Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on December 24, 2022 at 8:19pm

That doesn’t include autographs. It’s only available for watches, sneakers, trading cards, jewelry, handbags and wallets.

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Meadows on December 24, 2022 at 8:21pm

Thanks for the clarification. 

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Permalink Reply by crazyrabbits23 on December 25, 2022 at 12:36pm

Yeah, I've never seen EBay even attempt to try to authenticate signatures. They don't have an in-house division for that sort of thing (Beckett/PSA/JSA seems to have cornered the high-end market), and there are rampant fraud rings running constantly on there, for just about every major presence you can think of.

That being said, I've been burned more times off Abebooks (I just had to get a refund a month or so back for an alleged signed book that turned out to be faked) than EBay, and that's even with knowledge of certain authors/personalities whose "wheat is separated from the chaff" in terms of legit autos vs. fakes.

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on December 26, 2022 at 6:11am

There was a point in time about ten years ago when ebay actually had a team monitoring the authenticity of autographs, and would pull items when reported by this team.  Apparently the power sellers complained because it was cutting into their profits so it was terminated.

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Permalink Reply by crazyrabbits23 on December 26, 2022 at 8:50pm

I stand corrected! Their decision doesn't surprise me at all.

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Meadows on January 4, 2023 at 10:47am

Thanks for the warning about Abebooks. I've seen a few items I would like to have had, but my intuition wasn't good about their authenticity.

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on January 4, 2023 at 10:57am

I don't think ABE is necessarily a bad venue.  Many sellers on there are top notch.  Like every site, there will be some clunkers amidst the good stuff.  

It's good to see other offerings a particular dealer has listed to get a more full picture. I recently purchased a personal "grail piece" from an ABE dealer.  I did a bit of research to see what else they were offering and it looked solid.  Some sellers on there also have their own independent websites to browse.  

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Meadows on December 25, 2022 at 6:59am

I agree 100%. 

Also I didn't know about "computer autopen." Boy, technology further complicates an extremely difficult process of authentication. 

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Permalink Reply by Mikex on December 25, 2022 at 8:10am

I can guarantee at least  80% are fake.

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on December 25, 2022 at 11:00am

Sometimes it really is depressing (and anger generating) to scroll through eBay listings.  There are certain signer's names that I browse regularly to see what might be offered.  So much of it is bad. 

My focus is on more vintage entertainment and historical.  I'd imagine current entertainment is even much worse.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on December 25, 2022 at 11:45am

They apparently aren’t even interested in removing reprints that are being offered as original. I hadn’t reported an eBay item in quite some time, but recently tried with a $2K+ OBO reprint in which I have an image of the original. Nothing happened.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on December 25, 2022 at 12:01pm

In my opinion eBay cares only about profits that is it.  I know some of us that have tried to point things out have had no luck whatsoever.  I have been blocked by sellers for simply (and very politely) pointing out obvious forgeries and secretarial autographs.  In 20 some years I think perhaps only a half a dozen ever responded and actually took anything down.  It wears anyone down after a while. Sadly, this will continue as long as there is an eBay because they make money off of both good and crooked deals.

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