It must have been a good line of return initially - the whole idea of buying antiques online, and therefore getting a great deal because of all the costs eliminated from the equation. These could have included cutting out the middleman, no shop renting space, no percentage to stall owner, no fee to Christies, etc. But fakes and reproductions were definitely slipped into the mix, and these artificially deflated the price in the mind of collectors who were uninformed.
Perhaps the problem is at least partly the lack of knowledge of collectors today. People are depending on things like price comparisons rather than expert knowledge, and they seem to see sometimes no difference between something that's genuinely 300-400 years old and a modern reproduction, even when the reproduction is quite obviously a reproduction. Not only that, but antiques are not always of good quality. One item that's 300-400 years old may not be worth as much as another item that's 300-400 years old - there are considerations such as the maker or designer, goldsmith/silversmith/craftsman, school of design, quality of the materials used, workmanship, chronological period, period of the maker (sometimes a particular period or style in a designer's career are more highly prized than others), rarity of the object, and a whole host of other considerations.
It would be wonderful to have resources available for genuine collectors and sellers of genuine items, wouldn't it? *wistful expression* Something to help sellers describe their items correctly...? Something to educate the potential buyers?
Ah well. In the meantime, genuine antiques of value and beauty might sell for a ridiculously small amount, or they might fetch more than their value, in online auctions. Fakes might sell for around the same prices as the genuine items, or they might go for 99 cents with high postage. It's all a bit jumbled up and very confusing, and collectors probably need to be aware of export and antique laws for certain countries.
