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This is why I hate "Proof Photos"

Take a look at the photos this seller has included. The photo of this man and George HW Bush is at least 20 years old, but the signed photo is from the 2010 or 2011 World Series.

Trying to fool unsuspecting buyers on eBay = Terrible seller and bad for the industry. And those who are smart enough to realize it are going to be turned away from the auction, regardless of their opinion of the authenticity of the signatures.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151395005331?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&a...

Thoughts? Opinions?

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Permalink Reply by Rich on August 30, 2014 at 8:42pm

I'm not sure that an absurdly dumb auction like that is a good reason to hate proof photos in themselves. That's kinda like saying you hate the NFL because you watched a Jaguars game. Plenty of good sellers who use proof pics the right way and do offer compelling evidence of the individual autograph's authenticity. Just scanning through this guy's offerings, it's obvious that this guy is not one. Love how Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges and George W. Bush all used the same light blue Sharpie paint pen.

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Maxwell on August 30, 2014 at 9:06pm

I used the same gold paint pen for the majority of my in person autos for two years. Sent it on a TTM request and never got it back. I was upset I lost it after I sent it out without really thinking, but that pen was used by Jeter and dozens of MLB all stars and famous people I was lucky to meet. Although not really worth anything, it was cool that so many had used the same pen.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on August 30, 2014 at 9:08pm

I guess I never really considered that when tossing out old pens.

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Maxwell on August 30, 2014 at 9:02pm

Look at 90% of the photos and you will see they are bogus. The photo almost never shows the actual item being signed. The dates often do not match up. They are photos that have been copied and pasted from the internet. Do a google image search for a good proof photo and it will be linked to all sorts of items for sale. I'm going to stop posting any photos where the person is signing my item. Someone will just use it to help fool uneducated buyers.

I'm not a fan of the NFL either. Saturday football is much much better! But if 90% of the nfl was fake, I would hate it too.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on August 30, 2014 at 9:06pm

90% of proof photos are fake? Seems a bit high. Maybe I'm just not looking at as many auctions as you are though. Obviously, bad sellers with bad intentions will do unethical things, including worthless or fake "proof" photos.

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 30, 2014 at 11:52pm

I never give much credence to proof photos. They're usually just an image of the celebrity signing autographs. Okay. Either it's a clear picture with exact proof of the item in question being signed or it's absolutely nothing.

One of my favorite autographs is a signed picture of Charlton Heston with a proof photo. He signed some photos while promoting The War Lord overseas in 1965. A professional photographer there snagged one of the signed photos and also a photo of Mr. Heston with pen and picture in hand after signing. I enlarged the signed picture within the photograph and it matches the signed photo I bought. The proof photo is as cool and important to me as the signed photo.

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Permalink Reply by IAN STALS on August 31, 2014 at 12:50am

Great comments and I feel this is a new direction sellers are taking in light of buyers wanting more provenance and proofs.Saying that there are some good honest sellers with genuine proofs to match their items,it is starting to be a bit of a pain though.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Saurin on August 31, 2014 at 4:28am

Been saying this fact for years, the photo dos not prove that it was signed at that time and place, (if signed by the individual that is) I have seen an individual using the same picture on ebay, selling signed items by Elvis using the same picture over and over again. this really, really annoys me,

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Permalink Reply by Rock G III on August 31, 2014 at 12:25pm

With photo editing being so simple these days proof shots are silly to trust. Besides I can google "enter celeb here" signing autographs and get thousands of results.

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 31, 2014 at 9:08pm

I'll use any excuse to show the proof photo I mentioned since I think it's really cool.

The signed photo:

The proof photo:

The enlarged, flipped proof photo side-by-side with the signed photo:

The ultimate proof photo from all the way back in 1965.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on August 31, 2014 at 9:11pm

Now that's cool.

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Permalink Reply by David S on September 6, 2014 at 5:47am

The only "proof" type of thing I would trust is Upper Deck's ProofCam....camera attached to the pen that records the autograph actually being signed! I wish this technology was more prevalent.

http://www.upperdeck.com/customer-care/memorabilia-authenticity-pen...