Have I bought a fake?

I bought a signed photograph from an Ebay seller called simple_simons;
he's in the UK. His feedback was 100% positive and he offered a
Certificate of Authenticity and a 100% Life Time Money Back
Guarantee'. However the certificate doesn't impress me. Though it's
nicely printed, it doesn't give the name of any company or dealer,
even though his auction pages state that 'All of These Signed Photos
Have Been Purchased From Authorised Dealers in The UK and USA.' The
COA simply states that the signatures are authentic 'to the best of
our knowledge' and goes on to say that 'the undersigned guarantees
that the signatures is authentic' however the signature of the
undersigned is impossible to make out and so doesn't tell me who is
certifying the authenticity of the signature. I would have thought
that that a COA would have given a name, am I wrong to think this?

The photograph has been signed and I can feel that there is definitely
a signature on the photo, but how am I supposed to know if this has
been signed by the person on the photograph?

In addition, when I checked the seller's feedback and actually clicked
on the items, I discovered that he has been buying photographs of
celebrities, and then a month or so later he offers the same
photograph but now they've been signed. Ok it's possible he buys
photos then gets them signed by the actual person, but how normal is
this? Would a dealer work in this way, actually getting the photos
signed himself or is this very strange practice and should I return
the photo for a refund?

I know nothing about autographs and bought this as a present for my
son but don't want to give him a fake.

Mike

probably fake...set the scans somewhere for people to look at them...someone
here can probably tell you for sure.

Certainly sounds highly questionable.

That's just one of the reason COA's don't mean anything, I know many
collectors selling their items and issuing COA's signed by their name.
So if you want your money back, you are hoping they are honest; most
aren't of if they bought the item and think it's legit and passed it
to you, they can say it's legit and there's nothing you can do. Never
buy something based on a COA alone.

Feedback is only an indicator the seller actually delivers items to
people and probably on time, packed ok etc. It's not an indication of
authenticity. More people on Ebay buy fakes than people buy legit
stuff. They don't know they're buying fakes and get the item so leave
positive feedback.

If he's buying photos and lives in Iowa and say the celebs he's
getting are major celebs who are working in California or on a set in
the UK, it's not likely that he's legit. If he's claiming he got them
in the mail, also not likely. Celebs usually don't turn around stuff
in a month. Even some that do send preprints and scredtarials.

You should've questioned this before you bought. You should research
his location, all his past dealings, what sorts of celebs he gets,
research if they actually sign.... and if so, if these are supposed to
be in person or not. If so, find out when, research if you can where
the celeb was. This is done by Google and typing in dates. I've done
this with and without success. Some things are EASILY verifyable.
Also, this group will let you know for sure clues you need.



On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 03:23:31 GMT, (Mikey) wrote:

I bought a signed photograph from an Ebay seller called simple_simons;
he's in the UK. His feedback was 100% positive and he offered a
Certificate of Authenticity and a 100% Life Time Money Back
Guarantee'. However the certificate doesn't impress me. Though it's
nicely printed, it doesn't give the name of any company or dealer,
even though his auction pages state that 'All of These Signed Photos
Have Been Purchased From Authorised Dealers in The UK and USA.' The
COA simply states that the signatures are authentic 'to the best of
our knowledge' and goes on to say that 'the undersigned guarantees
that the signatures is authentic' however the signature of the
undersigned is impossible to make out and so doesn't tell me who is
certifying the authenticity of the signature. I would have thought
that that a COA would have given a name, am I wrong to think this?

The photograph has been signed and I can feel that there is definitely
a signature on the photo, but how am I supposed to know if this has
been signed by the person on the photograph?

In addition, when I checked the seller's feedback and actually clicked
on the items, I discovered that he has been buying photographs of
celebrities, and then a month or so later he offers the same
photograph but now they've been signed. Ok it's possible he buys
photos then gets them signed by the actual person, but how normal is
this? Would a dealer work in this way, actually getting the photos
signed himself or is this very strange practice and should I return
the photo for a refund?

I know nothing about autographs and bought this as a present for my
son but don't want to give him a fake.

Mike



www.starwarsautographcollecting.com
http://dahoov2.topcities.com

On 07 Dec 2004 08:35:35 GMT, (Barefootmk) wrote:

probably fake...set the scans somewhere for people to look at them...someone
here can probably tell you for sure.


I've uploaded the photograph, it's at:

www.liverpoolmike.freeola.com/friendspic.jpg

Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

fake as all hell...send it back...seriously...whoever forged it doesn't even
have a clue what the autographs are supposed to look like...
sorry