Is it what it is?

I was having a difficult time thinking about what to say this evening, but a casual browsing of the Internet gave me a topic: items on websites where the description is purposely written to embellish or confuse the attribution of an item in order to enhance it's saleability.

Take for example the item I spotted today on a popular website by a dealer whose pieces and prices tell me they have a more than casual encounter with the items they sell, and based on their "about us" page are knowledgeable about their chosen inventory. The item in question was a piece of glass, a vase to be specific, that was clearly marked with the label of the manufacturer visible in the photographs, but the dealer chose to skim over that fact with a quick mention of the label and repeatedly point out how much the piece looked like another more well known (and expensive) manufacturer in technique and quality; even going so far as to ask collectors of the more well known manufacturers glass to write to him to "clear up the confusion".

The only confusion in this case is why is this knowledgeable dealer confused? The piece is clearly labeled with the foil label of the manufacturer right on the side of the vase. This is clearly a case of the dealer forcing the confusion in order to justify a higher price on the particular item, which may work with a neophyte collector, but only goes to lessen the respect this knowledgeable dealer has with seasoned collectors, and may well backfire on him. The piece in question and pieces by the true manufacturer are desireable and collected in their own right by many, so why the need to confuse. This, by the way, was not the only piece I've found with a "confused" attribution, I've seen others that fit this situation very closely, with the only reason being to increase the saleability.

Collectors, both seasoned and neophyte, rely on dealers for their guidance and knowledge in the collecting field; and a dealers best customer is a knowledgeable collector.  By confusing the already overwhelmed neophyte,  or alienating the seasoned collector, such tactics will only serve to leave the dealer with no one to which to sell.