Is this autograph dealer legit?

I came across a store called Autographs Authentication Store (autographsauthenticationstore.com). They seem to have a very large selection of autographs of all kinds, including Beatles autographs. Does anyone know if this is a legit dealer?

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Permalink Reply by Tom on October 21, 2019 at 10:13am

Btw here’s the item...

Attachments: No photo uploads here
Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 21, 2019 at 10:25am

Looks like one hand. 

Restocking fee is a red flag among many.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 21, 2019 at 10:29am

You are getting the good advice here.

Permalink Reply by Tom on October 21, 2019 at 7:09pm

So, here's the story so far. First, my email to them...

-----

<my contact information>

 

October 21, 2019

 

AutographsAuthenticationStore.com

9213 Grand Gate St.

Las Vegas, NV 89143-2301

orders@autographsauthenticationstore.com

 

Dear Sir or Madam:

 

I am seeking a FULL refund (100% plus shipping charges) for the following:

 

Invoice Number:      3511

Invoice Date:            September 8, 2019

Order Number:         50310

Order Date:              September 8, 2019

 

<my girlfriend's contact information>

 

Product: Judas Priest Signed Screaming For Vengeance Album

Quantity:   1

Signed by Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Dave Holland

SKU:         011341

 

It is my opinion that the autographs on this album are completely fake.

 

Here are my reasonings for determining this:

 

  1. This particular edition of the album is not an original 1982 edition. It’s a 180g reissue from Sony’s “We Are Vinyl” series that was released on Dec 1, 2017 (see attached photos and compare to photos at weblink - https://www.discogs.com/Judas-Priest-Screaming-For-Vengeance/releas...)

 

  1. The drummer, Dave Holland, who left the band in 1989, died on January 16, 2018 in a hospital in Spain, 40 days after being diagnosed with metastatic liver and lung cancer. He’d spent that entire 40 days away from his recently-purchased house in a nursing home and later the hospital where he died. Holland had been living in Spain in self-imposed seclusion since 2012 after his release from an 8-year jail sentence on pedophilia charges. He’d had no interaction with the band in the years since he’d left and had retired completely from the music business (which really wanted nothing more to do with him anyway given his conviction and jail sentence). I seriously doubt that in the short window of Dec 1, 2017 to Jan 16, 2018, he would’ve been shipped a stack of this and other albums (many surely from that same “We Are Vinyl” collection released on Dec. 1 or Dec. 8, and all readily available on your website, including at least three he didn’t play on) from a collector to his nursing home or hospital and would’ve been propped up to sign them when he was clearly very sick and nearing the end of his life (https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/judas-priests-dave-holl...).

 

  1. The album would’ve then had to be shipped back to England, where the bass player, Ian Hill, apparently signed it with either the exact same black ink pen that Holland did, or one just like it.

 

  1. Once it was then signed in BLUE ink by the lead singer (Rob Halford) and one of the guitarists (Glenn Tipton, who retired from touring with that band in early 2018 after revealing that he had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease for 10 years, but still apparently has a reasonably decent autograph), it was then apparently shipped 2 hours away to their other FORMER guitarist, K.K Downing, also estranged from the band for since 2012, who clearly signed it with that same blue pen, or one just like it.  Throughout all this shipping, the album itself still managed to stay pristine. No dogeared corners or signs of wear whatsoever.

 

  1. Judas Priest released their next album, “Firepower”, in March of 2018. A premium package available through their website included an autographed copy of the album...by Rob Halford only. So from December - March, you could get copies of newly-remastered old albums signed by all three of the members still in the band and the two that no longer were, but to get a signed copy of their NEW album they were working hard to promote, you could only get the lead singer’s? This does not many any sense.

 

  1. And finally...the signatures really don’t look like others I’ve seen online, including the one stamped onto their own guitar picks (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Judas-Band-Rob-Glenn-KK-Ian-Scott-signatur...)

 

In addition, your “Letter of Authenticity” is completely done in house. You do not call on qualified third party authenticators like Beckett BAS or Celebrity Authentics CAG to verify your products. Any reputable dealer is going to use a third party to authenticate their products, and anyone who doesn’t is automatically going to be regarded with suspicion in matters like this.

 

With that in mind, again, I am requesting that the entire purchase price of $216.79 - $187.79 plus $29.00 flat rate shipping – be refunded back to my girlfriend’s credit card. I do not have that card with me, you should have it on file. I will deal with the difficult task of having to let her down on this matter.

 

If you are not able to honor this request in full (as in, no 20% restocking fees or less shipping fees), please let me know and I will then deal with the matter via her credit card company’s fraud department. I will also be sure to send copies of all correspondence on this matter to the Attorney General’s offices of both Nevada and Wisconsin.


Please confirm for me by replying to this email that you will refund the money, and I will then ship the album and the Letter of Authenticity back to you on my dime via Registered Mail.

 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

 

Sincerely,

Tom Erdahl

-------

Then, their auto-reply...

-------

Thanks for writing!

 

Any order may be returned within 30 days, with no reason necessary.

 

Please find the attached return label.  As soon as the order has been received your credit card will be refunded.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Michael Tierdon

 

Autographs Authentication Store.com

Customer Service

 

www.autographsauthenticationstore.com

--------

Then my reply...

--------

  1. This is after 30 days. She ordered it on Sept 9, did not give it to me until yesterday. 

 

  1. I want to make sure that she will be receiving the full $216.79 refund and not minus shipping charges and a 20% restocking fee. If that is the case, my original email still applies.

--------

Then, theirs...

-------

Thanks for writing back!

 

I never realized that you were not our customer.  You should have quit while you were ahead.

 

Don't write back, nobody is going to answer you.  Keep it.  It's past 30 days.

 

Best regards,

 

Michael Tierdon

 

Autographs Authentication Store.com

Customer Service

------

And mine...

------

Thank you. I will have my girlfriend call her credit card company and turn this over to her fraud department.

Nice professional answer there, too. Classy.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 22, 2019 at 9:37am

I would just deal with the card company.

Permalink Reply by Tom on October 22, 2019 at 10:36am

She's got a call in to them and they're looking into it. Problem is she used a debit card, so all money has already been transacted and it doesn't look like debit cards offer you the same protections as credit cards.

Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on October 27, 2019 at 5:27am

Hopefully anyone conducting an online search of Autographs Authentication Store will stumble upon this discussion.  Autographs Authentication Store should be more professional when replying to the concerns of their customers.  Based on the terrible experience described, I doubt that Autographs Authentication Store will receive very much business from many autograph collectors who read this discussion.  Best of luck, Tom.  Please keep us posted.

Permalink Reply by Steve Conn on November 24, 2019 at 4:25pm

eBay seller stv1296 is re-selling crap that came from this site. Pathetic.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/stv1296/m.html?_trksid=p3692

Permalink Reply by Mike Wojcik on November 25, 2019 at 9:09am

I will confirm that everything on the Autographs Authentication Store (previously called Autograph Collectors Guild, and before that MMP Collectibles) website is 100% fake.  I recently fired Brian Burkel as a client of mine but during my time working for him I definitely saw enough evidence that would put his entire operation at risk and himself in prison for a long time.

The guy literally has a Chinese company duplicate brand name items (guitars, drum heads, albums, etc...) and then ships them into the USA where he then hires an autograph specialist to forge the signatures onto the items and then lists them for sale across all popular auction sites as well as his own. He spends at least $1,000+ a day and brings in $150,000+ a month spewing fake collectors items into the American market.

Did you guys also know that he is the person who runs Autographs Authentication Services, the so-called authentication expert behind all of the COA's he sends with his forged items, and has always been in that position. What a scam!

When enough heat is put on his current website, he takes it down and brings it back up under a completely different name and internet address.  When his merchant account is shut down, he cons someone else into opening one in their name, and proceeds to restart the whole operation over again.

How he has gotten away with this for so long we may never know, but I'd like to believe his time is almost up.

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on November 25, 2019 at 10:08am

Yes, I noticed it was his authentication company. What did you do for them? How long?

We found records of him importing guitars from China: https://www.importgenius.com/importers/mmp-collectibles

Here's another piece on him here: https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/mmp-collectibles-of...

Permalink Reply by Mike Wojcik on November 25, 2019 at 10:20am

I worked as a contract web developer for him since 2017.  I came into possession of all of his email communications from 2 different addresses dating back to the beginning of time.  I'd love to hand it all over to the FBI.

Permalink Reply by Bob Merc on June 17, 2020 at 11:14am

Greetings Mike...I just had a run in with Autographs Authentication Store ...I bought 2 guitars and an LP for a friend...one guitar came damaged from the piss poor packaging and the signatures are fake. I disputed with my bank. He sent me 3 return authorization labels and is giving me a full refund. I mentioned your name to him and what you said and he called you a liar...he said you only worked for him for 3 months. This Michael guy that signs the emails is an aide of his. His girlfriend is from out of the country. They are split but she has his 7 year old son. Im a 63 year old disabled wheelchair bound veteran and this s*** hes pulling dont fly with me. He asked me if Id cancel the disputes with my bank and I told him no. I also told him I want every penny of my money back. He ran you and everything you said into the ground...especially the part about turning papers into the FBI. Just touching base with you. 

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