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Has Autograph collecting become less of a hobby and more of a business.

The internet has made it easy to trade. With the birth of the ebay flipper, where is our hobby heading? Is the hobby more of a business for flippers who are inflating our loved autographs. Its not uncommon to see items sold at auctions and resold a week later for double the amount. There also seems to be more and more flippers around.

Whats doing more damage to the prices the flippers or the forgers?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Gregory on March 23, 2015 at 1:14am

Good question Paul, what is doing more damage. Probably eBay, PSA and JSA and others mass authenticating items for big sellers and letting many fakes get authenticated.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on March 23, 2015 at 2:35am

I agree Dan. That is becoming more and more problematic.

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Permalink Reply by Grungegarden on March 23, 2015 at 6:54pm

I agree with you Dan. It's just a fact that as long as autographs are worth any kind of money people are going to flip them. Not much you could do about it. But cracking down on the fakes getting passed by ebay and the rest would at least save some buyers from paying a small fortune and having them do it for fake pieces. I think too much blind confidence is put into companies like psa from new collectors.

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Permalink Reply by bernie chatzky on March 26, 2015 at 5:46pm

Amen to that

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on March 23, 2015 at 2:30am

I believe that the flippers do more damage to the prices of autographs but that nothing does more damage to the hobby itself than the forgers do.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on March 23, 2015 at 4:11am

What I have a bigger problem is for the people who actually go to the venues or stalk the musicians or actors and get the autographs signed only to sell them on ebay.

I am mad that Ringo no longer will give autographs because of so many people selling his autograph, it sucks that so many big musicians will no longer sign because of sellers.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on March 23, 2015 at 11:59am

John Lennon if we're alive today wouldn't be able to do a radio broadcast and sign in the park like he had once done. Imagine the hounds big different from apple scruff or fanzine to flipper.

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Permalink Reply by Danny on March 26, 2015 at 4:11pm

Ringo could be fun with fans or really really moody. At least he wasn't a "pointer" like McCartney.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on March 26, 2015 at 4:25pm

pointer?

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on March 23, 2015 at 4:53am

A person who buys any product and sells it for a profit is called a business person. They pay taxes, expenses, etc. As long as it is a good autograph that is a good business. Nobody is forced to pay that price. In fact, every autograph dealer, big or small, is a "flipper". A person who forges an autograph to make money is a criminal. An authentication service which passes too many forgeries is practicing poor business ethics. If they are going to charge for their service they should have some liability if they make a mistake.

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Permalink Reply by bernie chatzky on March 26, 2015 at 5:50pm

If a forger is a criminal shouldn't the coa giver be called just about the same (talking about the ones giving them knowing they are fakes?)

But again, nobody is forcing the buyer to buy a fake just because it has a coa.

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Permalink Reply by Sports n Stuff on March 27, 2015 at 10:12am

Yes they should be considered the same! And as the buyer isn't being forced to buy a fake if it comes with a coa from the most reputable company and especially companies traded on Nasdaq then their has too be some form accountability!

To me that's like saying well you have health insurance but you don't go to the doctor because your copay or premium is too expensive because you live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to pay so because of that these insurance companies are okay to keep making billions because people aren't going to the doctor cause they can't afford it! So it's the individuals fault..not the suspect system put in place? I know it's comparing apples to oranges but hopefully you get the gist..that one is suppose to be helping you not hurting you(ie taking your money without getting what your paying for)!

Anyways, one example I do have to say is I found a Michael Jordan autograph passed by one of the top authenticators yday while looking on eBay and the date of the coa was 6 months after I had submitted a Michael Jordan auto as well. Both were identical..I'd use caps on identical as their was absolutely no difference in the autographs. None! Mine came back as fake however this persons was passed. And I mean you literally put them side by side and you can't tell the difference! Now how can said company pass one and fail another that look exactly the same? It's just like grading cards..why is their such a discrepancy in grading? I literally can measure the sides(that are all the same) yet the same card obviously two different ones get a 9.5 the other gets a 10. If both measurements equal the same then shouldn't both get 10's? Obviously it's a rhetorical question but their isn't any consistency and IMO will lead to some recourse eventually, at least I would hope so!