getalife
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posted on February 26, 2004 09:29:19 AM
My friend has been bidding on autographed items, specifically in the Anne Rice category. Twice within days the seller was no longer a member, and of those two she was burned once and didn't complete the deal the second time. On a third auction the seller holds private auctions to "protect" the buyer (uh huh).
How much fraud is there in the autograph category and are some categories safer than others? It seems to me any reasonably good artist can buy a first edition book, copy an autograph, and sell at a fairly decent profit, especially in these days when authors hold book signings, and sign so many books quickly. Any comments on this subject will be appreciated.
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stopwhining
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posted on February 26, 2004 10:01:07 AM
someone once told me he used to work for a boss who sits in his office signing anything-golfballs,lithographs etc etc,whatever they sell at that moment.
ebay is fun but buyer beware !!
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
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ebayvet
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posted on February 26, 2004 11:00:00 AM
Ebay is the last place I would look for an autographed item. You get what you pay for. If you want an autographed book, know the source, and make sure they guarantee. The only way to know for sure is to get it signed yourself...
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Libra63
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posted on February 26, 2004 11:14:39 AM
Fraud runs ramped in the autograph category. I wouldn't trust any one selling autographs unless they have a COA and has a generous refund if fraud. Now to say this I did sell an autographed book for a good sum but I did have all the papers that showed that this book had an authentic autograph but if my buyer said they didn't think it was real I would have refunded it. I think in the autograph catagory the buyer should have the last say....
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Reamond
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posted on February 26, 2004 12:08:20 PM
I wouldn't limit the fraud to just eBay. It is just as rampant in the B&M. Even museums get burned sometimes.
COAs are worthless if the seller has no money or the store goes out of business.
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glassgrl
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posted on February 26, 2004 12:10:03 PM
what's funny is the autographs by DIANA GABALDON that they sell on ebay. If you go to her website she says she send you an autographed bookplate free, or she has a bookstore that she signs books for. and they bid like crazy on these, the free bookplates. If you have a first edition of her first book she'll sign it for you too.
Maybe your friend could check on Anne Rice on the web and see if she has something similar?
I LOVE Endicia! You will too – Click here!
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parklane64
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posted on February 26, 2004 01:20:57 PM
I know I could design a program to reproduce virtually any autograph out there, and not on a printer. The sad part is that that level of sophistication is totally unnecessary. Good money could be made on Sherlock Holmes autographs. Seriously! Check out astronaut autographs.
Here is an excellent site for the OP: http://uacc.org/ Oh heck, and this one: http://www.trollhunters.com/ And this one too: http://www.sos4auctions.com (good escrow site database).
Please be sure to post any doubts about these sites, I haven't utilized them recently.
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auctionACE
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posted on February 26, 2004 01:28:23 PM
The COA is worthless. I actually consider it a red flag. Most of the major autograph sellers in the world buy their stock from regular people that sell it to them. The dealer knows that the customer can never prove it is a false autograph without spending a lot of time and money to do so. Like the telemarketers that off a full refund, they know that few will box up the item and trek to the post office to return that widget.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
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popnrock
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posted on February 26, 2004 03:09:18 PM
All of the items we sell come with COA. Once in a while we get some joker who wants to turn us in for "fraud". In cases like this we just send the name and number of the licensing company .... the joker is never heard from again. If we didn't have to pay royalities I could sell my items for rock bottom prices but.....
Miss J
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alldings
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posted on February 26, 2004 04:01:11 PM
The suburban ledgend about the guy who paid big bucks for a Harley Davidson motorcycle owned by the King, had the bill of sale signed by Elvis himself ,Elvis even signed the tank on the bike, before he gave it to friend. Two small problems, the cycle wasn't made until a few years after Elvis died. Also Graceland has records on all the vehicles the King purchased in his lifetime, none were Harleys!
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stonecold613
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posted on February 26, 2004 04:08:09 PM
Fraud in autographed items/books
DAH
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