mcl

Most ads on the internet that are intended to snare an unwary buyer seem worded to not explicitly "lie" but merely leave spurious impressions. "came out of an old collection (define old for me--and then again, this item is new but was in an old collection if you consider most of the items)" and "owner said he had it refinished in the 60's (and as I am the owner I know I said it--even tho it is total bull)". Nothing stated here is a lie but only hints at a provenance that is not accurate. Hence, no clear fraud. I believe the fraud statutes require making false or misleading statements with the intent to defraud. A small time crook doesn't stand much chance of being taken to court.


As far as stating an opinion to someone that you think something is X instead of Y as implied by the seller, you are perfectly safe to do so. Even if you flatly state something is faked, it would be very expensive and very difficult to prove any luger part is original to a gun. No small time crook will bother suing you for that. At most, he might ask an attorney to copy a letter to all the folks questioning his description. That would cost him about $300 says my attorney and so he will probably opt to simply imply bluff threats by email or in his ads. In the balance, you have the right to free speech and if you don't lie with malicious intent to harm someone's reputation or to defraud monetarily, you need not worry. That does not apply if you make statements about rich folk, they can clobber you regardless.