Juliens auction - Harry Potter Hero letter for sale, be careful! (Update:item was now removed from auction!)

[eethan]

Hi there,
Following lmgill thread on the possibly fake Batman coin on that auction, I have worried as I have already bought from this company in the past and wanted to check a bit,
I know the Harry Potter letters extremely well as I have researched them painfully for my replica a few years back, going very deep down the rabbit hole regarding the paper, wax, details. Not only this, but there are over 10 original letters sold by Propstore all sharing correct details matching the ones seen in the movie.

This one is a good replica, sorry, not as good as ours , but not an original!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) Hero Wax Seal Hogwarts Acceptance Envelope Prop

www.juliensauctions.com

THe paper is wrong, it is less defined than the original, it has those pinkish blurry spots that are weird too.
The address looks to be a very well made hand written one with ink, the ink is the incorect color, and the original are printed, except for the one seen in close up and that has different details. There are missing comas, the font is slightly different in places.
The easiest to spot error is the back logo, it is less defined, like the ink smudged a bit while printing, and most of all, it says titillandUs instead of titillandOs, this is a common mistake on replicas, even minalima has it on her letter

I am positive this is a fake, please understand I have researched that prop very very extensively, and there are lots of photos to compare with now, so it's easy to spot the mistakes. Please exert caution when buying from that auction, it seems there are some issues.
In general with prop auction houses, ALWAYS do your own research work, there are always fake around, and most of the time they only trust the provenance, without researching the prop itself.

let's watch out for each other in the community, if you spot another fake, please repport it so everyone is aware.

I have sent them an email to see what they will say about it and if they can possibly take it down.

 

[Tommy]

It does feel like there's been a general uptick the past few years in vendors placing their full weight on (usually undisclosed) provenance as a crutch to substitute for research that their teams are either too time-constrained or too out-of-their-depth to perform.

EDIT: Never mind the rest; I see that both threads got moved.
BTW, do you know if there's a consensus on whether threads like this should go under the Replica Props section vs. Screen Used Costumes and Props? My inclination is to post alerts about dubious claims under Screen Used because that's where original memorabilia collectors would be more likely to frequent (at least speaking from my browsing habits).

 

[eethan]

It does feel like there's been a general uptick the past few years in vendors placing their full weight on (usually undisclosed) provenance as a crutch to substitute for research that their teams are either too time-constrained or too out-of-their-depth to perform.

EDIT: Never mind the rest; I see that both threads got moved.
BTW, do you know if there's a consensus on whether threads like this should go under the Replica Props section vs. Screen Used Costumes and Props? My inclination is to post alerts about dubious claims under Screen Used because that's where original memorabilia collectors would be more likely to frequent (at least speaking from my browsing habits).

I completely agree with you! I would go even further and say that it looks like provenance is the most important/only thing important for auction housses right now, but that sadly, they don't even share it! I think when you buy something that expensive, provenance and research made to prove authenticity should always be mentioned in the description directly!

Regarding posting in the replica forum or screen used, I posted in the replica forum by habit and because the other thread about that auction was there as well, and I think there is more traffic there to warn people. However it has been moved now to the screen used section, that despite being less visible, is the right place for it I assume.
Cheers

 

[laellee]

I follow the original prop groups on FB, and I would say that almost half the posts these days involve fakes being auctioned, and the house either ignoring the information or pulling the item but never explaining ANYTHING. If they're going to take 25%+ off the top to sell the stuff, they need to start acting like they care (maybe they don't) that they are pushing fakes. Sounds like a lot of houses aren't even taking commission items in anymore unless they can make a SIGNIFICANT chunk of change off of the sale.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Concerning they are getting so lax about this.

 

[laellee]

I am by no means volunteering to kick it off, but what about a 'Hey is this fake?' thread on the RPF? That's work on auction stuff, thrift store finds, whatever. I would say absolutely, if one thread could be used instead of maybe a dozen threads at any given time. Just a thought anyways.

 

[eethan]

I am by no means volunteering to kick it off, but what about a 'Hey is this fake?' thread on the RPF? That's work on auction stuff, thrift store finds, whatever. I would say absolutely, if one thread could be used instead of maybe a dozen threads at any given time. Just a thought anyways.

yeah why not, but there is a lot of money involved, I would like people to see the title if they are interested in that particular item, instead of having to go check a general thread and see if their interest is listed there. It's difficult!

Annoying that I didn't yet receive an answer from Julien's. I however received their advertisement for their next auction, which was a bit ironic considering the "Why us? Expert Evaluations, Original Content"...

 

[laellee]

yeah why not, but there is a lot of money involved, I would like people to see the title if they are interested in that particular item, instead of having to go check a general thread and see if their interest is listed there. It's difficult!

Annoying that I didn't yet receive an answer from Julien's. I however received their advertisement for their next auction, which was a bit ironic considering the "Why us? Expert Evaluations, Original Content"...

Yeah that's what's annoying. And again, I'm not saying that major auction houses don't have a lot of overhead in catalogs, listings, running the auctions, etc, but the customer service aspect is also a JOKE with some interactions. As long as I'm bitching lol, also auction houses should be able to give a realistic shipping estimate pre-sale to bidders. I don't expect it to be spot-on, but when I win a $300 item that would fit in a shoebox, then pay tax and auction fees to put me over $400, there is ZERO excuse for me to be hit with a $140 S+H fee on top of that for bubble wrap and not much else. NO THANK YOU.

 

[eethan]

Yeah that's what's annoying. And again, I'm not saying that major auction houses don't have a lot of overhead in catalogs, listings, running the auctions, etc, but the customer service aspect is also a JOKE with some interactions. As long as I'm bitching lol, also auction houses should be able to give a realistic shipping estimate pre-sale to bidders. I don't expect it to be spot-on, but when I win a $300 item that would fit in a shoebox, then pay tax and auction fees to put me over $400, there is ZERO excuse for me to be hit with a $140 S+H fee on top of that for bubble wrap and not much else. NO THANK YOU.

ahah, and you are in the US, try to imagine what it's like for me in Europe! I got quoted 1600$ on Propstore current auction for something that is not that big or heavy, I was expecting 200-300$ maybe, but 1600!

 

[Too Much Garlic]

That's FEDEX charges. We've suffered from those insane prices for years. Especially if the item has to be insured.

 

[eethan]

Update:
They just answered my email and removed the sale, win

 

[eethan]

I think it's possible this was simply a MinaLima replica. So pretty expensive for sure, but not an original. Also without any packaging, and with a damaged seal. It's hard to say for certain because it's difficult to find photos of actual MinaLima replicas out there, however, the more centered spacing of the address, the nice handwritten address, the error on the back stamp (titillandUs) point to the MinaLima replica. The only thing is, there are photos on her website where the dots and comas are correct, but you can already see in the video where she writtes one live that she forgets to put the dots and comas, so maybe that is a letter from her with those dots and comas forgotten, broken seal and no collectible packaging.
Anyways, it's good that this is removed as it was really not it was claiming to be.

Now, the thing is, they should address this kind of things, and like we discussed above, there should be more explainations on prevenance and research, because personally, I have lost all faith in that company. Yes, they did the right thing after I pointed out that this was not an original, however, it was pointed at least another item was probably a fake, and who knows how many other items are questionable? I'm very well researched on the HP letters, but for things that I know less, what tells me those aren't fakes as well? too bad! Like I said before, we should always do out own research, but sometimes, it can be difficult to find infos, so that is where we trust those auction houses to do a good research and to prove the legitimacy of each item! There is a lot of money involved with those "original movie props", and I'm sure a lot of us can't spend that much on things that are not proven original or with that much uncertainty concerning certain companies.