Avoiding Fake Autographs.
Before making your next autograph or signed photo purchase, prioritise investigating the dealer’s credentials over their often over the top stories as to their history, or their fancy COA offerings – this simple step could help you prevent significant financial loss.
As a discerning collector, consider this question: “If I were operating an autograph dealership, wouldn’t I strive to demonstrate my integrity and reliability by securing membership to one of the leading trade organisations?” Logic suggests your answer would confirm this. This of course raises an intriguing point – why do certain dealers abstain from memberships? It’s worth noting that these associations maintain registers of accepted members, and these should always be checked before making any purchase.
- It’s important to understand that an item’s authenticity cannot be determined solely by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) or an in-person collection story. Remember, a COA’s value is directly tied to the seller’s integrity – if the seller is dishonest, the certificate becomes meaningless. Never assume that a COA provides absolute proof of authenticity.
- When dealers claim membership of professional associations, always verify these credentials independently. For example, claimed memberships in organisations such as the UACC, RACC, or indeed this site, can and should be verified through the respective websites. You might be surprised to find that some sellers fabricate their memberships!
- Never pay via bank transfer, and where possible pay via a Credit Card or PayPal, at least that way you have an almost fool proof way to obtain a refund should you need it.
Avoiding fakes on either internet auctions or websites is not that difficult, it just requires you to use some common sense and a little research, don’t simply accept what the seller tells you as the the truth. A little time spent before buying could save you a lot of money, so don’t buy without doing some homework first.