I created this guide to help potential customers avoid some of the issues that I have run into, on on a daily basis, when attempting to purchase art. As always, it's buyer beware. Kudo's to EBAY for allowing us to help protect ourselves.

No matter what it is that you are about to purchase, there are only two things that stand between you and a successful transaction. The first is you; the other is the seller. In a perfect world, every seller on EBAY would be completely honest and forthcoming about the items they are listing. Heck, they would even be well informed about the items origin, condition, creation, value, availability and what not. However, the world isn't perfect and there are those who will gladly take your money without a care as to whether or not you get the item you bid on, much less any item at all. From listings that are so vague that they tell you nothing, to listings that have so much detail that you miss the fact they too, have told you nothing. No, it's not all doom and gloom and I'm happy to report that there are many fine and reputable dealers operating on EBAY. The trick is to find those dealers and make your purchases from them.

RULE #1 : USE YOUR BRAIN

By using the gray matter inside your skull, you can make informed choices about the purchases that you are considering. Research both the item/s that you are thinking of purchasing and the seller that you are thinking of purchasing them from. Do not be afraid to ask the seller pointed/direct questions. Any reputable seller should welcome your questions, as it implies that you are a potential customer who is interested in making a purchase from them. Beware of any seller that gives you vague answers to your questions, or even worse, makes it sound like answering them is an imposition.

RULE #2 : DO YOUR RESEARCH

Know what you want, then do your research. If you are interested in collecting art, make sure and purchase an Identification/Buyers guide for the art you intend to collect, then read it. Many artists have guides dedicated to them, other guides are generic and include many artists, but not all of their creations. Know the name of the item, when it was created, in what quantities, formats, sizes and in what mediums. Read the sellers description and compare it to what you know. Does it match? Are there discrepancies? Make notes and contact the seller with your questions. When in doubt, do additional research. This is the age of the internet, utilize it. The library is another under utilized source of information. Don't be afraid to enter one and ask questions that begin with, "Where can I find..." Know the terms that relate to the type of art you are collectiong and then realize that many sellers are more than willing to bend, fold and even mutilate those terms to their advantage. Take nothing for granted.

RULE 3 : WHEN IN DOUBT...DON"T

If you have any doubts about your purchase, then don't buy the item. Believe in yourself. If the sellers description seemed to vague, or too descriptive, and has left you feeling wary, don't buy. If the seller hasn't answered your questions directly and completely, don't buy. If the price is too good to be true, don't buy. Thousand dollar items, rarely sell for a buck. It's not that it can't happen, but the odds of it happening are about the same as winning a Vegas jackpot.

Okay, we're done with the basic rules thing. If you don't care whether the item you are purchasing is a reproduction; then you'll be a happy camper, as many items are now being reproduced both legally, and illegally, in droves. Buy away, but make sure the seller is reputable. Check the sellers EBAY rating and not just the percentage. They could have a one hundred percent satisfactory rating with only one sale, which could have been entered by their friend/cousin. Read the negative ratings. If you see negative ratings that list lack of communications as a problem, beware. This doesn't mean that the person is a bad seller, but if a problem does occur, you want to be doing business with someone who cares enough about the customer to respond to them.

ORIGINAL -  used to refer to an item that was originally painted/sculpted/welded (you get the idea) with the artists own hands. That term has now been expanded to mean both the original items and any reproduction from the same year/era. IE..if the painting was created by the artist in 1918 and then reproductions were made the same year to sell to the public, then those were considered to be originals. It comes down to knowing what you want and making sure you get it. If you want the original oil, as opposed to the lithograph of the original, then you must do the legwork.

REPRODUCTIONS - Keeping in mind that most of what we buy are reproductions of some type, one must really understand what type of reproduction is being offered by the seller. Many items have been reproduced a number of times, for instance, calendars. A 1923 calendar might be reproduced as a keepsake. A print might be         re-released to celebrate an anniversary, or to be inserted into a new portfolio. The type of reproduction can have a significant effect to it's over all value. Keeping in mind that we are now referring to items reproduced much later than the year that the original was created. Modern reproductions fall into fairly simple categories. Limited reproductions are usually those authorized by the artist/publisher who is in charge of them. They are usually printed in limited amounts and offered to the public every ten to twenty years. So, a certain print could be created and reproduced in 1920, then reproduced again in 1950, 1970, etc... Many modern reproductions are printed on demand. IE... the item is sitting on someones computer until it is ordered, at which point the seller puts a piece of canvas/paper in the printer and runs it through creating a brand new reproduction using archival canvas and ink. This can be printed any number of times with no restrictions. You get a great piece of art that has loads of aesthetic value, but little monetary.

A gray area, that is heavily mined by many sellers, is the removal of the artists images from old magazines and books. These items are then framed and advertised as original prints. I disagree with this description and feel that any reputable seller should be honest about where the image came from.  This is where knowing what size your art was distributed in, can be helpful. Some sellers will tell you that this original print was created in 1923 (it was), but the item listed came from the 1925 Ladies Home Journal or was cut out of the Arabian Nights book. The art from these books and magazines is rarely the same size as the actual print. Don't forget this either, many of the books, such as the Arabian nights, have more than one printing. One book was printed in 1918 and the next in 1935. Some would call the images from either book, original prints and yet, they are truly not prints at all. I am not saying that they are not collectible, just that they are not prints in the strictest sense.

In the end, each of us is responsible for what we buy, who we buy it from  and what kind of experience we have. EBAY provides us with all sorts of free guides and tools to help us understand how it all works. Please be sure to read them. My guide is not universally correct and I may have missed something that another guide may cover. The better informed you are, the better prepared you'll be. (Hmm...that sounded a bit on the Yoda-ish side) Don't forget to read EBAY's policies and warnings. Don't ever complete a sale outside of EBAY and...um...oh yeah...don't forget to come in out of the rain. They tell me that's real important. I hope that my guide has helped you in some way. Maybe you finally got to sleep after two weeks of insomnia or, perhaps, you actually avoided buying a paper mache Remmington. Either way, I'm happy. Good hunting!