Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike White on May 31, 2018 at 9:03pm

Just saw this--I'm only around sporadically.

I bought that picture, so I'm going to say yes.

It looked fine to me--if it's an autopen, it's not a style I've seen before, and there's not really a lot of money in bad Kraft signatures. The only reason I bid as high as I did is that I've been in the market for a nice full CCK Jr signature.

Ultimately, until very recently, Kraft signed TTM at no cost, complete with requested inscriptions. Mostly the shorter signatures, but I never thought to request a full one. I did pick up a semi-recent TTM full one before this though, so I know that he did do them on occasion.

The way I see it, it'd be like tracking down a Red # of Gene Kranz and faking a signature. You can, but...what'd be the point?

At the end of the day, if it's bad, I'm not out much.

Out of curiosity, were you the seller or another (potential) bidder?

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Alayof on May 31, 2018 at 10:21pm

I bought from this seller one autograph a few months ago. It was a very rare and expensive autograph, but this seller sold it for a very low price. This seller is a little strange. He seems to have a lot of signed items for sale from different fields. His prices are very low. However, his items look authentic. I sent the autograph I bought from him to one of the biggest experts in the world and he examined the signed item and confirmed that it was indeed authentic. The thing is that the signature is really worth around $1000 and I bought it for only $400. I can not help wondering, why would a seller do such a thing? That's why I decided to check other signatures he had tried to sell and see what collectors thought. I chose Christopher Kraft signature arbitrarily. It could have been any other autograph that he was trying to sell. The seller has 100% positive feedbacks. He keeps on selling items. Not long ago he sold a Babe Ruth autograph with a respected COA for thousands of dollars. I guess he is OK, but the fact that he has a lot of signed items for sale from so many different fields and areas is a bit suspicious. Even right now he has a lot of listings on Ebay, one of them is a Neil Armstrong Signed Contract, have you seen it?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Neil-Armstrong-Signed-Contract-JSA/3027533...

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Permalink Reply by Mike White on May 31, 2018 at 10:43pm

"I sent the autograph I bought from him to one of the biggest experts in the world and he examined the signed item and confirmed that it was indeed authentic."

Who would that be?

"The thing is that the signature is really worth around $1000 and I bought it for only $400."

Again, more specifics would help. What's the item? How did you arrive at that value?

"I guess he is OK, but the fact that he has a lot of signed items for sale from so many different fields and areas is a bit suspicious."

Why?

"Even right now he has a lot of listings on Ebay, one of them is a Neil Armstrong Signed Contract, have you seen it?"

I have now--I can't say whether or not the signature is good, but the opening bid is right, if not a bit high.

Frankly, I can't say I understand where you're coming from. It seems like you aren't actually seeing anything wrong or questionable, but, instead, are looking for a reason to not trust them, and I can't say I see one.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Alayof on May 31, 2018 at 10:49pm

I bought from him a George Harrison (Beatles) autograph a few months ago. Do you know how much George Harrison's signature is worth today? Finding an authentic autograph of George Harrison for only $400 is crazy and amazingly rare! Attached here scans of the autograph and COA issued by Perry Cox (One of the world's greatest Beatles experts).George%20Harrison%20Autograph.jpg

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Alayof on May 31, 2018 at 10:51pm

COA_918x1200.jpg

And here is the COA

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Alayof on May 31, 2018 at 10:56pm

Do not misunderstand me. As soon as Perry Cox confirmed that the signature was genuine, I have no doubt about it. Still, something strange with this seller. Why didn't he send the signature to Cox for authentication himself? Than he could have sold it for $1000 or even more. He doesn't act like a regular salesman. Even his descriptions in his listings are so short....

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Permalink Reply by Mike White on May 31, 2018 at 11:19pm

"Why didn't he send the signature to Cox for authentication himself?"

That Neil Armstrong has JSA, rather than Zarelli. Why? I don't know. Sellers make weird choices sometimes.

Heck, I just commented in a thread about Probstein that he once sent a Star Wars pic with the OfficialPix authenticity shield to PSA. I don't get that either, but that's what some sellers do.

"He doesn't act like a regular salesman."

No idea what that means or if this individual actually is a "salesman".

"Even his descriptions in his listings are so short...."

They seem about right to me. I'm not sure what it is you're expecting. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

Here's another photo I recently picked up from one of the more trusted sellers of space merch:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apollo-7-Crew-Wally-Schirra-Walt-Cunningha...

It's longer, but only the first two sentences describe the item. The rest is about the seller.

Here's an auction I lost by another trusted seller of space memorabilia:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chuck-Yeager-handsigned-X-1-commemorative-...

He started it at $0.99, it ended at $39, and the description is nothing more than the title restated.

If short descriptions turn you off, then you're on the wrong sales venue. RR will describe the heck out of an autograph, but it's practically a guarantee that you'll way overpay or lose to someone who does.

Otherwise, you pretty much have to just go off the pictures.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Alayof on May 31, 2018 at 11:28pm

What do you think about the George Harrison autograph and the price I paid for it?

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Permalink Reply by Mike White on May 31, 2018 at 11:48pm

You think it's real. An expert in Beatles autographs thinks it's real.

I personally have no idea, because that's not my area of expertise, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's real.

As for the price you paid, I'm going to assume you got it at the price you did because nobody outbid you.

I don't know why nobody outbid you. I don't know why I was able to buy a signed Alan Bean book last month for about $50 or a signed Chuck Yeager book for around $20. A few years ago, I got a really nice Alan Shepard book for about $30 when much worse signatures routinely sell for more.

On the flip side, I don't understand why people bid hundreds of dollars on Sy Liebergot/Gene Kranz autographs (that originally came from Farthest Reaches) when they pop up on RR, rather than just going to Farthest Reaches and paying a fraction of that price. Nor do I understand why people are currently buying pre-orders for pre-signed copies of Bill Clinton's new book on eBay for over $100 when the books are still available from the bookstores (presumably where the sellers are getting them) for $30 + shipping.

I can't tell you why collectors leave deals in the dirt for us to pick up or why they pay 3x+ the price of something to acquire it through a different venue.

Seriously, as I type this, the Clinton Museum Store claims 300 hand-signed copies of "The President is Missing" were allocated to them by the publisher & they're still apparently in stock at $30 each (+ $10 shipping if you need it shipped). At the same time, people are buying them on eBay for $115, $140, $93.49...

Can I explain that? No. I really, really can't.

So, for your question, the best I can say is "Sometimes it also works the other way".