Etsy Forums Follies: faux vintage reseller AttiCuties starts another self-promotional thread #etsysellsvintage

She's still at it!  AttiCuties started another self-promotional thread in the Etsy Forums today:  Adding Age in the Title -- Turn Off? Or Enticement?  The amusement factor here is that AttiCuties has been featured numerous times in my blogs for fake-dating newer collectibles that are less than 20 years old -- some pushed back 60+ years!  To see what I mean, check out my previous posts about this seller:

• February 2017 published in this blog
• April 2018 published in LDW Calls Out Fake Shaming Etsy and Its Resellers
• May 2017 also published in LDW Calls Out

Note that in today's Forums thread, a few comments mention a need to know the date of an item to find out if it is actually "vintage":  20+ years old, according to Etsy's guidelines.  

I have no idea why, but there are Vintage sellers on Etsy whose shops are almost all authentic Vintage items, but for some reason (unknown to me) they have to add in 10-25 percent newer pieces and fake date them in the listings.  Why bother?  Most of these items are small in size, and could be wrapped and stored in a single bin marked "future vintage" or something like that.  Or just sold on eBay. 

Of course, AttiCuties is still listing 21st Century items in her shop and backdating them.  Let's have a look at some of her newest fauxtiques!

This Queen of Chocolate pillow is pretending to be a "vintage" "Southwest find".  But it's not "vintage" -- it can't be any older than circa 2001, and is likely much newer.  Note the manufacturer's tag in the photo that clearly shows the letters ADI.

ADI was a supplier of homewares to institutions, according to this article from 2004 in Home Textiles Today  The article mentions that ADI moved into the home fashions business 3 years ago (2004 minus 3 = 2001) with various product lines including "decorative pillows".  Not Vintage.

Another item pretending to be "vintage" is this small ceramic plaque by Sandra Magsamen for Dept 56  Sandra did not start licensing her work until 1997, which means some items from various brands might be barely 20 years old today.  But this item is newer.  A version you can have personalized is currently being made, and sold at mega big box retailers like WAL-MART.  A knock-off is for sale on the Alibaba site.

The photo above is the only one included in the listing, which is unfortunate because the reverse side shows the designer's signature, the Dept. 56 branding info, manufacturing location, and copyright date: 2005!  Shown in this eBay listing for the same item by an honest seller who listed it as "used".

The plaque can't be Vintage until 2025.  Oops.

This RV themed 9 X 12 pillow is pretending to be "vintage" and "machine stitched in the 1990s".  Uh huh.

You can buy it wholesale from Simply Home or retail on Amazon for less than AttiCuties is asking for her used (not Vintage!) version.

This teddy bear ring bearer pillow by S. Lee Jaeger was supposedly acquired "many years ago" by a bride (see Description), but the photo showing the label on the reverse shows no copyright date.  However, it does show email and Blogger addresses which indicate the label is less than 20 years old -- if you know how old Blogger is.

The Blogger address on the label shows the pillow in a post dated February 2011 -- 7 years ago!

Fake dated back to the 1970s, this Homer Laughlin Fiesta Ware Chartreuse Mug is clearly not the original chartreuse color, nor is it the original design used for Fiesta Ware mugs.  The bottom mark, the color, the shape -- and the price! -- all show that this is a 21st Century product, not something "from the 1970s".  Pants.  On.  Fire.  

For you Fiesta fans out there, the original chartreuse was made during the 1950s.  The Fiesta made in the 1970s were the Ironstone pieces in three earthy colors popular at the time.  New chartreuse was made 1997-99, so this item might be Vintage (barely), but this mendacious seller is trying to pass it off as the original.  CAVEAT EMPTOR!

This cross pendant necklace might be Vintage, but the mendacious AttiCuties has back-dated it to the 1980s.  One look at the clasp and sellers who know Vintage jewelry can see it dates from the 1990s, at the earliest.

For jewelry artisans and manufacturers during the 1980s, lobster (as shown above) was NOT on the materials "menu".

AttiCuties claims that this Cindy Shamp pillow is 20+ years old.

But you can buy it brand new here for less than AttiCuties is asking for a used one.

In one of her listings with "1990s" at the beginning of the title, AttiCuties claims this Lillian Rose wedding ring pillow is 20+ years old.

But that looks like at date 2010 on the label in the photo above.  

AttiCuties always represents herself in the Etsy Forums as being very conscientious about researching and dating her Vintage items.  Like this New Millennium commemorative banknote from New Zealand which was issued....wait for it...in 2000.

As documented on this website with all kinds of info about New Zealand

So there you have it:  what AttiCuties means by "adding age".  

Etsy Forums Follies: AttiCuties insists that all items listed on Etsy as Vintage are 20+ years old. Even though she sells contemporary products as vintage in her own shop.

Yet another Etsy shop owner feels that the use of the keyword "vintage" in item titles is a waste of space!  Only in the Etsyverse could it be true that the best keywords to use are the ones that don't apply to your item!  Here's the Forums thread:  Does It Make Sense to use VINTAGE in a TITLE since All Items Must be Vintage to Qualify  The original post says:

Because ETSY requires items that aren't handmade to be at least 20 years old to qualify for posting on the site, does it make sense to use the word Vintage in your listings?

So many of us do but the thought occurs that it could be a wasted word since it has to be vintage.

The amusing thing about the post can't be found in the Forums topic, though:  the owner of Etsy shop AttiCuties who posted the bit quoted above sells fake vintage:  such as items you can buy right now, as I type, from a big box retailer.  Many of the items listed as "vintage" in her shop are not yet 20 years old, and some of the listings actually use images "borrowed" from the manufacturer.  Maybe she feels awkward claiming items she knows aren't actually 20+ years old are VINTAGE in her titles? 

Let's have a look at some examples, shall we?

Here's a listing for a (maybe used?) Disney Sing and Giggle Minnie made by Fisher Price pretending to be "vintage".  The photo below belongs to the manufacturer, and does not show the actual item for sale -- a huge no-no when selling "vintage".

Priced at $34.95 by AttiCuties, just 5 cents less than the price of the same item sold on Amazon brand new in box.  May be out of production since listing pages at WAL-MART, toysRus and Target say "no longer available".   40 pages of customer reviews on Amazon date as far back as 2011. 

More:  take a look at this Just Married glass ball ornament that AttiCuties dates to the 1990s.

The seller's Description for the item says "there is the Glory Halls (sic) manufacturing logo" on the piece, but it clearly says Glory Haus, a brand that dates from 2008 according their Our Story page.  Even if this ornament was one of their very first products, it's not even 10 years old as I type in 2017.

This candle lamp by Lexox is part of their Linen Closet line, and the listing's tags date it to the 1990s.

Once again, AttiCuties is being deceptive.  The Linen Closet line was discontinued less than 10 years ago and produced 2004 -- 2008.  Once again, not vintage.

Another AttiCuties item listed with a photo belonging to the manufacturer is this decor block that says "Grandparents so easy to operate even a child can do it".  The item's tags again date it to the 1990s.

Available from Houzz brand new, made by Adams and Co., a brand that was started in 2002 according to their About Us page  Anyone else starting to see a trend here?

AttiCuties came to my attention about a year ago as a major seller of contemporary Fiesta ware, all listed as "vintage" of course. 

Here is a pair of Scarlet Red salad plates produced in the 21st Century;  Scarlet was introduced in 2004.

AttiCuties makes up a color name for this green saucer which looks like it could be Shamrock, introduced in 2002. 

This Fiesta ware creamer in Sunflower is tagged as "collectible".  But Sunflower was introduced in 2001, and is still being made.  Definitely not vintage.

Once again AttiCuties creates a fake name for the color of this orange 9 inch plate using both Fiesta color names "Tangerine" and "Apricot" in the listing's title and tags.  Two very different colors, Apricot is retired, but Tangerine (the color of the plate in the listing) was introduced in 2003, and is still being made. 

AttiCutie's shop is proof that items listed on Etsy do not have to "qualify" by being 20+ years old.