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Permalink Reply by Richard Johnson on August 23, 2011 at 1:55pm

No, sorry,fake as the day is long,looks like Ebay seller "Riabean"'s work, out of Texas,am I right? been selling these for 5 years or more The Bill Ward is not even close. what sucks is this guy has pictures w/band members & fools alot of people.I don't critique stuff unless I was asked, & you did, I am personal friends w/Bill & have worked for band many times over the years.it breaks my heart to see fake signatures on ebay & elsewhere, that's why I signed up on this site.I actually saved .jpg's of every signed sabbath lp this guy sold for 2 years & the signatures were carbon copies. I confronted him, e-mailed him the pics pasted together!! but he is still @ it.sad. $$ is a motivator :(

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Permalink Reply by Richard Johnson on August 23, 2011 at 2:09pm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Sabbath-Master-Reality-Signed-/320745...

 

 

Here's one currently @ auction,from the same mold, not Riabeans work but close, I.E. Iommi's sig running left to right in an uphill direction,(exact opposite than that of lefty) & the Horrible Bill Ward,waaaay to exaggerated.the Ozzy & Geez carbon copies weve seen a million times.

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Permalink Reply by Vestland on August 24, 2011 at 11:47am

Do you know if everything this guy sells is fake?

 

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Permalink Reply by Richard Johnson on August 25, 2011 at 1:43am

riabean? yeah. sold about 20 signed sabbath lp's the last 5 years, (all w/same signatures) & since I work for sabs & told him that I had never seen him get the 1st thing signed, he told me he had hot girls getting the autographs for him, c'mon man I work in the biz, theres only so many you can get doing it once a year when the band comes to your town, I also made note of the fact that ALL of the Ozzy Osbourne signatures I have aqquired look slightly different, even if they were signed @ same time in quick seccession. there is a small difference, this guys "y" on ozzy crossed over osbourne in the same place time after time, honestly I didn't research all of the Motley Crue & Van Halens he sold & I dont know enough about them, but Black Sabbath I had him on.

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Permalink Reply by joe sizer on October 2, 2011 at 12:18pm

This dude who selling the master of reality, is from NY, and there's even sigs selling like this from that precious JSA

 

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ozzy-Osbourne-signed-autographed-BARK-MOON-...

 

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Permalink Reply by joe sizer on October 2, 2011 at 10:24am

Wow! I'm in shock by reading this crap!  I can't believe this! this is about riabean?? come on now!

First of all, let me explain, I have been a big sabbath fan and autograph fan for a real long time. I also collect autos from celebs, actually, horror celebs. I always found autos interesting because how they capture a moment in time, just like how photos do, but to me, it seems more personal than some corny snapshot. I guess we all have out own way of looking at things.

Anyway, I have bought some autographs from ebay before, and believe me, I know some people are fakesters! I hate them! They capitalize on someone's hobby, a passion, and insult the signers and the buyer.

I have bought from riabean before. I have also bought a few other autos from other trust worthy people on Ebay.  But, not only did I buy from riabean, but I have messaged him many times about his products and he has

gone in great deals telling me how he acquired them. He is so friendly, and takes the autograph business to heart. I mean, to heart. Believe me, he's just like all the other people who are angered by this fake auto business.  He is also a collector, that's how he acquired all this stuff. YEs, he has a lot of autos from sabbath but every bit of his story is true. He is a die hard fan, and at first, these autos were not for sale. He kept them in storage and wanted this collection for him and his family to enjoy. Yes, it's a little eccentric, most autograph seekers are, I have about, maybe 40 sab autos alone,

maybe 70 George Romeo sigs on many things. So, this business about getting a lot from a celeb is impossible is crap! If you set out to meet a band and you have a backstage pass or know where they are hanging out for a bunch of dates and bring other people with  you with other stuff, it happens. I know, I have done it before, so have a few of my friends. You could have quite a good collection for yourself!

I have bought other sab signed albums from other trust worthy dealers and they all had their own stories. I have compared these autographs to each other, investigated, they are definately from the same signers, and yes, it's sabbath! It doesn't take an investigator or these auto rip off companies to tell you, if you do your own homework. They will charge you an arm and a leg and sometimes they are proven wrong! Now, during the sabbath reunion tour, they all had this particular style of signing large objects, like albums, drumheads, posters, photos, etc. From experience, people change up their autographs through the passage of time. In sab's case, it's ridiculas! They change up all the time, and this knowledge is also from the times I have met them. It's almost like they change year from year. There was even a time when Ozzy was on meddies and it was just scribble. But, going back to the reunion tour, it had to be  best sigs they have ever given out, clear, large pronounced! Sure, there are

a little change ups here and there, like that "y" business in Ozzy's name like Richard mentioned but that's natural, give me a break! Ward's signature has always been strange, it almost looks like a drumkit with a cross or something.  This Richard Johnson said that his sig looked different. I don't see it! It's exactly like every other ward sig I have seen during that tour. I have shown riabean's sigs to harcore sab fans who know what they look like from the back their minds. I have shown them to great reputable dealers who know the business and the all say it's the real deal! There are plenty of dealers on ebay who have the same kind of set of sabbath signed stuff from that era, and if you compare them to his, it's exact! I remember riabean jokingly telling me if he was a fakester, why would he imitate these musicians, sports is where it's at! that's where the money is at, and believe me, if he was this fakester, he is that good LOL! Richard, relax, they are real and you are hurting someone who is great for this hobby. This is all stupid! Why is this person being burned at the stake, when there are so many fakers out there running around cheating the business. Riabean is great for our hobby, he's legit and a great dealer who gets hapiness from acquiring, keeping them and selling them to other fans.

Don't mess with a great person's reputation, thanks!

 

 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by joe sizer on October 2, 2011 at 2:52pm

SABBATH RULES!

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Permalink Reply by kissdestroyer1966 on November 17, 2012 at 9:37pm

No doubt about it. This is good. Came from a person that had access to the band during the OZZ Fest tours. He attended over a dozen shows and got many items autographed by the band and Ozzy.

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