I Understand Much of the Distrust/Confusion Concerning EBay Autographs

I began collecting at Age Eleven & was Blessed early on (and, Later in Life when I Worked For & With many Actors/Actresses from, Shirley Booth to R. Phoenix) some of my Youthful experiences have been shared in Articles/Interviews I contributed to Classic Images, Film Fax, Scarlet Street, etc. There are very few Autographs of Star's who did their most Important bodies of Work between 1925 - 1985 Whose Signatures I Cannot Authenticate (for the most part) either on Sight or Within 25 Minutes Max. Whether a Major Star (B. Davis, Grable, Lombard or Gable) to Lesser Known & Deserving of Longer Careers (Adrienne Ames, Lilyan Tashman, types) & So On. Almost All the Great Star's of Film, Stage, TV had Signature's as Unique as Those Classic Faces. Someone Could Write a Book & Call it, "They Had Signature's Then"! However there are Many Stars Who became Known from the Eighties On Who's Autograph's I Refuse to Purchase Unless they Come Directly from UACC or Several (Top's) Long Trusted Dealer's. Even then I Buy them Only as Gift's for Close Friend's on Request because The Majority of Star's Aged 45 and Below as Well as far too many Over 50 have become Nothing Short of Scribblings or Lines which the World's Best (FBI, MI5, etc) Handwriting Analysts Couldn't Decipher. Heck, One Exception to my Statements on Old Hollywood comes to mind while Working With a Few Trained Crime Lab Writing Analysts on An Article Dealing With Personality Traits Culled from Autograph's wherein it took 3 Pro's Working together to Arrive at an IDENTITY of Maureen O'Sullivans Signature, Lol. Signature's today though, ranging from That " K" of Mr. Costner's, to Kevin Smith, Zac Effron, Emile Hirsh, & 95% of A through C List Hollywood without absolute Proof that they Signed & Not a Chimp seem hardly Worth Paying a Pro Authenticator for. Of (1990's Young H'Wood) I am most Familiar (1st Hand) With the Signatures of River Phoenix, Danny Nucci & Billy & Lisa Zane. I have Rarely Seen a River Phoenix Signature on EBay, Bonanza or Amazon I'd Encourage Anyone to Purchase. Yet, They Usually Abound. I have also Seen (W/out a Doubt) Many Obvious Tom Cruise Forgeries & Reporting them seems a Waste of Time. My biggest grip has been with Several In - Person Signatures I Obtained at Press Functions or my Past Jobs or Given to me as Gift's such as a few Liz Taylor Sig's Gifted by the Late (Wonderful) Roddy McDowell. When Consigning One of them along with Personally Obtained Signed Magazine's & Photos by, H. Ledger, J. Phoenix, an Elderly Louise Beaver's to an EBay Consignment Store for a Wounded Warrior Charity. Someone or Several Someone's Complaint? Bribe? Lack of Experience With Certain REAL Signed Item's were Rejected as Forgeries or Uh, Questionable Status! In full Disclosure I have Gotten a Few Great Deal's on Golden Age Signed Photo's (Marjorie Main, Bobby Driscoll, Frances Farmer) & All Were 100% Authentic. But Honestly, How Does Anyone Authenticate a Vast Number of Today's Autograph's? The Best Indicator to me Even Above the Best PSA/DNA Group's comes from Long Term Trust in Several UACC & Manuscript Society Member's of Long (Good) Standing! Attack or Agree but I Don't Budge... Respect

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Comment by Paul on July 19, 2015 at 1:05am: Post your Francis farmer.

Comment by Joe W. on July 19, 2015 at 6:20am: I don't like to see forgeries or highly suspect autographs being offered for sale anywhere but it is, and always had been, a part of the hobby. Ebay doesn't sell forgeries, sellers do. We place too much accountability on the site instead of the seller. As collectors, we are individually responsible for doing our own homework before we buy. Third party authenticators, well known dealers with great reputations, or someone whose uncle's collection they inherited should not be the determining factor. The autograph itself and our personal knowledge and experience should determine whether we buy or not. Trust no one completely, including our self. As we gain knowledge our decisions improve. Just the way it's always been.

Comment by terrier8HOF on July 19, 2015 at 3:37pm: Ebay profits from the sale of every forgery, as do the sellers. They used to have a program to monitor forgeries and get rid of them, but they succumbed to the pressures of the power sellers selling bogus items. its all about the dollar. I do agree that we as collectors need to be educated on the autographs we are trying to purchase. that would put many of these forgers out of business.

Comment by CJCollector on July 19, 2015 at 4:14pm: Terrier is correct.

At one time, for a few years, Ebay was doing a decent job of removing forgeries and sellers of forgeries, and then all-of-a-sudden it stopped.

My opinion is that it was cutting into their bottom line.

Comment by Fuddjcal on July 20, 2015 at 10:24am: and then they CREATED a safe haven for forgeries by allowing obvious fake scam of a company GFA just dominate 3rd party authentication on there sites with just a S*** ton of Framed Florida forgeries, hand over fist. Now the fake balls are showing up everywhere with the GFA and sold as if real Through SCAM BAY. I disagree Joe W, Not only does E-Bay Profit from these obvious scams, but they are promoting them all over their websites as if real, which they know damned well they are fake, IMHO. Forget your "Platform" argument. You have to save all these numb nuts Buyers from themselves don't ya? LOLOLOL And Oh what a time to be a scammer being able to buy this trash for pennies on schlock sites and reselling for fun & profit E-Bay. How easy is that? E-bay doesn't care , so neither do I.

Comment by Kevin1976 on July 20, 2015 at 12:49pm: It rea olly bothers me because Collecting was Once So Safe & a Healthy Hobby. There was a Horrible Scam Company in NYC Selling a seemingly Never Ending Supply of (Forged) 8 X 10 Color Elvis & Michael Jackson Photos at $200.00 a Pop. I Reported them to Everyone with No Response. I Only Purchase Classic Hollywood Photos, Documents, (etc.,) Usually from Estates or Collections such as my Own (Stolen during my Military Service Collection) but, Refuse to Touch Newer Hollywood Scribbles or less than Scribblings from 1990's On. EBay did not Care About my View (Knowledge) of River Phoenix Forgeries or Others. Then there is This Other Major Dealer (History in name) Who have Prices on Autographs Which have Always been So Massively Above The Sander's or Any Other Price Guide that I Always Wonder About The Sanity of The Buyers. Examples Have Included Many Signatures I Own & Have had Doubly Certified. But, They have Price Listing's such as $3,000.00 Dorothy Kilgallen SP (No better than my $100.00 SP), $50,000.00 Hattie McDaniel SP, $7,500.00 Jayne Mansfield (Mine is better & I Paid $750.00) & Even many Easier to Obtain if you Search Right Dealer's But (at Prices of $3 to 10,000.00) for $75 to $400.00 Autograph's, Lol. I Wonder if they Come in Sterling Silver Frames with 18 ct Gold COA'S! I am getting ready to Sell Everything except perhaps Five SP's & ALS's which have Personal Meaning. I Then have a Wish List of Mostly Fifties through Seventies Character Actors/Actresses. At 57 I want to Wrap things Up While There are Still Really Trustworthy Dealer's & Collector's of Vintage Film, TV, Stage to Trade & Buy From.

Comment by Robin McKay on August 3, 2015 at 3:44am: Ebay is hit and miss where autographs are concerned - there are some genuine ones amongst the forged ones, definitely, so its not all bad, its just knowing where to look and educating yourself at the same time on what their signature should look like and abiding by the autograph code.