What's worse, the reproductions keep getting better. Now the markings are being copied exactly, and the quality of the artwork on some of the reproductions is better, forcing collectors to rely on other clues such as weight and thickness to determine whether an item is genuine. Some facsimiles mirror authentic items precisely because they are made from the original molds, many of which were sold by the companies that first made the objects. For example, original molds are being used today to duplicate Cambridge crystal. Although experts like Puckett can detect reproductions and steer clear of them, the presence of so many cheap look-alikes is hurting collectors anyway.
People get scared.
They don't want to put their money where it's not going to retain its value. How these reproductions end up in antique shops is no mystery. Burkholder says that a true collector can distinguish between, say, his Roseville copies and real Roseville. Federal law requires that all objects imported into the United States show the country of origin. And that's the way the wholesalers sell them.