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You Notice That Somebody Has Fake Autographs Displayed Proudly On Their Wall - Do You Tell Them?

You notice that somebody has a fake autograph displayed proudly on their wall, maybe picture of a current sitcom star or perhaps something from a bigger league...A signed copy of Sgt. Peppers perhaps with signatures you recognise as coming from Southern California which might represent a major financial loss for them.

Do you play it safe and say nothing? Or would you take a more proactive stance that might actually help the guy get his money back? How would you play it? Have you ever been in a similar situation?

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Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on May 1, 2016 at 8:11pm

I think it depends on the circumstance. It's a judgment call. How likely is the item going to be resold? How well do you know the person?

My lawyer proudly showed me an autographed Willie Mayes bat. I had to tell him it was junk. (I started a thread about it here).

I don't even think the bat was real. If it was, it was a second with a smugged manufacturers logo. He purchased it from a charity auction to display in his office so he wasn't going to ask for a refund. I think forgers count on that kind of thing. And it was such a terrible forgery even a novice like myself could recognize it immediately.

If it wasn't for the fact that I have known him for 15 years I may not have said anything. The item wasn't going to to be resold. It was going on his wall. And he was only out $200. That said, if I thought an item was purchased to be flipped or a substantial amount of money was spent, I would definitely say something.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on May 1, 2016 at 8:33pm

Trying to switch situations here a bit but if I owned a fake I would hope someone would alert me. The sooner I know the true the better. I'd rather get my feelings hurt than be under self deception. Maybe I am an exception to the rule. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

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Permalink Reply by wascher on May 2, 2016 at 2:19am

You would think most people would feel this way Joe, but many don't. They will target the person telling them their item is fake. I reached out to Joe Brat last year when he bought tons of fake drawings of MJ's. He plans on selling them this year for "millions". The Estate of MJ as well as MJ's art mentor and friend posted something about the items being forgeries on FB. I openly told Brett (MJ's friend) that I talked to Joe about them last year - and knew where they came from. Brett replied telling me he sent me his phone # privately as well as his email address. Joe (the buyer) saw the comment and threatened to dig up anything he can on me to come after me. Then he attacked Brett too. These are the types of folks I've personally run into. They're mad. But not mad at the forger - but at me for telling them. This I would do all over though, because this is big and this person has to be stopped. The Estate is involved too now so hopefully this bozo (the forger not the buyer) will end up in jail or at least heavily fined in some way.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on May 2, 2016 at 3:33am

wascher, I applaud you for making a stand. When money gets involved the ignorance can become intentional deception. And the truth seekers can get attacked so easily. We live in an era that separating the wheat from the chaff is becoming increasing difficult to discern.

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Permalink Reply by KarlKeaton on May 2, 2016 at 2:12pm

Me too, if it's fake it's fake and finding out would be viewed by me as a lesson to be more cautious next time. I am well aware though that so many people are actually quite open and honest about not wanting to hear unpleasant truths. It's hard for me sometimes as I can be very honest and direct by nature.

You hear so many people explaining away comments that have caused offence with "But it's the truth" In Thailand they have a proverb which translates as; "The truth is immortal but people who speak it aren't" which I think helps to illustrate one of the dangers of the "But it's the truth" rationalization.

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Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on May 3, 2016 at 11:05am

I still think there are instances when you shouldn't say anything. I had an employee years ago who's husband was a big baseball fan. She knew I was a collector so she, very proudly, told me she purchased an autographed photo of a HOF player (I don't recall who) on Ebay for something like $50 or $75. I remember thinking to myself that there was zero chance it was real, given the ridiculous low price. I wasn't going to ruin her day. I just said, "awsome, I'm sure he'll love it". I guarantee it's still on his wall. Fake yet surely beloved.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on May 3, 2016 at 7:10am

This is a very, very interesting thread. Everyone makes good points, but at the end of the day...I think you should tell them. And here's why.

It might keep them from making another bad purchase in the future. And to me, that trumps all. That's not counting all the other things...it keeps them from getting a rude surprise when they want to sell it in 10 years for their kids college or whatever.

Now, I just had this happen to me. I met this local filmmaker, and we became fast friends. Both of us...our favorite band -- The Doors. Well, his wife spent thousands, buying him a signed, debut Doors album. Where did she buy it? Oy. That place in Las Vegas, in Cesar's Palace. I cringed hearing this. I cringed more when I saw it at his house a few months later. It was sooooo bad. Not even close to a proper Jim signature (with "cheers" written poorly above it).

I...went against my own word. I didn't tell him it was bad. That's because, when he first told me the story, I told him it might not be good, and he said "Yeah, I thought about that. If it's not, oh well." He didn't seem to care either way, so I figured...why beat a dead horse.