Autograph collecting can be fun and rewarding for everyone if a few simple precautions are taken. Be sure to read this guide and spend some time educating yourself before bidding. Ebay does not police sellers and as a result forgers are all over ebay. Do you really want to spend your money to buy an item that later will be worthless? Of course not!
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READ THE AUCTION DESCRIPTION COMPLETELY - Make sure that the autograph isn't being described as a preprint, reprint or copy. There are MANY sellers of these illegal duplications on eBay.
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Research - Search Google for autograph collecting web sites. Ask them lots of questions. Buy a book or two on autograph collecting.
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Don't rely on a COA. They are completely worthless and NEVER prove an item is authentic. There are a few exceptions to this rule. One example- Steiner Sports COAs can be trusted. We hope you understand that the issuance of a COA does not make an autograph legitimate on its own: something that many forgers would like you to believe. What counts is the credibility of the dealer.
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Get to know the Seller - Check the seller's feedback and history on eBay. Check out their current and completed auctions. Are they constantly listing high profile and very rare autographs every week? Look at the autographs. Are the signatures unique or do they all seem to look very similar? It is very obvious when the same 'hand' has signed most of the items. The best guarantee a buyer has for autographs is the credibility and experience of the dealer and the probability of the dealer being in business in the future.
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Ask a question - An honest seller will have nothing to hide and will not get defensive.
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Your safest bet: Only buy from UACC and IADA dealers. Remember, high feedback numbers only prove a seller has fulfilled their obligations to the seller and prove nothing about authenticity of the items sold.
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$9.99 autographs: Authentic autographs do not sell for $9.99. Lets do the math, the photo itself costs around $4. That leaves $5.99. Subtract the ebay and paypal fees and that leaves about $4.00. Do you really think a person would wait all day to get an item signed and then only ask for $4 profit for the time and trouble? I highly doubt it. Some stars even charge $20 just to sign a photo. We need to be realistic here.
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Once the item arrives- Analyze the autograph to make sure that it is not a preprint (photos, books and letters only). To test photos, simply hold the photo at an angle to nice bright light. A real ink signature will actually be on top of the photo and will reflect differently than the rest the photo. A preprinted autograph will reflect exactly the same as the photo and will look as though it is actually part of the photo. Once you see this for the first time you will be able to locate these easily. Books and letters are more difficult but the process is basically the same.
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Think about ink- It is easy to fake a signature using a felt tip pen.The felt tip pen has only been around since the 1960s (first Sharpie was made in 1964) and the metallic silver sharpie was introduced in 2002. Any autograph before 1960 will be in pencil or pen.
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Use an authentication service: PSA/DNA will check any ebay auction and give you their opinion on the possible authenticity of the item. This can be done long before you bid and they usually respond in 24-48 hours. This service costs less than $10. Check their website for details.
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Private Feedback- If an eBay seller has made their feedback private, just move along to another seller. There is no reason for private feedback other than to hide feedback that exposes a seller as a forger. These sellers often state they are protecting their bidders privacy by doing this. Ebay takes care of bidder privacy already. NEVER BID ON AUTOGRAPHED ITEMS FROM SELLERS WITH PRIVATE FEEDBACK!
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Your best bet? Buy only from World of Autographs!
