In a fanfare of publicity, ebay announced on their website that they were against the sale of fake handbags. ( After beings fined £30 Million in court for selling them in the first instance ) But good old ebay have overlooked the fact that their next big money spinner, the sale of fake paintings, continues to fill their coffers with ill gotten gains.

The writer of this guide will definately not be buying any painting on ebay unless the seller can prove beyond any doubt that the said painting was genuine.

A friend of mine purchased a painting on ebay that was described as being a mid Victorian oil painting on board. ( The seller lisedd, who recently changed her seller identity ( 7th July 2008 ) to ptolemybryon, in an attempt to avoid unwelcome attention for operating the scam. ) The over painted print was chemically treated to disguise its true worth with a dark tar like substance which artifically darkened the image and thus gave the appearence that the " painting " needed cleaned. The " grateful " buyer would then leave the seller positive feedback only to later discover, through an art restorer, that he had been taken for an ride.

Where would any low life scammer purchase such a useful substance to chemically disguise a paintings true worth ? Well look no further than the ebay website and search under the paintings for sale section ! A seller states, " Turn that wrack into a newly discovered oil painting " and also proclaims, " A lifetime of both satisfaction and profit " Officially sanctioned by good old ebay ( In my opinion ) in their offical capacity as the nations leading seller of FAKES.

The sale of fake Irish paintings is a major source of profit for both ebay and the forger alike. Many paintings originate from art schools in both England and Ireland. Many of these paintings sell in excess of many thousands of pounds on ebay every month. There seems to be a never ending stream of willing buyers foolish enough to gamble their money on such wothless works of art.

To be continued.....