certificate of authenticity

[nlindenj]

the easiest way to prove that your signature is the real deal is to have a unique piece please see this photo of warwick davis

 

 

this shows him signing my unique poster if that isn't proof for anyone then i don't know what is

[GoldenGreen]

This is to demonstrate how easy it would be to fake something as a warning, but it probably sounds quite convincing. (And only took a couple of minutes !)

 

I have loads of pictures from Premiere's of celebs signing photos , I can tell you that I will provide a Certificate of Authenticity as well with the item and the date, day and event it was taken at.

 

This is more than you would normally get from Most Dealers, particularly on Ebay, so be warned.

 

For example, a signed photo of Sharon Stone, I got this at the Basic Instinct 2 Premiere at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square, signed by Sharon Stone on Wednesday 15th March, 2006.

 

Here is a picture of Sharon Signing (Image from the Internet):

 

Here is a signed picture for sale (Image from the Internet):

 

 

I will provide a certificate of authenticity with all sales. (Which I will just knock up on my computer)

 

Now , both of the images I just took off the Internet, but all looks pretty plausible, the best thing I feel personally is just to get the autos in person yourself or from a trusted source, you can never be sure that any of these others are genuine, a few maybe, but realistically most provide a lot less information than this and are no doubt selling fakes.

[nosfer2]

Apart from anything else the amount you'll get on E-Bay, etc is probably less than the cost for getting it in the first place. The only autos worth having are ones you get yourself from the people you want them from.

[keith]

Apart from anything else the amount you'll get on E-Bay, etc is probably less than the cost for getting it in the first place. The only autos worth having are ones you get yourself from the people you want them from.

943517[/snapback]

 

Trouble is how to you prove to someone that an auto is a fake if that someone does not want to believe something is a fake?

 

You - the buyer - do not want to admit you've been hoodwinked and made to look stupid. While the seller is certainly going to give a ton on plausible explanations as to how and why and where - despite the signature being obviously fake.

 

Why do you think unscrupulous sellers pitch up on ebay? Its easy and very little you a buyer can do about being ripped off.

 

If you buy from a proper recognised dealer, you will pay - mostly - a fair market price. A price that reflects the fact that an item is genuine.

 

On ebay, a seller puts up a multi signed Lord of the Rings items and starts it off at £5. Sorry, if that was GENUINE, would you risk it selling for just a few pounds. Certainly not if you were a dealer.

 

If you are a fan and maybe managed to get a spare autograph from celebrity A at an event - you know its genuine, but that signature might be a scrawl, it might not quite look like the ones you've seen of that celeb before. BUT You KNOW its genuine, you KNOW it was signed by him - but I guarantee no amount of 'cert of authenticity' will enable you to sell that for anything like its real value. Because it does not look real.

 

So if you are faking something, you are going to copy something you think is real or easy to copy. The thing that makes me laugh on ebay are those sellers who sell 'pre prints' - copies - of fake sigs.

 

And then always beware those sellers that ONLY Sell popular, current, stars autographs. Just how many Elijah, Orlando, Viggo, Sean Bean, Sean Astin signatures are there on ebay? How many Dan, Emma, Rupert sigs from Harry Potter are there? Well, you can guarantee they'll all have COAs and that 95% will be fake...

 

By the way, I remember one seller on ebay who, after Elijah appeared at Collectormania, had an unlimited amount of Elijah signed photos for sale. His auction details shows a pic of Elijah signing - so they must be genuine, surely. EXCEPT that the photo was taken THROUGH THE WINDOW outside the event!

 

But I would know that, I was there...someone in Redneck City, Arizona would not.

 

KEITH

[FON]

I had a massive argument with a seller on ebay a month ago, who was selling and had sold over a 3 week space 8 starwars posters signed by 21, 5 harry potter posters signed by 15 and 4 godfather posters signed by 12

 

All 8 starwars posters included sir alec Guiness and Peter Cushings autographs. All harry potter posters were all main cast plus JK Rowlings, and all 4 godfather posters had Al Pacino, Robert De Nero and Marlon Brando.

 

Now come on if Mick had these 17 posters for sale at MSPG what he be looking at, at least £750 each maybe a grand. If you veiw this Mick tell us what these would be of value to you.

 

Each item went on ebay for over £100 each some close to £200 so he must have made about £2500 all looked decent to someone who knew nothing about them, but even the HP posters all the autographs were the same size they looked ok but then if your selling a fake you do want them to look ok. That is the whole idea.

 

I contacted the guy selling them and he said he would look into them and contact the person he got them off. But his auction stated that they were all signed in person with him.

 

I think they were all signed in person by him not with him

 

Jason

[nicky]

Some useful points on how to spot a fake on eBay (not just autographs):

 

Bad feedback for similar item,

Low feedback,

Hidden feedback,

New user,

Private seller,

No mention of authenticity,

Excessive quantities,

Low start price,

Low Buy It Now price,

High P+P price,

Seller is in different country to where it's being sent from,

No refund policy,

1 or 3 day listing,

lack of significant item description (or a really short one)....

 

The above is basically common sense though.

Edited March 21, 2006 by nicky

[Badboy6555]

why does a 1 or 3 day listing mean fake?

[nicky]

why does a 1 or 3 day listing mean fake?

943862[/snapback]

 

Cos the seller is aware that eBay might remove it and so seller wants to make it a quick auction before eBay pull it down. If a fake is up there for 10 days there is more of a chance of eBay spotting it and then ending it....thus no sale.

Edited March 21, 2006 by nicky

[gebes]

1-3 listings I've found are fake, because, once you've paid the seller by Paypal, the seller then sends out the item purchased, and by the time you get it, and see it's not what you bid for. The seller has done a runner, and is listed as being "No longer registered"

 

As has been said, with Ebay, the buyer must do his/her homework, by checking the seller's feedback, both rating and comments, how long they've been registered. What the item would cost if you got it from the high street.

 

Ebay used to be alright, but recently there have been alot of problems with dodgy Auctions, such as this

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/05/ebay_plasma_scam/

 

and that was a 1 day listing. Mind you the 21 bidders should have read the whole article, especially the 1st line.

 

Also suggest you check out Anthony Daniels(C3PO) website, and look at the section titled "the dark side" as he actively names and shames Ebay sellers trying to sell something that he's supposedly signed.

[nicky]

Ebay used to be alright, but recently there have been alot of problems with dodgy Auctions, such as this

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/05/ebay_plasma_scam/

 

and that was a 1 day listing. Mind you the 21 bidders should have read the whole article, especially the 1st line.

 

This has 6 of the points I made in my previous post.

[GoldenGreen]

I think the moral of the story is if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is !

 

If you can't get the autographs in person, then find a UACC registered dealer, check their dealer number and then check against the UACC site to make sure they are genuine.

 

Talk to them about their autographs , how they get them etc

 

Look at their autographs compared to ones that are known to be true either that you have yourself got in person or a friend may have got.

 

If you feel happy after this , then it is worth taking your purchase forward.

 

Dealers make a fortune each year out of selling fake autographs through ebay, don't become their next victim.

[nlindenj]

i bought my poster from ebay, i paid a fair price for it, around £70-£80 (if memory serves) the gent selling it told me it was donated by warwick davis to his daughters school (which the seller was its head master) for a charity cause when i meet warwick and asked him if he knew this poster he told me the same story the head master did, then when i got home from the event in rotherham where i met mr davis i noticed that warwicks address was on the poster tube (wow)

 

so don't right off ebay, just be careful as a previous post said if its too good to be true (signed by alec guiness....yeah right) then it proberly is

[nicky]

so don't right off ebay, just be careful as a previous post said if its too good to be true (signed by alec guiness....yeah right) then it proberly is

944496[/snapback]

 

It's not eBay that ought to be blamed but rather the tw@ts that try to make money this way.

[GoldenGreen]

so don't right off ebay, just be careful as a previous post said if its too good to be true (signed by alec guiness....yeah right) then it proberly is

944496[/snapback]

 

It's not eBay that ought to be blamed but rather the tw@ts that try to make money this way.

944640[/snapback]

 

I think Ebay could do more though in terms of checking some of the items for sale. although it can't be an easy job with the amount of items they carry each day, so there is an onus on the buyers to be aware of something that looks shall we say a bit dodgy !

 

At the time of a films release, because of Premiere's , press events etc, it is reasonable to think that some signed items will turn up, however, for anyone who has ever taken a poster to a Premiere, they will know realistically it is very difficult to get a poster signed due to the space you have with the crowd around you. Also most stars, other than perhaps someone like Tom Cruise are not going to sign multiple items, as many do not sign at all or just sign for a handfull of people before they go in. So anyone who has multiple signed items, like posters for sale, or say 10 different 10 x 8's of a current star , I would be very dubious of.

 

Always try and do a bit of research first, in terms of the item, and if the dealer can't give you much information on it, or how it was signed, then I would steer clear of it.

[timpe]

Even reputable dealers can get caught out, unless they were actually there when the item was signed - when I was at Comiccon, just walking around looking at stalls casually I spotted at least 5 fake Viggo Mortensen signatures. There were some on ebay recently too, which his publishing company publicly confirmed were forgeries.

Viggo is pretty savvy to the secondary marker - everything he's signed since the LOTR increased his fame (other than the LOTR trading cards) has been dedicated to a specific person, charity or other named party, and yet copies of his books still appear on ebay with simply "love Viggo" and go for pretty inflated prices.

Sadly, dealers tried to get around the personalisation rule by requesting multiple items signed to the most popular first names in the hope that a fan out there with that name will bite. As a result of this, Viggo has changed his "anything within reason" signing rule and no signs art books only, no film items or photos.

 

I've bought an autograph from Ebay once, because I knew the company were reputable and UACC registered, but it is definitely something to be cautious about.

 

I've seen some hilarious forgeries though - including Star Wars items released AFTER his death that were supposedly signed by Alec Guiness.

[Turkish]

To be honest I think the only autographs worth having are autographs you have had signed in person for you by a particular guest

[rich5wolves]

To be honest I think the only autographs worth having are autographs you have had signed in person for you by a particular guest

945094[/snapback]

 

 

Id tend to agree with you on that one, although there are people throughout history id love to have an autograph from but cant as they are dead. Dealers are therefore sometimes the only option, but I know what you are saying, theres nothing quite like meeting a celeb and have him sign in person. Its the only way to be 100%sure its real and every time you look at it you think, "met him" and it makes it much more prescious and valuable to you personally.

 

Getting an autograph best rewards those who obtain it in person. Watching your favourite film and thinking, met him, met her and got the picture signed on the wall!

 

Great feeling and thats why I collect......... When I can I always get them personalised to me as although people go on about devaluing a photo, i dont get them to sell, i get them cause i love looking at them, displaying them and would never think of parting with my collection.

 

Bring on Elijah, Carrie and Dreyfuss!! Gold Pass ready and raring to go!! Just got to work for next 3 months to pay for it all. Can you tell im excited yet?!!

[georgelordwwfc]

hi people I admit I do sell autographs but mind I am part collector aswell mainly dealing in local music groups within the UK but collect autographs for myself of signed stars such as big names and I also provide picture proof of star and also tell them where it was signed to make sure they know it is 100% becuase I never like people having fake becuase I would't want one myself so why should you sell them to others and mind I'm currently a student so can't blame me getting music autpographs and selling need to fund my university degree some means as well my part-time job is low wages

[nosfer2]

We have no objection to legitimate sellers selling genuine autographs. It is the fraudsters who are the real problem.

[Stevie79]

To be honest I think the only autographs worth having are autographs you have had signed in person for you by a particular guest

945094[/snapback]

You took the words right out of my mouth. An autograph bought from somewhere or over the internet isn't as special as having one signed in person. I really couldn't care less about a COA. The autographs I get are for me. I don't want to sell them on (especially if they're Stargate) and atleast I know they're authentic. That's all that matters.

[Raylenth]

To be honest I think the only autographs worth having are autographs you have had signed in person for you by a particular guest

945094[/snapback]

You took the words right out of my mouth. An autograph bought from somewhere or over the internet isn't as special as having one signed in person. I really couldn't care less about a COA. The autographs I get are for me. I don't want to sell them on (especially if they're Stargate) and atleast I know they're authentic. That's all that matters.

949794[/snapback]

 

Whilst I agree with you both there is one point. Every signature I have has been gotten by me, for my collection, not to be sold on, in person except a couple. I have bought a couple of Richard Dean Anderson sigs from the most reputable Stargate dealer around. The reason I did this is that he is unlikely to ever do an event/convention and I wanted his sig to round off my huge Stargate collection. It's not the same as meeting him. It would make my (and many others) day if we could. However, seeing as this isn't going to happen, this is the only alternative. Having these bought sigs rounds off my collection.

[Crostini]

Perhaps take a photo of them signing it for you?  

942615[/snapback]

 

This has it's faults still though. When you sell it how do you prove it is real and not a re-production of the orignal with the sig? And if you plan on selling them on eBay how do you prove that's even you (the seller) in the picture??

942801[/snapback]

My advice, to you and everyone is just to get a photo of you getting them signing the photo OR like me get a photo of you and them togehter to prove of authenticity.

[GoldenGreen]

Going back to one of the original points which I think related to someone proving to friends that the autos they had were genuine, I guess you come from the place that friends would trust you anyway so it would not be an issue, but as a general point I will also try and get a photo of me with celeb, and also either get them or I will hold the item in the photo too, so that you can see me, the celeb and the signed item all in the photo. This should be possible most times at organised signing events, it is some what harder, if not pretty impossible though at Prems, so here I think just trying to get a photo of celeb as they are signing is the best you can hope for.

[Too Tall]

I think it all comes down to TRUST.

 

All the things that have been mentioned here can so easily be got around, and don't really prove anything.

 

A photo of the guest signing. How do you know for sure it's the item they are selling. It may look the same, it may even be the same picture, but you can not know for sure they didn't get one signed and have now created 10 fakes on the same picture.

 

The same is true for COAs. The COA maybe genuine but so what you have a piece of paper that says an autograph is real! Which autograph? It's not stapled to the item or picture so how can you prove it's a COA for the item they're selling. OK it may have a description of the item/picture, but as I said above what's stopping someone buying an authentic auto from a dealer, faking it and then selling it on with the COA. That or they just simply fake the COA.

 

As I say it comes down to trust. Can you trust the person you're buying from? You can only hope that dealers that are apart of the UACC are legit and you can trust them, anyone else you can never be 100% sure. I just think buying off eBay is a bad idea unless you know the dealer. You have no way of knowing you can trust the person selling it.

[rjw499]

Personally I have no interest in buying autographs from ebay or any other source - for me, so much of the enjoyment of the hobby is in actually getting the auto yourself - meeting (no matter how briefly) someone whose work you admire, getting a photo with them (sometimes) and the knowledge that what you have is DEFINITELY genuine is unbeatable!

 

And as for selling them on..... Hell, if you're there to make a profit then then I'd rather you just forge them at home and get out of my queues!

 

Certificates are pointless in my eyes, even if what you have comes from the highest authority around you can never be absolutely 100% sure that its real - and in most cases they utterly worthless

eg - I remember seeing a WWE ring signed by everyone of the major stars, along with photos of them signing - being a fan this did catch my eye but sadly the certificate, complete with 2 of the wrestlers names spelt incorrectly did little to convince me of its authenticity.....