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Signed items on Ebay

pontifex

pontifex

Lifer
For signed items on ebay, like a book signed by an author or a baseball card signed by a player, how do you go about telling if its real or not?

Like one auction I'm looking at says:
We will gladly issue A SIGNED CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY with your signed book.

Is that all I need? How do I know the CoA is real?

so whats the procedure for buying stuff like this?
 
If I were you, I'd pay with a credit card and after receiving the item, get the signature verified.

If it's a forgery, and the seller doesn't comply, you issue a chargeback.
 
Originally posted by: BigJ
If I were you, I'd pay with a credit card and after receiving the item, get the signature verified.

If it's a forgery, and the seller doesn't comply, you issue a chargeback.
Click to expand...

where would i take it? would it it have to be shipped somewhere?
 
Use PayPal and if the item is a forgery, submit a chargeback request and they'll "investigate". Try going with a credible seller for starters.
 
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: BigJ
If I were you, I'd pay with a credit card and after receiving the item, get the signature verified.

If it's a forgery, and the seller doesn't comply, you issue a chargeback.
Click to expand...

where would i take it? would it it have to be shipped somewhere?
Click to expand...

I know there are companies that you can send the stuff away to.

The best way to verify if it's legit or not is to research what event the seller says it's a result from. If it's a company ceritifed autograph, you should be able to contact the company to see if the CoA is legitimate.
 
In Ebays help system it says that they recommend the seller have a scan of the CoA with the auction (which it doesn't). So i emailed the seller asking for a scan of the CoA. He replies and asks me why i need to see the CoA and what i need to know about it. He also says that the CoA is signed by him.

Unless he has some sort of credentials that allows him to do so, isn't that fraud? I asked him what his credentials were so we'll see what he says. He has tons of signed books for sale so I'm thinking this is a scam.
 
Good question, I was wondering this the other day when I dusted off my old comics and was reminded that I have the whole Superman Dies series in mint condition and autographed by the writers and artist with a COA.

Got me wondering what is to stop someone from copying the same layout of the COA I had and putting it with their crap and selling it on Ebay?

 
Originally posted by: pontifex
In Ebays help system it says that they recommend the seller have a scan of the CoA with the auction (which it doesn't). So i emailed the seller asking for a scan of the CoA. He replies and asks me why i need to see the CoA and what i need to know about it. He also says that the CoA is signed by him.

Unless he has some sort of credentials that allows him to do so, isn't that fraud? I asked him what his credentials were so we'll see what he says. He has tons of signed books for sale so I'm thinking this is a scam.
Click to expand...

Run Forrest, Run!
 
COA's can be faked just as easily as a signature.

A COA is just a piece of paper. It's not like it's issued by a governing authority of autographs.

Signed items on eBay is a tricky proposition. And w/ photos you have to be extra careful. 99% of them are copies of signed photos, but the printer and paper are such high quality that you can hardly tell. The only way to know for sure is if the ink of the signature isn't "on top" of the photo and looks to be more "in" the photo.
 
The seller is providing HIS OWN COA? That's about as meaningless as you can get.

The only COA that carries any weight is issued (1) by a respected, trustworthy organization or person, and (2) who is not a participant in the transaction.
 
Signatures are cool. It is as if the person who signed it is a personal friend... except they aren't.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
The seller is providing HIS OWN COA? That's about as meaningless as you can get.

The only COA that carries any weight is issued (1) by a respected, trustworthy organization or person, and (2) who is not a participant in the transaction.
Click to expand...

i know, thats why i'm really suspiscious now.

just got a reply email saying that he won't send me a scan of the CoA because people in the past have used his CoA's to scam people. He also asked if his feedback wasn't proof enough. his feedback is really good, but i'm still suspicious that he signs his own CoA. maybe these people don't know anything about CoAs and assume that since they got one, its legit?

Meet the seller
Seller: collectiblebooksandmore ( 13903)
Feedback: 99.9% Positive
Member: since Mar-09-99 in United States



 
Maybe I should explain further.

A COA has no actual meaning or carries any weight in and of itself. It's just someone signing a piece of paper that says "I say this thing is authentic."

What the seller is doing isn't fraud, since all he's doing is providing a piece of paper he is calling a COA, which says "I say this thing is authentic." That's not fraud. He's not claiming the COA came from somewhere else. It's essentially meaningless.

A COA from a respected organization carries some weight, because other people would accept it as proof the item is authentic. Let's say you buy this and five years later you want to resell it. What buyer would care about some Joe Schmoe's COA? No one. They never heard of him, so what does that COA mean to them?
 
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