You know I have been collecting antique fruit jars for some time now. I like them because of their age, colors, different closures and the pursuit of find a rare one just around the corner. In the past 30 years or so I have met a large number of really wonderful people in the bottle/jar collecting hobby.

So what is the beef you ask? I have a big hang-up with frauds. People who knowingly sell new fruit jars as old ones. These folks are crooks! Let me make no mistake of it...these individual are taking at least some of the fun out of our hobby by stealing our hard earned money through deception.

How can you tell? There are a few good reference books in the fruit jar trade. I happen to use Doug Leybourne's Red Book#10. However other guides are helpful too. In the back pages of the Red Book are listed many of the common reproductions jars with colors and base numbers to look out for.

What I am doing as are several of my jar friends we are writing the sellers on Ebay of these suspect jars to correct their descriptions to mention that their jars are new. I am not opposed to people selling the jars, just trying to pass off modern as old and getting paid a premium. You will find that all reputable individuals will say they are sorry and did not know and with either pull their listing or revise the description. Those that do not (and you know who you are) are the thiefs.

So please follow my lead and write to people on Ebay to clean up their description. Lets police our own hobby. Kick the bums to the curb where they belong.