit history, and two sentences of item description, I have red flags flying everywhere.  This is a tactic scammers use to get you into the HISTORY rather than into the RELIC.  It is a subtle diversion.  You get so engrossed in the history, that you just HAVE to own an item from it, even though the item was fake.  This is done a lot with fake Confederate flags.  If you Google the unit, you can usually find the website that the faker copy and pasted his information from.  Fakers are lazy, so it is usually in the top five on the search engine results.  ALWAYS FOCUS ON THE RELIC!!!  Ask for more information, where it came from, who it was purchased from, etc...
6. ILLITERATE SELLERS    Now if this offends you, too bad.  Most folks that sell fake relics are either illiterate, or they act that way to throw you off.  It is a tossup.  As I have been in many e-mail battles with these Titans of Trash, I say most are really just low class, low end scum that emerged from the shallow end of the gene pool.  Others use the Amos & Andy routine to make you think you may have some dumb hick here selling off a treasure that has no clue what it is.  In either case, bad grammar and a lot of misspelled words equals RED FLAGS!!!!! 
7. ALWAYS SCAN THE CATEGORY   When you look at an auction, be sure you note the category the seller has it listed in.  I have seen fake Confederate flag auctions that claimed the flag was real, antique, etc...listed in the REENACTMENT/REPRO section.  This is a CYA, and it keeps e-bay from getting them for mislisting an item.  It is amazing, but most folks never look at the categories, and miss this tip.
8. I FOUND IT IN A BARN..   This is my favorite.  Items found in barns, period houses, under outhouses, in attics, the whole gammet.  To be fair, years and years back this did happen on occasion.  Nowadays...VERY few and far between.  Most fakers use stories like this, or they "Got it at an estate sale."  Forget the story, and focus on the item.  Is it real?  That is the only question.  Where it was found comes later.

In the end, you are responsible for what you bid on.  The fakers don't twist your arm, and don't hypnotize you through your computer screen.  You have to keep it in perspective.  You always need to have a set price in mind that you are willing to pay for an item, and DO NOT bid over that amount no matter how bad you get the "I Wants."  There is no relic you can't live without, and getting into a bidding war makes you the loser everytime, especially for the fakers who will use shill bidders to run that price through the roof if you take the bait.  Some other things to remember when buying relics.  There are hundreds of legitimate dealers on the internet.  There is countless sites containing information on fake items.  Use these recources.  You have to educate yourself.  When you are getting ready to bid on an e-bay auction, e-mail the seller and find out where they got the item, and what provenance they have with it.  If they get vague, or refuse to divulge the information, don't bid.  I usually list the dealers I buy from in the auctions, and I provide a written guarantee and certificate of authenticity with any item I sell.  Demand that from sellers.  Demand a written guarantee that an item is real, and that any story they tell you about it being at Gettysburg, Antietam, Appomattox, Lee's living room, etc.. are true.  You'll be surprised how fast many will back-pedal and admit they can't prove it.  They say it to make the item more appealing.  In Civil War relics, it is always Antietam and Gettysburg that sellers use in their stories.  I can care less where an item is from, I just want a real item.  I know all item histories are relative.  In the end, just use your common sense.  Do your research, and keep a hand on your wallet.  Watch out for misleading guides on e-bay as well.  There are many of the fakers that have written "guides" to try to justify their crimes.  They tend to be written poorly, and remind me of the typical fake item description; short and full of BS.  I stand behind my guides, and am supported by all legitimate relic dealers and collectors in the country in this guide writing effort.  Remember, get as much in writing as you can, and Google "Fake Civil War Relics" and use the resources available.