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 very well and as a result forgers are all over ebay. They told me it's like they have a garden hose and they have to use it to put out a raging forest fire. Do you really want to spend your money to buy an item that later will be worthless? Of course not!

EDUCATE YOURSELF:

1- 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. Unfortunately, eBay wants money so they allow this illegal junk to be listed (sadly, I see this junk on Amazon, eBid and Bonanza as well).

When you search on eBay (or any most any site) be sure to use modified searches and use the dash to remove unwanted results:
-rp -pp -reprint -preprint -print -rpnt 

The minus sign omits the results including the word after it and be sure to make sure you clear the box that states search 'title and description' because many legitimate dealers state that they do not sell reprints in their item descriptions and this search would then exclude them from the results as well.

A Johnny Depp search example:  johnny depp signed photo -rp -pp -reprint -preprint -print -rpnt

We also recommend changing the 'sort by' field from 'Best Match' to ending first. Otherwise you will miss out on really great items from sellers that are not Top Rated sellers (you have to be a Power Seller to get this rating). Ebay has recently admitted that the 'Best Match' search algorithm has excluded items from sellers.

This is how we search anytime autographs are involved. Some preprints will still show up (just a few from sellers who try to trick buyers) but try a search with and without the string and see the difference. It will be dramatic!

2- Research - Search Google for autograph collecting web sites. Ask them lots of questions. Buy a book or two on autograph collecting. Buy a few books on autograph authentication. The worst place to try and educate yourself on authentic autographs would be eBay.

3- Don't rely on a COA. They NEVER prove an item is authentic (everybody who sells autographs (authentic or not) issues a COA. There are a few exceptions to this rule-  GAI, GA and PSA/DNA COAs' provide proof that the item is most likely genuine. They have thoroughly examined the item and compared it to their in-person database thereby weeding out most bad stuff. We know the authenticators make mistakes but understand that you are more likely to trust a dealer that sells 3rd party authenticated items over one who doesn't.
We NEVER use the authenticators to determine if an item is legitimate. We simply submit many of our in-person obtained autographs to them in order to provide a higher level of confidence to our customers.  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.

You will also notice some autographs are not 3rd party authenticated. The cost of authentication is high thus, low value autographs will be rarely 3rd party certified. We are always happy to help you submit any non-certified items to GA at your expense if you would like them to be certified.

4- Get to know the Seller - Check the seller's feedback and history on eBay. Check out their current and completed items. 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. Stay away from sellers who state they obtain their autographs from celebrities agents or managers. That is complete rubbish. Autographs are not obtained that way and you would be surprised how many agents and managers become angered when you ask for an autograph in-person (one exception is of course MAJOR charities especially those endorsed by that specific celebrity).

5- Ask a question - An honest seller will have nothing to hide and will not get defensive. I sometimes contact sellers of forgeries to see what they will say and the stories about how they obtained their forgeries are often amazing.

6- Your safest bet- Only buy from us! Remember, high feedback numbers only prove a seller has fulfilled their obligations to the seller and prove nothing about authenticity of the items sold. Purchasing autographs on eBay is definitely not recommended for the novice collector as you will most certainly purchase fake autographs (Unless you buy from us a very small handful of other trusted dealers and in-person collectors.).

7- $9.99 autographs- Authentic autographs do not sell for $9.99 (obviously a dealer might throw some autographs up at that price once in awhile and there is one well known and highly trusted dealer that does this every week but that is the exception). Lets do the math, the photo itself costs around $1.50. That leaves $8.49. Subtract the eBay and Paypal fees and that leaves about $6.30. Do you really think a person would wait all day to get an item signed and then only ask for $6.30 profit for the time and trouble? No! We need to be realistic here. Additionally, an inexpensive Buy-It-Now price shows the dealer has no confidence (or simply knows it is not authentic) in the autograph he/she is selling and is a sure sign it is a forgery! One example of this would be a Harrison Ford autograph. An authentic Ford photo would sell starting at $300-$400 depending on the pose. I have seen dealers on eBay (and other sites) selling his autograph for $49 and sometimes with the 'make an offer' option on top of that ridiculous price. The items were obvious forgeries but if they sell them, think of the profit they make.

8- 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.

9- Think about ink- It is easy to fake a signature using a paint pen as it often hides the specific traits of the signers autograph. 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. Watch out for items signed in paint pen. The paint pen is a pain (it often will not work) and takes way too long to dry. You can imagine what would happen to an autograph obtained in paint pen in a big crowd that is out of control. Most collectors never use them (private signing are an exception of course). Also watch out for items signed in odd colors. The forgers seem to like using some weird paint pen colors (especially on multiple signed forgeries). Most in person guys use blue or black sharpie and the occasional silver sharpie.

10- Use an authentication service- PSA/DNA and GA will check any eBay auction and now you can send them most any item for sale anywhere 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 websites for details.

UPDATE: We can no longer recommend JSA (James Spence) as they have recently been exposed as authenticating their best customers items without even looking at them and failing autographs as not genuine that they previously passed and certified. Please also avoid items certified ACE, OE (online authentics) and PAAS. They are not approved by eBay.

Copyright 2003-2011 World of Autographs.