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Autograph fraud is a huge problem. HUGE HUGE problem. People are taking blank 8 by 10's and signing Marlon Brando's name or buying them from people they don't even know. Worse is when these "so-called" authenticators pass everything. The business is a mess. Here are some quotes from the FBI:

THE ROLE OF THE AUTHENTICATOR IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE CRIMINAL VENTURE".& "The forgers searched for vintage paper and ink, and hired UNSCRUPULOUS AUTHENTICATORS to falsely verify their work" & "THE AUTHENTICATOR IS EITHER A KNOWING OR UNKNOWING, BUT INCOMPETENT, PARTICIPANT IN THE FRAUD". AUTOGRAPHS101 is dedicated to bringing you the best advice, interviews, stories, exemplars in the business. It's a unique community full of autograph nuts and fanatics.

1. KNOW WHO TO TRUST-

Always wanting a Babe Ruth (or any celebrity of worth and your last name is the appropriate Gates) autograph is the true evil of opportunity. Buying autographs is tricky. Even the best have been burned. Even the best authenticators have been burned and the worst ones are always burned, either because of lack of knowledge or because of reasons that involve greed. Because of the Internet, fraud is a huge problem. There was always fraud in this area before, but a jailbreak broke out of dishonest men (After all, it hurts no one but the idiot looking for a signature) and maybe turned honest men into dishonest men. Everyone else is doing it, why not me? You could say it has helped ruin this business. He maybe forged one item, then two, then five, then ten.. Opportunities have arisen for those who never thought of the wonderful formula of forging a baseball, sending it to an "authenticator", tricking him and getting a small fortune for a true rarity. Big auction houses hire the best, while fraud peddlers sit behind their computer screens using screen names to hide. The Internet has given them the comfort of anonymity and you must know who the wolf is and who the grandmother is. This site will lead you to a correct and honest collection.

2. BEWARE OF THE EXPERT, THE THIRD PARTY AUTHENTICATOR, THE FORENSIC-

You have experts (those of us that have spent time buying and selling for ten-fifteen-twenty years and who are well educated in the business) and then you have the "third party authenticators" and "forensics" who claim to be experts because of certain degrees and a long history of court appearances. The common argument is that experts like James Spence also sell and that's a conflict of interest. Truth of the matter is that these "forensics" popped up when their services were needed whether it be shear stupidity, lack of knowledge or greed. After all, if you are a new and up coming authenticator, wouldn't you like to work on quantity? If you start failing things, people won't use you. Has anyone ever met these "so-called" experts that pass everything and have been listed in the FBI reports and banned from sites like eBay? Why do these experts authenticate for huge auction houses while the average item with a COA from one of these forensics command a minimum of 15% of what it should? After all, FBI stated:

Ebay has banned certain third party authenticators, forensics. Any item advertising a COA from them will be removed. Some dealers now just say "Comes with Forensic Handwriting Expert COA". Why won't they list the authenticators name?

3. COA's MEAN NOTHING-

Everyone gives one out. There is nothing special about a "Certificate Of Authenticity" or "Letter Of Authenticity". It's about the size of toilet paper and it well should be. So you bought that Cal Ripken Jr. picture from P,D and A Collectibles. So what now? What happens when you find out that P.D and A Collectibles gets caught selling forgeries? What now? In most cases the average customer will do one of two things. Try and resell without the COA or this will leave a bad taste in there mouth and they'll leave this business behind before they even started the great art of autograph collecting. The bottom line is that the average consumer really wants to believe that what they just bought is authentic and there's a great chance that they've been burned and don't even know it. There are hundreds of thousands of items that are believed to be cherished ideas, held once in the hand of greatness. The truth of the matter is that at least 80% of all autographs (the tough ones) are indeed forgeries. How does that fair with your cherished piece? Do you know anything about the person you bought it from?

4. CAN'T SEE SCAN SO GOOD-

Why isn't the signature being shown displayed properly? What is this dealer trying to hide? He has a scanner or camera and I'm pretty sure he can do a better job. Ask him for a better picture and suddenly it's the scanner's fault. If you sell on eBay, you should have the equipment regardless to consider yourself a true businessman. Autographed 8 by 10 of Marlon Brando for $ 30 with ten seconds left? Is the picture a thumbnail? Can't see the signature? Why w ould any legitimate person selling autographs on eBay accept a sale on pretty much a blind submission? If someone pays $ 20 to have it authenticated by eBay approved authenticators "Online Authentics", they can't authenticate it because the signature is too small. It's impossible to base an opinion on the signature. This is where the dealer uses all the 'carnival barker' method of selling and his inventory is loaded with small signatures and cheap prices. If you are selling through a national trade magazine (especially black and white), why are the scans so dinky? Most major auction houses that take on huge assignments usually graduate to catalogs eventually. Take off the training wheels. These guys are hiding.

5. LOOK CLOSELY AT THE SIGNATURE-

When you buy an autograph, you have to remember that this person that signed this piece is in demand. You wanted it right? Do want the signature of your neighbor who works in accounting? No probably not. He's signed his name thousands of times more then you and with anyone (even you), there are certain characterizes that your signature has each time it is signed. Ask yourself these questions: Is it spelled correctly? Don't laugh, I've seen many misspellings. Are there are stops or stutters in the signature? This is the most notable forgery flaw, especially on an item like a baseball where the forger pretty much has to emulate a foreign surface. Look for thick curves, stops and look closely to where he may have picked up a pen, unsure of the next direction. With paper items, look for tracings and look at the flow of the signature. If the signature has curves, (always tricky for a forger, how big does one make that curve) do the curves kind of square up? If you look at enough authentic signatures and take the time to educate yourself, you'll soon see nuances in some of the offerings that you may not think twice the first time. Legitimate authenticators and auction houses look at signatures all day and all night for years, better educating themselves to offer the public their best judgments. Be careful with scans on eBay. Make sure they are clear. Small images, pass right over.

6. LOOK AT THEIR OTHER AUCTIONS-

It is impossible to make up a weekly or monthly auction the way some do. Some dealers on eBay have so much inventory that they split up into four or five names with an average inventory at one time of about $ 100,000. Dealers just fill their auctions with old, new and always popular autographs at a small fraction of the going rate. Heavily discounted autographs for the bargain hunting consumer. Always look at their other auctions and if they have all the best autographs, make a note of the seller and always pass. If they have two Babe Ruth autographed bats in one year, be suspicious. That's where education comes in. There are maybe five to seven that were ever signed by the Babe and you just bought a $ 20,000 item for $ 800 that's worth about $ 10. There are dealers who constantly have loaded inventories in four different categories. The vintage sports guy who only sells Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Lou Gehrig items. The recent sports guy who constantly has an inventory consisting the best in sports, like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kurt Warner and Kobe Bryant. Then there's the celebrity guy who specializes in Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Marlon Brando and The Beatles. Last is the current celebrity dealer who0 has no problems coming up with monthly Tom Hanks, Russell Crowe and Julia Roberts autographs. These are all tough autographs, some with contracts with certain companies. If you take autographs seriously, keep track of what dealers have what and I guarantee that this won't be the first series of rarities that they advertise. This doesn't just go for eBay, but for any company.

7. EDUCATE YOURSELF-

You should be very cautious about buying autographs. Ebay is perfect for the wife who wants to buy her husband an autographed Tiger Woods golf ball for Christmas for $ 75. It's just too bad that Tiger Woods doesn't sign golf balls. Know the history of items. Study signatures. Pay for those $ 10 catalogs that most dealers issue. Know the dealers, the good ones and the bad ones. If you are serious about buying autographs, you have to know as much as possible and can't use the "it's close enough" theory on items. I hate when people look at an autograph and say "It looks like his signature". You cannot buy a complete Beatles piece for less then $ 3000 and Marlon Brando pictures sell for $ 500 in major auction houses. If you see Marlon Brando, it's like shooting a metal deer. No matter what you do, you won't be able to reach your goal. The deer won't go down and Marlon Brando won't sign and he'll probably insult you.

8. BEWARE OF COULD IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED-

I'm seeing too many wire photos signed. A picture of Babe Ruth from 1939 signed. It could have been signed since he was still alive. Too bad nobody really got wire photos signed and only a small fraction of those are authentic. This goes for newspaper items and dollar bills as well. I see too many horrible forgeries on bills that existed when the celebrity existed. How come you never see signatures of the minor celebrities of their time on dollar bills, only the celebrities? People who peddle in forgeries don't want to bother on the small money items. Also envelopes with postmarks. "It’s just the quantity of the vintage cuts of memorabilia, not just baseball but politicians, scientism, and celebrities" says Fitzsimmons from the FBI. "They would go to a garage sales or antique shops and get a book that would know the date of the book and know exactly how old the paper was."

9. IF YOU COLLECT SIGNED BASEBALL, COULD THEY HAVE BEEN SIGNED?

This is an amusing part to me because as a semi-expert in the field of sports equipment, a great majority of the autographs couldn't fit the lifetime of an item, in particular: Baseballs. So many times I see baseballs from the sixties signed by players that passed on in the fifties. Eras just don't fit in most cases and it really doesn't matter to these forgers and fraud peddlers. Some baseballs signed are so bad that it seems like the dealers/forger just didn't want to waste the baseball and just expected to get less for it ."Get to know the items and the dates first and foremost" says James Spence. "You can save a lot of time by doing that. If the person would just educated themselves with the dating and the origin of the items. That would help. I’ve seen single signed items of Clemente and Jackie Robinson with the Rawlings stamp and they died some six years before they were ever made. That’s just something everyone should have in their arsenal, knowing about when these things were manufactured."

10. PENS-

Sharpies existed in the mid seventies and wasn't the signing tool of professional autograph collectors until the mid-eighties when autographs became real popular. There are many tricks to the business like the ballpoint pen wasn't invented until 1944 and that felt tipped pens came into existence in 1955, but can you guess how many Lou Gehrig signatures I've seen in Felt? Crooks should do more research and buyers should educate themselves. Forgeries these days are horrible. James Spence, authenticator notes on many occasions "Sometimes when I put things underneath this machine, I’ll see erases of certain players, obscured and rubbed off signatures with another applied right over. Some of the things are so ridiculous. "

11. DON'T BARGAIN HUNT-

Good quality autographs are indeed rare these days. Popular celebrities are always hounded by fans and they choose their spots to sign. Being a "chaser" is hard today. They have to wait long hours in taking a chance that an athlete agrees to sign a piece and when they resell it, they resell their time. They enjoy the encounter and the self-employed business. Then you have the guy who just takes a picture and forges and the forge peddler whop may buy a Madonna picture for $ 5. That guy who waited for Madonna waited two days and got one piece signed and could not compete in the open market at online auctions because he wants what it's worth $ 200. Meanwhile there are fifty on eBay that sell for $ 40. You get what you pay for. The more you pay, the better off you will be when you are taking chances in this suspect business of owning one person penmanship. There is no such thing as an authentic Marlon Brando signed picture (or Bob Dylan) for $ 100! Why do you think eBay works for so many of these dealers. The FBI's Tim Fitzsimmons said it best "You have the good and the buy; you have a tremendous amount of sales on the Internet, which seems to be the preferred method of dealing with memorabilia in this country....unfortunately with Internet sales for a criminal and this is just not true for memorabilia, this is true of a lot of criminal activities, different kinds of scams on the Internet, unfortunately it’s potentially easier for criminals with start up costs. You do it out of your home."

12. PRIVATE AUCTIONS ON EBAY-

These guys are hiding. They don't want you contacting their potential "fishes". If you are selling a signed Babe Ruth picture for $ 300, someone that is as upset about this business as myself might contact the bidder and say "What are you doing? The thing is worth $ 3000 and he had one on here the other day that sold for $ 250."

13. BE VARY OF PICTURES OF PEOPLE SIGNING-

That's the new trend and actually you know the dealer met Madonna. But too many times he went home and just forged a whole bunch of Madonna pictures. It's like a license to reproduce penmanship. Here's a picture of Madonna signing my personal item and here are fifty pictures with proof. Also be very careful of stories. Stories like: My dad was 12 years old when he met Babe Ruth and this is a treasured item from my life. Your best education in looking at the signature without a thought to the origin or past. "Autographs rarely require a Provenance" says Charles Hamilton, the late famed authenticator.

14. BUY DOCUMENTS AND CHECK-

People who consciously sell rarities, questionable rarities never have items that are documented and guaranteed like checks or contracts. They cost more and their not as pretty as a picture, but when matted with a picture, they can make a collection and best off, you'll never have to question it's authenticity. Be careful when bidding on check signatures, just the clipped signature.

15. EDUCATE YOURSELF TO WHO SIGNS AND WHO DOESN'T-

There are a lot of rare autographs, celebrities who just refuse to sign. Celebrities like Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando and even young stars like Tobey Maguire, Winona Ryder and even Liam Neeson. Paul Newman doesn't sign either. Do they just don't sign? They may sign, but very little and there should be a premium on there signatures because of the stubborn habits. If you buy a Tobey Maguire autograph for $ 8, think about that. Good chance the seller doesn't know how tough he is to get and has posters signed by the cast (all in the same pen probably). I just saw a Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts signed picture that went unsold for $ 30. There is life out there.

16. LOOK AT GROUP SIGNATURES-

Did they all use the same pen? Complex pieces are moronic for this, pieces that take days to sign. Let's take for instance the 500 home run club of 11. I see way to many in the same pen. There were a few shows where they all gathered but none of them used the same pen. How did you get them all in the same pen? Did you keep the pen all this time? It didn't fade? You didn't lose it? How about the cast of Friends or "American Beauty"? Always be suspious when buying group items, especially the guy who seems to be at every premiere and seems to be able to get even the tough cast members where others fail to have the same success.

17. WATCH OUT FOR THICK MARKERS-

Thick gold and silver pens are nice to look at and look nice on a piece but there's also a better chance of a forgery. Why? It's easy to mold a signature into one blotch, impossible to take apart the characterizes of a signature because the signature melts into itself.

18. TOO LOW MINIMUM BIDS-

Why is he starting this auction at such a small opening bid? Let's say you have a 4,000 item. Why would you start an auction at $ 40? A lot of bad dealers do this because they actually don't care what it's worth. They can make a phone call and order a new series of highly suspect pieces. When they sell that rarity, they just have another next week and all they have in it is the fraud price.

19. RESERVES MET

Reserve is a price that the dealer wants to get before he sells it. If the minimum bid is $ 50 on a $ 500 item, the dealer may not want to sell it for less then $ 400. If you are bidding on a $ 500 item and the reserve has been met at $ 100, that's a nice little warning sign. Why not just put a minimum bid of $ 100 on this item? Some dealers that sell forgeries like to make it seem like they have a high reserve and when that's won, maybe it seems like you won something.

20. LOOK FOR GOOD COA'S

Some COA's actually add to the value of a signed piece because it's gone through respected hands and opinions of "true" experts have noted it's authenticity. Charles Hamilton once said "Genuine Autographs rarely require a Provenance". A provenance being the paperwork behind a signature. Some great pieces trade hands so often that you pretty much know who owned it last. This is famous in the art world and not so common in the autograph field. A LOA or COA from Sothebys or Christies ads to the worth of the piece. In the sports field, an item signed by Mickey Mantle might be worth $ 75. If it comes with a common seller COA, you may be able to get $ 50 for it. If it comes with a COA from PSA/DNA, it might command $ 125.

21. FIND OUT HOW MUCH AUTOGRAPHS ARE WORTH!

This may stupid but it's the truth. An autographed 8 by 10 of Babe Ruth is around $ 3,000 depending on the uniqueness of the photo, personalization's and condition. If you see one for $ 800 on eBay, wonder why all the big named dealers and serious collectors are letting you get it so cheap. Think about it. There are hundreds and even thousands of people that look at that very same item. Why do you suppose they pass? By passing and letting you have this item so cheaply, that means by not getting a hold of you (that's what private auctions are great for), they're trying to tell you something. This goes for Hollywood as well. Marlon Brando signed pictures are very rare and sell in legitimate auction houses for over $ 500. He does not sign and hates it. I see maybe a dozen signed pictures that vary in price from $ 20 to $ 200 on eBay. All fakes! Many signed with Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman. If you had a Marlon Brando autograph, would you sell it for $ 100? This dealer will just have another in the very near future because of his "connection".

22. FIND OUT THE GOOD BUYERS AND LOOK AT WHAT THEY ARE BUYING-

This goes for eBay and is a kind of a cunning method of determining what dealers you should be looking at. I started to notice this about a year back. Everything I was bidding on something, so were a handful of my peers. By going to "search bidder" and typing their name, you can see what they are bidding on. A lot of buyers and sellers are utilizing esnipe, a great site that allows you to tag in a bid with a few seconds to go without anyone knowing it, so this hurts this strategy. You can always look at their feedback and see who they bought from as well. Now the big trick is find out who is hiding under whose alter ego. Sorry guys.

23. DON'T BUY AFTER A PERSON DEATH?

It always make me feel an uneasy looking at auction listings after a person suddenly perished. After such celebrities John F. Kennedy Jr., Aaliyah, Dale Earnhardt and Derrick Thomas are just a few examples. Payne Stewart's signed pictures went from $ 25 to $ 550 overnight with a large quantity of forgeries. Before JFK Jr. side, there were two eight by tens signed selling for $ 30. The day after, over six dozen selling for around $ 700 each (one dealer had over 20 with SCAA COA's), with about 70% of them forgeries. If you were a fan of a personality that suddenly perished and you didn't own a signature, either pass or wait a few months. Today you can find authentic John F. Kennedy Jr.'s for $ 250 and Payne Stewarts for $ 100.

24. BE CAREFUL OF CARNIVAL BARKERS-

There are some dealers that live and die by certain authenticators. I call these people "carnival barkers". They will give you hundreds of reasons why you should buy this piece. These are people that hate people like PSA/DNA and Mastro. Mention some of the dealers on this fine site and they'll pick apart the fact that they have no "forensic training" or ever worked on a court case or that they sell autographs themselves. Who better to know the business then the veteran who knows and never owned a Josh Gibson baseball? Or do you go with the dealer that uses a "forensic" and has owned every great rarity (even if it never existed) under the sun for a small fraction of the price. You would gag to see what I've seen. I also dislike people who use words like "COMES WITH COA", "100% AUTHENTIC (as opposed to 67% authentic), and "GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC". Why are they trying so hard to sell this item? The item should sell itself and remember how many people look at that item and pass. Serious collectors and dealers are always looking for great pieces and even if they say they don't look on eBay, I might have to call them a liar because bargains can be found.

25. POWER SELLERS ON EBAY AND HIGH FEEDBACKS

This is a joke. Why? I can tell you stories. First off, some of the biggest fraud peddlers on eBay were Power Sellers and the feds busted in on their parade. This means absolutely nothing. Autographs are in fact in some degrees a rarity to have in this category. Let's say you have a dealer who just sells Steiner memorabilia. That dealer has cash and his stuff is authentic and there's a good chance he'll struggle getting the prices he wants for these authentic pieces. He may pay $ 75 for a signed Cal Ripken Jr. picture and he may in fact get $ 110. Then you have the one dealer who buys Cal Ripken Jr. signed pictures for $ 20 and sells them on eBay for $ 40. Who has a better chance of making a Power Seller? Let's throw in a dealer who forges Cal Ripken Jr.'s autographs. He buys pictures for $ 3 and sells signed copies for $ 40. That guy WILL be a Power Seller (probably sell as a private auction) and think he found a niche in his new career. Do they sell and buy other things? One Power Seller buys jewelry on the side and another buys College Football memorabilia of his favorite team. More then 70% f their feedbacks are those. I saw a person sell a Marlon Brando picture for $ 17. How many of those do you think added to his total of successful ventures, unknown to those uneducated buyers.

One dealer, one of the biggest fraud peddlers on eBay used to trade feedbacks. In his ad, he said that if you give him a positive feedback, he'll give you one. Ebay has changed it's policy but that really doesn't matter and the feedback is actually a horrifying statistic. First off, you have the dealer who has a high feedback (let's say 1000 positive feedbacks), but only sells about 50 things a week. Most people don't even know about the feedback and are too lazy to trade them and I would say that 25% of all sales are reported in the feedback matter. This person who has 50 items does way too much buying and may buy 100 things a month. Check out what else this person is buying. Then there's the dealer with 1000 items, most all questionable and has a long history of selling autographs. That means he had 4,000 successful sales. Alsp look at the feedbacks. Anyone mention "fake" or "I bought a forgery!".

26. AUTOGRAPH ORGANIZATIONS-

Fraud peddlers usually don't belong to autograph organizations like UACC, IADA and Manuscript Society. Anyone can pay $ 20 and belong to this group. You get catalogs from dealers in the mass dealings and newsletters. It takes years to become a certified dealer through an organization and none of these "fraud peddlers" even want to pursue the label. They go through ethics boards and are even monitored to a degree. Is buying from an Autograph Organization a guarantee that what you are about to buy, authentic? No. A person who specializes in Hollywood may not know that they are selling forgeries in another field. Be careful about certain dealers who say they belong (pay $ 20 a month) and aren't dealers.

27. USE YOUR HEAD, DOES IT MAKE SENSE?

Signed baseball by Elvis. C'mon. All these old celebrity baseballs. Use your head. It barely makes sense now, and it most certainly didn't make sense then. People weren't even getting baseball players in a single sign form and here is a Albert Einstein single signed baseball? These types of items exist as to eliminate competition. They are one of a kind. Truly one of a kind. Signed baseball bats by the likes of babe Ruth. Mike Heffner of Lelands says there are maybe 5 to 7 in the entire world that he's seen. "The last one we had was a personalized one some years back. It sold for $ 20,000. If it wasn't personalized, it could fetch $ 25,000. You always see pictures of babe Ruth signing baseballs. Have you ever seen a picture of him signing a bat?" So why do you seem them all over the place for $ 800? It didn't make sense to get bats signed. Black fountain pen on brown really didn't make sense and that goes for the class of 1939.

28. ASK QUESTIONS-

Ask questions and then do research. Where did you get this piece? Is there a number where I can verify this information? What if I send it to an authenticator? (the true answer here is "go right ahead). If they give you a line about how certain authenticators aren't qualified and that they don't have the training necessary to base an appropriate opinion, then run. They just want to recommend an "authenticator" who passes everything (in most cases issuing a COA without even looking at the item). Ask about the return policy.

29. CAN I SEND IT TO THIS AUTHENTICATOR-

This is always a tricky question. Most dealers who live and die by "experts" who authenticate everything will live and die by this person until he gets listed on the Fed list and then the dealer either disappears or finds another authenticator who passes everything. Think about this, James Spence says that 85-90% of all Babe Ruth autographs he sees are indeed forgeries. FBI reports that perhaps 70% of all autographs are forgeries. Now when you look on eBay or any other venue that doesn't try and hide the fact that they sell forgeries (trust me, all legitimate dealers know who sells forgeries and by them existing is an insult to the honest man), what percentage do you think will pass a legitimate authenticators test? If a dealer always has the same inventory, selling at a drastic reduction of it's retail (if they sent their inventory to a legitimate auction house, they could make a bundle if they thought their stuff was indeed rare), that person will hate an authenticator that doesn't agree with the truth. If there's a Josh Gibson single signed ball on eBay and the dealer wants $ 3,000 (and comes with a COA from his expert), why are you getting this piece so cheaply if that 'expert' is so good? After all, experts say that maybe one or two (some even say no) single signed balls actually exist. They estimate a Gibson single signed ball at $ 20,000, as well as Cap Anson who could fit into the Gibson mold as well.

30. KEEP TRACK OF CERTAIN DEALERS-

Are you interested in a Lou Gehrig autograph and this guy on eBay just continues to crank them out weekly? How about a Tiger Woods dealer who seems to have an inside connection with the golf legend. If you are interested in such items, keep track of the dealers weekly inventory. If you e-mail him and he tells you gets them himself or knows someone, 'a contact', then run away. Certain dealers always have certain items.

30A. READ THIS SITE

Look at the dealers listed. There's a good chance that there will be dealers who feel they belong to the Autographs 101 recommended list that may ask and will surely be shut down. Then they will attack this site, criticizing it. That's what they do with authenticators like James Spence. A person wants to become a dealer. He sends off a shipment to Spence who fails it all. He gets upset and finds someone else that will agree with his opinion that everything looks good and there you have it! Memorabilia is born. Now what kind words does he have for Spence in the near future? None. I can't list who is bad (I have my lists), but all I can do is to educate and not mention them. The first time I will mention them is the FBI busts. If not then, the next FBI busts. How dumb do you have to be to continue selling forgeries, forging and authenticating with greed on your mind?