.. PRICE GUIDE WARS .. THE TRUE STORY
- In 1985 Alan Carter introduced and published Australia's first Antiques and Collectables Price Guide and called it Carter's.
- Between 1985 and 2003 the Carter Family produced 19 further annual Price Guides, plus numerous other books and hundreds of magazines.
- In September 2003 the Carter Family left the company popularly known as Carter's, due to irreconcilable differences with the then directors, and went on to publish an 816 page Price Guide called the "Authentic Alan Carter Price Guide" and also 6 other "Specialist Price Guides".
- In January 2004 (just 6 months after the Carter Family left) the Company known as Carter's was put into liquidation by the then directors due to insurmountable financial difficulties. (Nothing to do with the Carter Family)
- In June 2004 the assets of the company known as Carter's (including the name) were sold to John Furphy Pty Ltd and an entirely new company was set up using the old name.
- In December 2004 John Furphy Pty Ltd released their first ever Price Guide, using the name Carter's and illustrating in their literature the covers of all 20 Price Guides produced by the Carter Family between 1985 and 2004, whilst making the claim that the new company is the "Original Carter's"
- The truth is that John Furphy Pty Ltd had absolutely no connection whatsoever with the ownership or production of any Carter's products prior to June 2004. The new company using the name Carter's has to date released just 4 Price Guides, not 24.
- It's easy to distinguish between the Authentic Alan Carter Price Guides and the Furphy Carter's. All Alan Carter's Price Guides have images of Alan on the cover and all have the handmade, free flowing layouts that the buyers prefer.*
*Results of a random national survey of Price Guide buyers.