____twoism

747Music wrote:I'm not getting the best vibes from the online BoC community lately. Apologies.

I know what you mean really. I think that there are a lot more people aware of BoC and their sometimes obsessively devout fanbase online these days. As a result, it is pretty inevitable that people would seek to take advantage of that.

Also, it is weird as anything that this person is selling multiple Geogaddiscopes. There were a limited number made. Unless this person is just buying them up at lower prices, knowing that they can be sold on for significantly more (in which case he kind of is taking advantage of the BoC community in a way), there is something rather fishy about the situation.

I wonder, other than the design, is there any way of validating them as real? Any kind of tell-tale sign that these could be fakes?

Valotonin wrote:I wonder, other than the design, is there any way of validating them as real? Any kind of tell-tale sign that these could be fakes?

There was that thread here awhile ago about a user who had a leaking kaleidoscope, they got in touch with the company that manufactured the original ones and was apparently able to send it to them to be fixed. The process involved removing the inner print designs and putting them in a new housing. While it seems like an unlikely effort, someone could be ordering or making their own versions of these kaleidoscopes now that the manufacturers are publicly known.

Nottoolate wrote:There was that thread here awhile ago about a user who had a leaking kaleidoscope, they got in touch with the company that manufactured the original ones and was apparently able to send it to them to be fixed. The process involved removing the inner print designs and putting them in a new housing. While it seems like an unlikely effort, someone could be ordering or making their own versions of these kaleidoscopes now that the manufacturers are publicly known.

Ah, good spot. I do remember that thread and the company basically offered to make them a replica iirc. I don't see why someone posing as an innocent collector wouldn't have been able to get away with ordering a batch with "custom prints" (replicas of the original geogaddi prints) inside. I think the only telltale sign would be evidence of scanning/copying on the prints. If there is any indication of pixelation or less defined edges, one could say that it is likely a copy.

Not prepared to part with a small fortune to prove they are fakes, though. Plus I am not all that sure that they are, it could just have been someone buying them up and selling them on at inflated prices as mentioned before.

Do you think it is worth dropping the company a message to see if they have had orders for Geogaddi copies outside of the person that needed theirs repaired? I can provide them with a bit of context so they know where I am coming from.

I had asked him how much he's selling them for. He replied saying 300 euro and he still has others left for sale. I sent a reply asking how it is he's selling multiple kaleidoscopes. He has not responded at all. That was a week ago.

747Music wrote:I had asked him how much he's selling them for. He replied saying 300 euro and he still has others left for sale. I sent a reply asking how it is he's selling multiple kaleidoscopes. He has not responded at all. That was a week ago.

Okay, definitely dropping a (very politely worded) message to the manufacturer. Hoping it is the one I have here in my browsing history from a while ago. It is strange that you had no reply whatsoever after that as if they had realised what the implication was and decided to go silent, but I won't jump to conclusions or make any accusations until we can gather some more information. I was in the market for a Geogaddi Kaleidoscope recently, but with all of this business, I can't be sure in buying one at the moment.

I will keep everyone updated as to what I hear and if they have been getting and/or fulfilled a number of requests for copies or close-replicas of the Geogaddi Kaleidoscopes* I will contact a moderator on here or maybe Fred-e so they can put a message out to advise people to be cautious in buying them in future.

*I wouldn't and one shouldn't hold the business responsible, if our suspicions turn out to be true, it is clearly the case of someone taking advantage of them by posing as a collector/enthusiast

What I personally find a little bizarre is that we like BOC for their music and yet some are willing to spend hundreds of pounds on a child's toy because their name is on it.

At the end of the day it is a kaleidoscope. Buy one from Amazon for £3 and let that sit on a shelf, barely touched instead!

Peacock Tail wrote:What I personally find a little bizarre is that we like BOC for their music and yet some are willing to spend hundreds of pounds on a child's toy because their name is on it.

At the end of the day it is a kaleidoscope. Buy one from Amazon for £3 and let that sit on a shelf, barely touched instead!

That's just anything that is a collectors item, though. Pay hundreds for a large piece of poster paper, thousands for a chunk of engraved vinyl, millions for a cloth canvas with oil paint on it. You can buy any poster for a couple bucks, or vinyl for 25 pennies at a thrift shop, etc...

It still remains that this kaleidoscope is a limited piece of band history. I suppose it's biggest benefit is that it's a great conversation piece.

...After that reflection on the kaleidoscope as a collectors item, I feel much less attached to owning it...