Fakes

When i first started Autograph collecting i didn't really understand how bad the problems were out there with fake autographs. I just thought like many others that what you see is what you get and you should be happy with it. Its now though with a lot of research and a growing interest in Football that i realise how bad the problem really is.

How many of you have gone onto a site like eBay and bought an autograph without even thinking twice about it? I know some of you probably have. But i learned only recently that 80% of all autographs on eBay are fake, can you believe it 80%!! and here i was considering buying something off their recently. But don't think its all bad, if you know what you are looking for then you can find some authentics but they are rare VERY rare.

There is one sad story with all this. I was recently going through a sellers list of satisfied customers and came across one who had bought a tiger woods autograph for his son. He had said his son was so excited and it was a great gift and thanked the seller. I took one look and could see it was a fake, its stories like these that make me so angry at what some people will do to make a quick buck.

I do have a few words of advice for anyone who is going to buy autographs online.

1) If a seller provides a COA it doesn't mean the autograph is authentic. 99% of the time COA's arnt worth the paper they are written on.

2) make sure you carefully read the description about the autograph, how was it obtained? was it through the mail or in person? and if it was in person check if that person was even in that area to sign at all!

3) If the price is very low sometimes that can be a bad sign, why haven't people been bidding on it? sometimes people just miss them but most of the time its not great.

4) and Finally if you can try and find an authentic example of what you are looking for. If you do your research you can find authentic examples through sporting shops and some peoples personal websites. If you are still unsure after this, stay away from the item.


Overall though i have learned that if i cant get the autograph myself through an address or in person then i wont bother and move onto something else.

That's my rant over

Happy Collecting