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IQALUIT - When Ian Hobbs and his mother purchased a ring for $50 on her recent visit to Iqaluit, the pair thought they were getting a real deal on a beautiful piece of local art.

"A gentleman approached the table offering a ring he said he'd made ... he told us a story about how his father had given him the stones, and my mother was quite taken by it," Hobbs said.

Artist Heather Kayotak shows off one of the business cards she provides to customers who buy her work. Kayotak and some of her fellow students believe cards like these, or even picture IDs, would help buyers differentiate between cheap souvenir knock-offs and the authentic work they produce. - Karen Mackenzie/NNSL photo

It turned out they were being taken for a different kind of ride - the ring was a cheap souvenir item available at a local retailer's for a few bucks.

"It was a hard-learned lesson but there's a story behind it so at least we'll get our value in telling it," Hobbs concluded with a laugh.

The issue is serious for the true local artists, however, who sometimes find their own work questioned by customers who have been burned in the past.

Heather Kayotak, a second-year jewelry-making student at the Nunavut Arctic College, said she has prepared business cards to include with each sale, identifying herself and her skilled work as the genuine item.

"Each time I sell a carving, I give them a card. I think it helps," she said.

Fellow student Ooleesie Alivaktuk said she is in the same habit but thinks it could even be taken a step further.

"We might be better off selling our own jewellery with a card, or even a picture ID, proving it's real," she said, adding some of her own friends and family have encountered fake pieces being sold around town.

The problem of people pawning off the mass-produced cheap items has gotten worse in recent years, according to Claire Kennedy.

Kennedy owns DJ Sensations, which sells art as well as the souvenir pieces.

"Five, six years ago it was just the odd piece that came through. The last year it's exploded and we're noticing it all the time," she said.

Kennedy and her staff have started refusing to sell certain items, like the ring that was sold to Hobbs, to customers who they suspect are reselling.

"If we notice someone coming in for the same item repeatedly, we'll ask questions. Sometimes they'll even admit what they're doing," she said. "I don't need their money bad enough to have them destroy something for someone else, like the legitimate artists."

The Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre routinely offers advice to tourists and even locals looking to buy Inuit art while in the city, according to manager Martine Dupont.

"If it's their first time ever looking for Inuit art, we tell them to look around at what's available, go to the museum. It's a great place to go because they're a non-profit and it will give a good overview of what's available and at what prices," she said. "We also recommend if they're buying from people to check the bottom of the work - most should be signed - and ask questions."

Brian Lunger, manager of the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, said he wishes the cheap souvenir pieces weren't available anywhere in town in the first place.

"Not when you can find fairly inexpensive local pieces quite easily," he said.

While he hasn't encountered the scam art himself, he does caution buyers to check for signatures and look closely at any piece they are interested in buying.