Authenticity is Everything
Definition Of Signed
I had an issue with a seller who put up an auction for a poster as signed, but the signatures were most likely printed. Her text indicated she was unsure and later she claimed she never said they were authentic. HOWEVER, she says printed is still "signed" I strongly disagree. What's the industry view? (Incidentally, she did refund the purchase price.)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason H on
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Eric is correct, but also there are many sellers who try to play stupid and know exactly what they are selling hoping you won't check. There is no way to tell through pictures unless its a known common preprint like from a company such as Studio Fan Mail for example, or you happen to find another just like it.
The good news, if you purchased on eBay, its an easy fight to get your money back even if sellers state they dont accept returns. Just put in an "item not as described" claim if sellers ever give you problems and ebay will force the return. Its the first thing I check for whenever I purchase any autograph without being able to physically inspect it first. You would be surprised at what some sellers try to reproduce.
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Permalink Reply by Biff Jannuzzi on
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I don't think she was misleading, and I think she honestly believed she made it clear the signatures may or may not have been real. She did say "signed" in the title. But to her printed also meant signed. Not to me, but apparently to her. Regardless, from what the listing said I knew it could be printed but I took a chance for a great item...I let my enthusiasm get the better of me. She did refund it. Thanks for the input.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on
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Hi Jason,
I am sorry - I was rereading my post when there was no response and I decided to delete it. You must have been typing your response. I would never knowingly delete a post after a response has been made. Fixing a typo is one thing, deleting or changing content is another. At any rate, my apologies.
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Thanks to both of you for responding!
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Most welcome. I hope you saw it. I deleted it because I was not feeling well and could not decide if I was saying what I meant.
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I did...once...but yes I did. Thanks!
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I certainly understand if you feel there was something you wernt happy with.. You were speaking about how you felt with this particular case and my response was more about the secondary market in general. I felt it was a great combo. It looks like Biff feels the same. Thanks for explaining though and your stance on trying to maintain content here is commendable. Its a drop in the bucket from when we all lost years of content when the user KD was deleted from this site. Every post he created along with all responses from other users within those posts, gone forever. I don't think I'll ever get over that one. Not your fault of course. Im all for maintaining content but with how you spoke about this particular case, its info that might not be needed by other members in the future, just Biff, he saw it so it was still a success. No harm done.
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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on
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printed is not the same as signed and to present it as such is misleading and dishonest imo
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I agree. It's too loose a use of the word.
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Permalink Reply by eddy on
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Biff seems to be (very kindly) giving the seller the benefit of the doubt. If sellers are not regular autograph dealers but are reselling something they've found in a charity shop or perhaps selling off an inheritance piece, it's plausible that they don't know what they are selling nor how to accurately make a distinction in descriptive terms. As Jason H. points out, there are also bad actors who do know exactly what they are doing and hope to find a buyer that doesn't.
Here's a book currently up on eBay. It's being sold by some estate sales company and I'd give them the benefit of the doubt as they are simply selling off what is consigned. The book is a biography of the late actor Sal Mineo. The listing states it's "SIGNED" in the title and the item notes only say: "SIGNED! SAL MINEO A Biography by Michael Gregg Michaud 2010 1st Edition".
It does contain a facsimile autograph of Mineo opposite the title page in every copy printed and is not in any way a 'live ink' signature. This biography was published 2010. Sal Mineo died in 1976.
Still...
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I love how sellers manipulate terms to make whatever they are selling appear more desirable.
How about this misleading term: Authentic Reproduction?
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Even the word 'vintage' seems ambiguous.
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