Why Produce Facsimile/Reproduction Covers?

Anyone remember seeing these (circa 1975)?

Even though it's obviously a fake, and is clearly marked a facsimile/reproduction, to this day, I still can't understand why a company specializing in covers would want to produce such a thing.

I suppose if you wanted it to look like you had a nice cover collection, you could fill your holes with these. Hardly seems worth it though.

wow what a ripoff.. I could print my own all day long.

Why? Why to sell, of course. Print some up, pair them with a binder in rich, Corinthian pleather, and start taking out ads in the Saturday Evening Post. "And about every other month, we'll send you another actual-size reproduction of another rare FDC." Then, just watch for the checks to start rolling in.

Sad. How many times, and in how many different ways, has the public been duped into "investing" in the hobby of kings?

ripoff artist #1 Postal Commemorative Society.

how many of those 22kt Gold clad FDC's did they get people to buy... sheesh what a ripoff

Don't sugarcoat it, 'V...what do you really think about them...?

I would agree that a company such as Fleetwood should not be messing around with making reproductions. It would only serve to hurt their well-crafted image.

That being said, the original cover is a premium item (>$100). Just as with stamps, there are collector who don't mind paying a much smaller sum for a well-done reproduction. Also, remember, that reproduction was made in the 1970s, when it would NOT have been as easy as today for the average person to make such a reproduction.

Cjd..
I have a friend, who has been out of work for almost a year.. the other day I was at his house, started talking about stamps and he pulls out this 5 inch thick binder full of covers from the PCS. 76 covers.. 3 on a page.. still 5 inches thick..he asked me to sell it for him, he thinks it is worth a lot of money because it has gold stamps...I told him, he will get next to nothing for it..
a FDC is a FDC, doesn't really matter if there is a 22kt clad facsimile of the stamp... they sold it on the "gold" value. but there is no gold value. They just suckered a lot of people.

SV, You never read the fine print from The Postal Commemorative Society. It clearly states in Micro Printing that you need their special Electron Microscope to read. You first need to Entomb them for 2-3000years and then sell them to recoup what you spent on them. Or you can wait 3-4000years to make a profit.

After all it is clearly stated!

rev.. no I guess I never have, but then again I never bought any...

Well, if it makes anybody feel better, I suckered them. They used to send out offers for free samples (postage paid reply card). I picked up about half a dozen over the decades, including several dozen "normal" FDCs and a free super-size binder. They kept sending me free offers, I kept accepting. Didn't cost me a cent to decline. Everything was absolutely free. How's that for customer service?

kim.. I do believe I got one once.. let me find it..