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08-04-2010, 05:44 PM #1
Autographed Memorabilia - Protect Yourself (CONTEST)
Autographed Memorabilia – Protect Yourself
Autographed memorabilia is something us collectors really take for granted. We see our favorite player's autograph on a bat, ball, jersey, puck, just about everything available for someone to autograph we will see online for sale. Online auction sites and your friendly message boards are littered with tons of autographed items ready for your hard earned cash. But how do you know if they are truly authentic? How do you know it's not a forgery?
In a report a couple years ago, the FBI determined that over 70% of “authentic” autographs listed online are fake. That is just about every 3 out of 4 autographs are forgeries used to try and steal that money you worked hard for. That's an astounding number considering the large amount of autographs you can find online right now with a simple search.
I believe that even I have been conned by this once before. As a younger collector coming back to the hobby I wanted a David Ortiz autographed 8x10 to hang on my wall. I searched eBay for something in my price range and finally won an auction for $18. It said it came with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) so I thought everything was accurate and was happy. It arrived and I put it up on my wall in a frame and was proud to have my favorite player's autograph right in front of me. I started searching for some David Ortiz autographed cards and saw his autograph on several different cards. I looked up at my 8x10 hanging over my desk and thought it looked a little different compared to the cards online. I checked the COA and saw it was by someone nobody has ever heard of and my stomach felt a little sick. They didn't look the same and the angle of the autograph was completely different. I knew I had been conned. Even recently, I witnessed a Lebron James autographed jersey sell on eBay for over $100, except it was such an obvious fake and eBay refuses to do anything about these auctions.
After my personal experience I did the necessary research on the topic of getting authentic autographs. First, when buying them online, you should only trust reputable dealers in the autograph market. PSA/DNA, UDA, and Steiner are some of the top authenticated dealers of autographs right now. PSA/DNA, for a fee, will look at your autograph and determine their opinion whether it is real or not and certify them for you. Sometimes you can find small companies that have autograph signings with players and you can get a COA and pictures of the athlete signing the memorabilia and most of these companies seem pretty legitimate. If you didn't want to pay the higher value for something authenticated by the three major companies, I would consider using one of those smaller companies with caution.
Secondly, do your research on these companies that provide a COA beforehand; Google is a great tool. I would not buy an autograph any other way than the ones listed above as the odds of it being real are not in your favor. Otherwise, the only way you really know whether an autograph is real or not is by getting your own autographs in person.
Next, take a look at the prices and description of the item. Is this item a reprint? Does this price seem too good to be true? Answer these questions to yourself to make sure you are ready to purchase something authentic.
Make sure you take all these necessary precautions before purchasing that piece of autographed memorabilia you want for your collection. You want to be sure you are spending your money on a real piece of autographed memorabilia and not a piece of fraudulent memorabilia designed to take your money from you. It's sad that these things must be done to protect you, but if you don't protect yourself, no one else will.
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08-06-2010, 04:32 PM #2
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