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PROFESSIONAL SHOW MANAGERS GROUP TAKES ANTIQUES FRAUD CASE TO FTC

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BLOOMFIELD, CONN. — There is a growing wave of fraudulent “antiques” flooding the market today, and the Professional Show Managers Association (PSMA) is taking its case to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to stem the tide.

“Any form of fraud in the antiques market hurts consumers and hurts legitimate antique dealers,” says Nancy Johnson, president of PSMA and Collectors Extravaganza. “Over the past few years there has been an alarming growth in the mass production of foreign and fake merchandise entering the antiques and collectibles market at all levels.”

Johnson said that the PSMA is asking the FTC to become involved because the industry does not appear able to regulate the flow of fakes.

“We need an expeditious manner through which consumers, who have been the victim of fraud through the misrepresentation of an antique and/or collectible purchase, can register their complaint,” Johnson said. “Consumers can register their concerns in a number of areas, but not for our industry.”

PSMA supports all efforts at the local, state and federal level to preserve and protect the integrity and historical significance of the antique heritage. PMSA, along with other collector organizations, has undertaken an effort to create a straightforward means by which consumers can register their concerns. The organization is requesting that the Federal Trade Commission create a category for “Antiques and Collectibles” on the FTC website.

Requests to add such a category to the FTC website should be addressed to Jeanne Bumpus, Director, Office of Congressional Relations, Federal Trade Commission. Her e-mail is Jbumpus@ftc.gov; phone, 203-326-2946.

Those who love antiques tend to romanticize them, but the PSMA acknowledges that any transaction between seller and buyer, from antiques to electronics, is a serious consumer issue and must be treated as such under all appropriate laws.

To contact the PSMA, call 800-243-3977.

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