Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 22, 2017 at 9:13pm

Garrett, Mike White:

I understand that their high prices turn you off, so don't take what I said as a diss. I don't see that as an ethical issue. 

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on June 23, 2017 at 1:06pm

I have always found Mr. Turner to be quite fair and reasonable. I have nothing but positive experiences with him and his company.

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Permalink Reply by BG Meadows on June 23, 2017 at 1:18pm

While I can appreciate your positive experience, I got royally snookered by History for Sale several years before I knew anything about autograph collecting. They took me to the cleaners and when I called them on the carpet about it later, it was like: oh well....

Also, I do not like buying pre-framed items. I want just the piece and the freedom to frame/display it as I desire. 

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on June 23, 2017 at 1:41pm

Same here Joe, absolutely.

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Permalink Reply by Mike White on October 14, 2017 at 7:38am

 I don't see that as an ethical issue.

I find it what I called it: laughable.

If they want to slap a $100+ price tag on an autograph that's available for $25 directly from the signer, they have every right to do so.

If uneducated buyers want to pay that money, they also have every right to do so.

I have no problem with either point--people are free to spend their own money how they wish, just as I'm free to laugh at them for overpaying.

But there are other concerns.

One is that a lot of people don't see the difference between "this is what someone's asking" and "this is what people are paying". If these individuals find their autographs (that they give free or for a nominal charge) up for sale with an obscene price tag attached, that could lead to them no longer signing (see: Neil Armstrong).

Another is that the proprietor, in the message I replied to, outright said that they're bringing their prices in line with market value. You're free to charge whatever the heck you want to charge, but if you call it "market value", you deserve to be called out.

I never said he's unethical or anything else--I said what I said, which is that he takes items that are available directly from the signer (either free TTM or for sale for a small amount) and slaps a huge price tag on them.

If that's how he wants to do business, that's his right, but I can always recognize his eBay listings when they show up in the search results because of how funny the prices are compared to the other listings (which, often, are nowhere near the prices of sold listings themselves).

In other words, he has as much right to his outrageous prices as I have to laugh at them whenever I see them (which I do).

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Permalink Reply by Jason Strecker on June 25, 2017 at 1:50pm

I enjoy looking at their website every once in a while. Generally I'll google a name along with the term autographs and it's bound to come up in the google images with one of their images. Funny thing about them is, they will actually list secretarials for sale but they will cite it as such (Tony Randall and Judd Nelson, for example). I think they do need a check up on their sales though. They'll have hundreds of autographs of one person along with multiple different signature styles, most likely real versions mixed in with unknown secretarial versions so not all items for sale will be real.

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Permalink Reply by HistoryForSale on June 25, 2017 at 3:22pm

Hello Jason,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It seems that the company had listed about 50 photographs for sale that were advertised and sold as "secretarials". Perhaps the thought was that the photograph itself held some value to the buyer. Regardless, I've just had them removed from the site. If you are aware of any other photographs that you believe to be secretarials please feel free to message us and let us know and we will most certainly have them reviewed and removed if that is the case.

Regards,
Russell Turner - COO Gallery of History, Inc
www.historyforsale.com - HistoryForSale
eBay - HistoryDirect

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Permalink Reply by Jason Strecker on June 25, 2017 at 4:22pm

I understand. It's probably good they were taken down, though it was interesting they were up and good that they were listed correctly.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on July 21, 2019 at 1:20pm

Some autograph collectors may be interested in purchasing a Carrie Fisher secretarial signed by Debbie Reynolds, or a Spencer Tracy secretarial signed by Katharine Hepburn.  Just because I am not one of them, I would not insist that others avoid such purchases.

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Permalink Reply by BG Meadows on June 25, 2017 at 6:02pm

History for Sale is absolutely insufferable. They would have continued in their exploitative/under=handed marketing had they not been called on the carpet by this forum, for which I am most appreciative. Mr. Turner's pseudo-obsequious appreciation for his company's unintentional oversights being pointed out by forum members is nauseating. I resent any business that shamelessly and unapologetically sells any product at grossly inflated prices.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on June 25, 2017 at 7:09pm

There are many insufferable things, but I do not find HD to be among them. From your relentless posts it seems you have sour grapes - regrets for paying over sticker price or getting "snookered" when you "knew nothing" - those are your words.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel S. on July 21, 2019 at 2:10pm

Agree with Eric.  If you paid high prices, blame yourself, not the seller.  Like Adam Smith said, “It is not because of the benevolence of the butcher, baker and brewer that we are able to eat and drink. Rather, it is because they act in accordance with their own best interest.”

Their pricing and overall business strategies are based on their market analysis.  If you are not among those in their target market, so be it.  That does not make their practices unethical.

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