Yes, Ebay is Exciting BUT Walk With Caution

I. Ten steps to protect yourself from fraudulent (forgery) autographs online.

1. MYTH #1. Doesn't Good Positive Feedback suggest the autograph is authentic? The answer – NO. Many online forgers have 100% positive feedback. WHY? They give great customer service. They're essentially criminals selling forged autographs, however, they send items promptly, answer questions, and refund if the buyer discovers it is not authentic. Yet, these guys know a VERY SMALL FRACTION of buyers will ever get their autographs authenticated as these forgers prey on the inexperience of their victims. These inexperienced buyers do not know what they are buying, never mind knowing where to go to have it authenticated.

2. A pattern. Always, always check other items for sale by this seller. Many of these forgers have a pattern. For example, no one can sell an authentic Judy Garland autograph for $50, the market won't allow it. And, the market is made of experienced collectors. When an authentic Judy Garland does appear on Ebay you will see dramatic difference in the selling price, such as a genuine one that sold for $900 recently. Also, many of these sellers use the same type medium, i.e, same kind of paper. One particular Ebay forger from New England, who has sold over 100,000 forgeries on Ebay uses the same kind of paper for all his forgeries. He posts many of the same ones every week. So you can see he has the "same" Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley up almost every week and it is obvious the same person made out all the signatures. He sells about 2000 a week, hence in that quantity he doesn't have time to be creative. Another forger in NJ however, goes to great lengths to acquire old photos and old paper (usually torn out of old books) and does a convincing job tracing signatures. I call this type of forger the sophisticated forger as he doesn't waste his time with $50 items. I recently witnessed him sell a Beatles Forgery on Ebay for $3500.

3. Grossly Unvalued Sales: The online forger sells autographs every week for a fraction of actual value. If he were selling authentic autographs he would be paying close to market value to acquire them and hence NOT be able to sell for such low final bids. However, when you are forging all the signatures the overhead is, well, about zero.

4. MYTH #2. It comes with a COA so it must be real. COA's are only worth the value of the paper unless they come from a reputable source. The online forger NEVER uses a Certificate of Authenticity from a REPUTABLE SOURCE. He/she ONLY issues COA's made out by him (or her). Also, does his COA provide all contact information?

5. He/she has NO affiliations with reputable organizations for the autograph industry. And, most of the time if you question him/her on it he will proceed to tell you everything bad about that organization.

6. They cannot give you an honest source of their autographs. Many online forgers use the same fabricated story such as a guy from Austria who is selling an old man's collection, for the past two years. And, ALL obvious forgeries. So, beware of such claims. A forger cannot provide a sales history, receipt or reputable, documented source for their "autographs" because they never bought them.

7. Beware of "clipped signatures". These are pieces of paper with so-called autographs on them. In particular, NEVER buy a "high-end" autograph on a slip of paper. It is popular among forgers to forge very valuable signatures on pieces of paper like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, and Albert Einstein just to name a few. To protect yourself from these tactics always invest in ONLY signed documents. For example, if you are looking for a GENUINE Abraham Lincoln signature buy ONLY official signed documents from the time period he was alive such as a Presidential Military Appointment from 1863. . I have never seen an official presidential document forged, as forgers are highly unlikely to invest in one of these pricey documents just to forge them.

8. Yes, there is a eerie consistency in the psychology and disposition of most of these forgers I have encountered. When they are confronted, their responses are consistent with their criminal activity, namely defensiveness, denial and often vulgar. No snake likes to be uncovered. Ask WHO they got it from and can they prove it. Do they provide in writing that if proven NOT Authentic you will get your money back. And, do they provide contact information including phone number. So, if you ask them enough questions you may begin to uncover this typical disposition.

9. What can you do to insure you are buying GENUINE Autographs? Only buy from a reputable dealer, who has been in business for several years, has a physical or online store (web site), and is not hesitant to provide contact information. Ebay provides the ideal ANONYMOUS Identity opportunity for these unscrupulous people who make a living preying on the inexperienced. Also, don't just look for a Certificate of Authenticity as they are worthless unless they are backed by a reputable source, namely someone who will guarantee authenticity for life.

Also, there is a service called PSA quick opinion. This is a very inexpensive service that provides a experienced second opinion on an Ebay autograph. And, it is relatively inexpensive, $7.50 per item. They will return a "Likely Not genuine" or "Likely Genuine" result. Of course there are those who criticize PSA because they disagree with some of their findings (the online forgers despise them most). However, it is still a good service that will detect a large percentage of online forgeries. And, for the inexperienced buyer it could end up saving them from wasting, in the case of the forged Beatles photo, $3500.

10. They hide – They hide their feedback, they often hide their location by inputting some nonsense other then the town they live in (probably for fear of someone contacting the State Police Internet Crime unit or the Attorney General's Office). Their descriptions have very little specifics and NEVER contact information. Also, almost all of the Ebay autograph forgers have PRIVATE auctions for fear someone will contact the buyers and tip them off on the scam.

11. Educate yourself, don't be afraid to ask the seller the tough questions. Namely, how long have you been in the autograph business? Do you belong to any autograph associations? Do you have a store or web site? What is the history behind this piece? WHO authenticated it? Will you refund my money if I have it authenticated and it fails? Always remember, Caveat Emptor.