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Authenticity is Everything
A trip in the autograph collecting time machine...
Back in the old Geocities days -- the 1990s -- I had a collecting web site where I kept a journal. I found an old html page on my computer of the journal and read through some of the entries.
Check out this entry from SEVENTEEN years ago. My... how some things never change...
8/1/99 - With apologies to the late Peter Finch, I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore! Forgeries have always been a part of autograph collecting, however, it seems as though the problem has hit fever pitch. I think the low cost of doing online business and anonymity of the Internet has exacerbated the problem. There are a number of sellers on eBay (and elsewhere) that literally have hundreds of auctions every week, and EVERY offering is a forgery.
From sports to entertainment to historical, these scummy sellers peddle cheap, sloppy forgeries to the unsuspecting every day. Many of them prop up their forgeries with worthless Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) from "FBI Experts" or companies using a name similar to a deceased Hall-of-Famer. I would love to publicly accuse these people, but unfortunately I would be exposing myself to lawsuit. Forgery is a very hard crime to prosecute because the government must prove the seller "knew" the items were fakes. Forgers know this and can operate with near impunity. If forgers start feeling heat, they often change their name.
No one person can stop these crimes, but my goal is to educate any many as possible. If I prevent one unsuspecting collector from falling victim, that is a good start. Check back often because I will be intensifying my efforts in my Fakes, Phonies & Frauds page.
To protect yourself from forgery, keep these guidelines in mind:
RULE #1 - research and familiarize yourself with the item you want. Study authentic signatures and learn about the person's signing habits.
There are good online sellers as well as bad. Refer to my How to Find a Reputable Dealer page for specific tips
Don't trust eBay feedback to tell you if someone is selling fakes. Some of the worst forgery mills have thousands of positive feedbacks. People leave positive feedback because they paid for an item and got it quickly -- not because it's necessarily authentic. Remember, if they thought it was fake, they wouldn't have bid on it in the first place.
Don't bid an any autographed item that is a "Private Auction." This is the forger's trick to keep Good Samaritans from warning you that you're bidding on a fake.
Likewise, be wary of any seller that says things like, "Send me any unsolicited emails you get regarding this auction" or "Bad comments come from competition." Legitimate dealers don't worry about stuff like this.
Look at the seller's completed auctions. Does the seller have the SAME items available every week? In some cases this won't matter, but for uncommon items it makes the dealer very suspect. For example, one seller has a Neil Armstrong autographed baseball and Apollo 11 signed crew photo EVERY week! These are RARE items. No dealer in the world could have authentic examples of these items every week.
Look at the seller's other auctions. If other items look suspicious, stay away. Even if the item you're bidding on is real, you don't want to support a forger.
Legitimate dealers will welcome your questions. Stay away from anyone who is evasive, rude or does not answer inquiries.
Forgers tend to focus on popular celebrities that will sell quickly and for a decent amount of money. Common forgeries: Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Star Trek, Star Wars, Titanic cast and supermodels.
7/22/99 - On the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11, I was in the mood to see what kind of Neil Armstrong autographs were for sale online, and how much they were selling for. I was shocked an appalled at the tremendous volume of forged Neil Armstrong autographs I found. Some were so bad that they bore almost no resemblance to the real thing. I found about 15 items for sale on eBay, in my opinion, NONE of them were authentic.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on
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Steve, excellent post!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on
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Seems familiar. Our skills should be sharper though ;)
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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on
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Our skills are sharper than 17 years ago for sure. But the forgers have improved a far cry as well. In my opinion, back then, there was a higher percentage of crude, painfully obvious fakes. These days, forgery is more of an online cottage industry and there are more skilled forgers at play, doing material that they probably wouldn't have bothered with previously.
In any case, as the above post shows... the scammers are using much of the same tactics they were then... it's just a bit more polished these days.
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Very true, Steve.
The forger of the "Florida" forgeries (the ones that aren't machine-produced) is an amateur forger whose skills are diminishing day by day.
But guess what...the delusional on Ebay still purchase that crap.
Well-written, Steve.
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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on
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great stuff Steve
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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on
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Some things never change. And the wheels on the bus go round and round.
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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on
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Could add this right to Autograph Common Sense. Well done .
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What is really unfortunate is that the people that should be reading this informative thread will never find it.
One of the primary reasons why forgeries are an easy sell on Ebay is because the buyers of forgeries assume that Ebay filters out the forgeries.
Of course, as we all know, nothing could be further from the truth.
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I honestly have never heard until yesterday that some thing eBay weeds outs or vets autographs. Do they think this applies to gemstones or car parts as well? I operate in the other direction - none good until proven(ance) otherwise.
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Eric, over the past 15 years, you have no idea how many sellers/buyers have written to me with "Ebay would never allow fakes on their site."
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Wow! I have been on eBay since '98 or so, and buying and selling for perhaps 20 years, and that is just amazing. It is sad and vaguely funny - like a drunk whose lost a bet.
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It's true... there are actually people who believe that eBay monitors autograph listings and would not allow fakes.
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