Post by mikedx on Jan 1, 2006 1:39:43 GMT 1
I thought I'd take the time to enlighten some of the new people to the wonderful world of autographs on ebay.
Looking for that A list actor for a cheap price? Ebay has it, but most likely they are fake. 70% of autographs on ebay are forgeries. As you know, I collect BSG auto's. I do searches every week. At any point in time, I can give you a link to a poolboy auto. Why doesn't ebay do anything about it? Their official comment is that it is too big to police. Others say that as long as ebay gets their fees, they could care less about what goes on. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
Although there are several people that swear against any ebay autos, you can find a legit auto if you know what you are doing.
Here are some tips to help you along the way.
What's it selling for? 10% of what it's worth? There is a reason nobody else is bidding. They know it's bad. Of course a seller with a high asking price is better, but it still isn't 100% that it's real.
Think their feedback will tell you if they are legit? Think again. I've seen sellers with thousands of positive feedback with hundreds of crap signatures.
On the other hand, if you see sellers with extremely low feedback that has hundreds of auto's for sale, it tells you something. It tells you that they have made a fresh batch of poolboys, and are looking to get rich while they can before anybody notices.
Another thing to look for is the length of the auction. If it's for 1 day, you safely assume again that they are trying to make a quick buck before anybody who knows it's crap will find out.
Is it a private auction? This means that the bidder's id is held private. What this does is keep other people from warning bidders that their auto's are crap. Out of several hundred private auctions I've seen, I've only found one auto that was legit. This is the biggest thing to look for, and the one thing to avoid at all costs.
Do they have lots of auto's for sale? Then check the other ones. If you can find some fakes in those, then the one you are looking at probably isn't any better.
Now that I have scared you, here's what you can do. Are they a member of the UACC? Then it's more likely that it's real. Why? Well other UACC members check up on each other, and it gives them all a bad name if one of them is selling fakes. A UACC seller doesn't automatically mean you are getting a real auto, so do your homework. Ask several other people their opinions. When in doubt, DONT BUY!
I've found a couple of sellers that I have compared against my own, and found them to be reputable. I'll still double check, but they do have my business.
For B-list actors, you don't see as many fakes. Fakers want to make money. So spending their time faking scrub actors that sell for $5 won't generate them as much money as faking a top star.
In summary, it's of course always better if you can get your auto's in person. But this isn't always an option, especially if the actor is dead. If you don't have any experience, it's best to stay away from ebay. But if you do your homework, check the situation of the auction, sift through all the crap, and get some second opinions, you can find some legit items there.
Looking for that A list actor for a cheap price? Ebay has it, but most likely they are fake. 70% of autographs on ebay are forgeries. As you know, I collect BSG auto's. I do searches every week. At any point in time, I can give you a link to a poolboy auto. Why doesn't ebay do anything about it? Their official comment is that it is too big to police. Others say that as long as ebay gets their fees, they could care less about what goes on. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
Although there are several people that swear against any ebay autos, you can find a legit auto if you know what you are doing.
Here are some tips to help you along the way.
What's it selling for? 10% of what it's worth? There is a reason nobody else is bidding. They know it's bad. Of course a seller with a high asking price is better, but it still isn't 100% that it's real.
Think their feedback will tell you if they are legit? Think again. I've seen sellers with thousands of positive feedback with hundreds of crap signatures.
On the other hand, if you see sellers with extremely low feedback that has hundreds of auto's for sale, it tells you something. It tells you that they have made a fresh batch of poolboys, and are looking to get rich while they can before anybody notices.
Another thing to look for is the length of the auction. If it's for 1 day, you safely assume again that they are trying to make a quick buck before anybody who knows it's crap will find out.
Is it a private auction? This means that the bidder's id is held private. What this does is keep other people from warning bidders that their auto's are crap. Out of several hundred private auctions I've seen, I've only found one auto that was legit. This is the biggest thing to look for, and the one thing to avoid at all costs.
Do they have lots of auto's for sale? Then check the other ones. If you can find some fakes in those, then the one you are looking at probably isn't any better.
Now that I have scared you, here's what you can do. Are they a member of the UACC? Then it's more likely that it's real. Why? Well other UACC members check up on each other, and it gives them all a bad name if one of them is selling fakes. A UACC seller doesn't automatically mean you are getting a real auto, so do your homework. Ask several other people their opinions. When in doubt, DONT BUY!
I've found a couple of sellers that I have compared against my own, and found them to be reputable. I'll still double check, but they do have my business.
For B-list actors, you don't see as many fakes. Fakers want to make money. So spending their time faking scrub actors that sell for $5 won't generate them as much money as faking a top star.
In summary, it's of course always better if you can get your auto's in person. But this isn't always an option, especially if the actor is dead. If you don't have any experience, it's best to stay away from ebay. But if you do your homework, check the situation of the auction, sift through all the crap, and get some second opinions, you can find some legit items there.
