OAImages Blog

A hotel I worked at had posted in its back office area a list, from the local police department, of signs of potentially suspicious activity.   The list was meant to alert the hotel staff to possible illegal activities being conducted by guests in the hotel.   Many of the items were completely ordinary and normal,  but when several were found together they might indicate some nefarious activity is afoot.

Now mind you, this was a rather nice hotel and not some seedy fly-by-night operation.     However, it was on a busy interstate highway and drug trafficking was a concern. The local police requested the desk staff notify them if illegal activity was suspected.

With fakes, overruns, private issues and other items of dubious authenticity becoming common on eBay, I propose a similar list for Scout patches.       No single item is enough to brand a patch unauthentic, but when taken together and combined with a healthy dose of skepticism identifying dubious items and sources can become much easier.     This list is specifically focused on identifying Order of the Arrow patches.

Here’s my proposed list:

1. The seller lists the item location as somewhere in Southeast Asia. While there is an active Scouting and collecting community in Asia,  be aware that many dubious, fake or counterfeit issues originate there.
2. Item location given as somewhere outside the United States. This is closely related to the first item.   It is a bit redundant but still worth stating.   The Order of the Arrow is specific to the BSA and its patches are collected mainly by Americans.   Even though there are large “expat” communities in many countries, it would be unusual for someone outside the US to have a quantity of OA patches for sale.
3. Patch comes from a different location than claimed in the auction desciption. Usually you won’t know about ths until after you have received the item, though sometimes buyers will comment about this in the seller’s feedback on eBay.   One seller says the items are located in Tours, France but the items are sent to the buyers from China.
4. Seller displays a poor command of the English language. Even if the item location is claimed to be within the US on the auction page this is not necessarily true.   A seller’s poor command of the English language is often obvious.   If one is familiar with how English is (badly) spoken by those in other countries, it is often easy to peg someone as a non-native speaker living in China or a  southeast Asian country.
5. Seller displays ignorance of the material through poorly written auction descriptions. The seller may use incorrect terms to describe the patch, eg. confusing CSP and OA flap.     He may stumble over lodge names, numbers, dates, or other writing on the patch.   He may also make rather odd comments about the patch.     For example, one seller of questionable material talks about sewing the item on a racing overall!
6. Item listed is a rare modern issue being sold by someone outside the lodge’s area. The rare and restricted modern issues tend not to leave their general area.     They generally  stay within the lodge, state,  or section.   Be skeptical if someone with no apparent connection to the lodge is selling this type of material.
7. Item is a recent piece that has escaped the eyes knowledgeable “catalogers”. Most collectors and contributors to various catalogs and websites are quite familiar with their own areas.     Be wary of something recent (but not brand new) that has not been documented.
8. Seller also lists a large number of police, fire, EMS service, racing or similar patches. All these patches are also collected by either members of these services or fans.   Ironically the public service and law enforcement patch hobbies are rife with Chinese made fakes     Beware if you see a seller pushing these patches along with Scout items.
9. Seller will accept only PayPal or money orders in payment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this but when combined with other items on this list, should cause a potential bidder to first engage his sense of skepticism.
10. Seller will accept only cash as payment. This should be obvious.   Beware!
11. A seller who has previously only listed low valued items suddenly offers a high-priced piece. This, too, is a general warning signal of potential fraud.     While it can happen (and does), rare material doesn’t normally pop up in the hands of a casual or low-end collector.   You could well find yourself with a fake.     Also, there is an actual  scam that has been practiced online where a seller pumps up his feedback rating with faked sales of low priced items before duping someone into paying him for a high priced item that he never will send.

Can  you think of any others?

Remember, no one item on the list should be taken as proof the seller is listing dubious items.     Many  legitimate sellers  could be erroneously  adjudged as selling fakes if this list was sufficient to brand someone.  However, combine a few of these together and mix in a knowledge of what  one collects, and one should be able to properly engage a prudent sense of skepticism when warranted.

Related Posts:

• “New” Old Lodges Added: Part 2
• Do Fakes and Overruns Help the Hobby?!
• Patchauctions.com