Nobody seems to know the difference between a screen-used prop and a replica

Honestly, it drives me nuts seeing people on eBay list a mass-produced resin cast as a 'screen-used' item from a movie like Avengers. I've been hunting props for about 4 years now, and I learned the hard way after spending $200 on a 'hero prop' knife that turned out to be a cheap knockoff made in someone's garage. The key giveaway is that real props have wear and tear from the shoot, like tape residue or paint chips, not perfect factory edges. I follow a guy in Burbank who runs a prop auction house, and he told me that authentic pieces always come with a certificate from the studio or a photo match. Last month, I saw a guy claim his Star Wars blaster was from The Force Awakens, but the weathering pattern was wrong and it had zero wear on the grip. It's like people don't even look at reference shots before they list stuff. Has anyone else here had luck getting a refund for a fake prop, or do you just eat the loss?

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henryreed8d ago

A buddy of mine out in Portland bought a "screen-used" police badge from a Batman movie for about $350. He was pretty excited until he held it up next to a still from the film and the font was totally different. The seller gave him the runaround for weeks, said he didn't do returns because it was a "collector's item." My friend finally filed a dispute with PayPal and attached screenshots showing the font didn't match any known prop from the movie. It took about a month, but PayPal ruled in his favor and he got his money back. The seller left him a nasty review on some forum afterward, but he didn't care. That experience made him way more careful about who he buys from, and now he only deals with guys who post detailed photos of the wear patterns.