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Just Bought This Bowie!

I just bought this on Ebay. It comes with an RR Auction certificate, and I have a quick opinion request in to Epperson just to be sure. But I've been wanting a Bowie LP for my office wall, and this seemed perfect. If anyone thinks it looks questionable, shout at me before I pay...

Tags: Bowie, David

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 27, 2018 at 10:29am

Not for me. It is not the blazing example that screams "Genuine over here!" IMO. Smooth and atypical. I would ask MarkG as well. I see a for or five things that make me look again. It seems uncomfortable, perhaps slow in a way, but form (not typical for 1995) suggests rushed (odd "B", the numeral "5"), but so much ink - so, uncomfortable.

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Permalink Reply by Will McIntosh on January 27, 2018 at 11:09am

Wow, thanks Eric! I haven’t paid yet, and it sounds like I may be dodging a bullet.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 27, 2018 at 11:14am

Correction - "I see about 4 or 5 things..." - goodness! This is what I get for trying to to remember to write the numbers out LOL. The more I look at this, the more I want look at better examples. Placement, signing angle, those numerals, that "B", the paraph...This is not an example I would ever buy or sell.

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Permalink Reply by goodcat on January 27, 2018 at 8:44pm

In my limited studies of Bowie I certainly see Eric's concerns.

That "B" is just out of place, and outside the norm

Is it possible that RR auctions got this wrong? And please post what Epperson says.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 27, 2018 at 9:51pm

In my files I have this listed as unsold back in October 2017. Same photos - appears same seller. It closed on January 11th, also with no bidders. I thought it looked familiar.

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Permalink Reply by Will McIntosh on January 28, 2018 at 5:41am

I haven’t heard from Epperson yet, but I contacted the seller to say I had serious concerns and wanted to cancel the sale. His reply was pretty hostile. Maybe he’s aware it’s no good. I’ll alert Ebay, hopefully with an Epperson rejection to back me. I’m so glad I posted this before paying.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Booth on January 28, 2018 at 6:38am

Sorry, doesn’t look good to me either.

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Permalink Reply by Will McIntosh on January 29, 2018 at 6:27am

Roger Epperson's verdict: Not authentic. Thanks again for saving me a bunch of cash, Eric!

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Permalink Reply by Will McIntosh on January 29, 2018 at 6:52am

And looking more carefully, the seller (Rodan9pro) has a lot of items with old RR Auction certificates (which don't include a photo of the item). I'm wondering if he's either counterfeiting the certificates, or separating the authentic item from the COA and creating a forged version? Here's an example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STING-12x12-Album-Cover-Art-from-The-Soul-...

I was so thrilled about getting that signed Bowie album, I convinced myself the RR certificate was evidence enough. And I know better. I called Ebay, and they said they'd delete the nonpayment from my records once it's there.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 29, 2018 at 6:54am

You can search the RR database of past auctions and see what was in that auction and if they have it photographed (or described).

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Permalink Reply by Will McIntosh on January 29, 2018 at 7:39am

All of the COAs I've checked are from prior to when RR started posting sales online. (How convenient.) But the descriptions all match, and some of the items are on original lobby cards and such, so maybe I'm being too suspicious.