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There are a couple of dealers on ebay that seem to get the same names in around the same time, and I assumed that meant they were all sourcing from the same wholesaler. These items are always authenticated by a third party and often "witnessed" (JSA WPP, PSA ITP, BAS Witnessed).

However, relatively recently, I've noticed at least two big names that seem surprising. A bunch of Anne Hathaway signed (and Christian Bale dual-signed) photos popped up last year, and more recently there have been a bunch of Angelina Jolie signed photos listed. They've all been Beckett "Authenticated," but not "Witnessed" like they'd normally be for a major signing (ex. via Ace, Twin Cities, SWAU, etc.).

So I guess my question is, where are all of these coming from? I know Hathaway had a signing with Celebrity Authentics, but for the prices these dealers have been selling them for, CA would have had to provide a pretty steep wholesale discount (maybe they do that sort of thing?). Plus, in one of their listings, CA notes:

"Celebrity Authentics is the exclusive autograph partner of Anne Hathaway. Please be aware most other online autographs purported to be Ms. Hathaway's are forgeries.  Ms. Hathaway has only signed with Celebrity Authentics..."

...And I don't know of any signing with Jolie, so does that mean someone was able to arrange one under the radar? ... Or are these from some event/street autographs and they just managed to get dozens of photos signed.

I'm normally extremely skeptical about this sort of thing, but Beckett's trusted by many, as are these dealers (as far as I know). This isn't some no-name authenticator and a fly-by-night dealer.

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Might be easier to assess if you pointed out some sellers for examples. What you’re describing does sound shady though. 

At first glance I'll agree it is hard to know what to make of these sellers. Perhaps someone else knows them specifically.

I buy on ebay regularly and became aware of these mega sellers quite awhile ago. They claim to have contracts with these celebrities and show photos of them signing, often with gobs of material in the background (think hoverboards).  It seems to be a trend, there are more of these dealers today than there were a year ago. I suppose they have every right to create such an apparently lucrative business model, but I would dearly like to know more about them. I would really appreciate it if someone with inside knowledge offered some information about them.

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