Of all the groups in the history of rock and roll, the Beatles were, - and still are - without any doubt the most exploited when it came to marketing and merchandising. In 1964, NEMS LTD. was formed; the acronym for "North End Music Stores". In the United States, the products were marked SELTAEB, which means Beatles spelled backwards. Nowadays, Apple Corps handles the rights for all the licensing and merchandising of Beatles products.

Nearly every product imaginable has been made depicting the likeliness of the Beatles. It would be nearly impossible for anyone to assemble a complete collection of every single Beatles collectible produced – there are simply too much of them worldwide!

As it is the case with what is highly collectible and desirable, some of the merchandise were copied outright from ruthless manufacturers eager on making a fast buck.

What you should keep in mind is that you should always question yourself on the provenance of each item that is offered to you. When someone says that a particular item is rare, think twice : the item could be genuine, a reproduction or a counterfeit. The common phrase "warehouse find" is also highly used : again, it could be the real McCoy or an item made after the 60’s and passed off as such!

Every serious collector should have in his/her possession one of the Guide Books that were written by the renowned Beatles experts. These persons have the knowledge, the experience and the means to spot an original from a fake. Without their invaluable help, this site would not have seen the light of day - so to speak! I thank them all again: Jeff, Mitch, Marty, Rick, Steve and Perry.

Nevertheless, everyone can make mistakes – even the experts. And if you absolutely want something that you fancy and the price is reasonable, go ahead and make your day. Who knows, even a fake could someday fetch up a high price!

What I’m doing here is listing the stuff that I know are reproductions and counterfeits so the collector will have an approximate idea of what is what and get his/her money’s worth. I’ve been a collector for more than 20 years and I had my share of fakes and reproductions. This site is not intended to be without any mistakes; it is possible that a mistake may have slipped. As a matter of fact, I can not be liable for any loss that such a mistake may have had on any collector’s part. Nonetheless, I would appreciate that if such an error is detected, you should contact me at once so I could correct it right away!                                          
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