eBay Seller Listed Fake Signed Items?

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 10:14pm

I have been collecting autographs for a long time now, and came across this seller that constantly has items that do not seem authentic compared to the person's actual signature.

Does anyone else see that?
Link

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 10:27pm

I was suspicious as well. He/she listed a "cast signed" 9 to 5 playbill that I was thinking about buying for about 5 seconds, until I took a closer look. Alison's signature was not legible, and Stephanie's looked super sloppy (compared to her beautiful legit autograph). That playbill from The Last Ship "signed" by Sting is super fake as well as anything "signed" by Idina Menzel. Not to mention that on the Wicked playbills Katie Rose Clark's signature looks nothing like that. Can an ebay seller get band for selling fake/forged autographs? I hope this person does.

[mattmarkowski99]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 10:59pm

The Sting playbill looks like a 6-year old wrote the name on the Playbill. I just looked and someone actually has bid in for the Sting playbill. I feel so bad.
Updated On: 3/3/15 at 10:59 PM

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 11:19pm

There are a few sellers who have fake signatures on many things they sell. Every time I report those listings to eBay, nothing happens. They don't care at all, which is a shame.

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 11:23pm

What sucks is that I know the people who took some of those photos at the stage door and posted them online on their Facebook or Instagram pages, etc. Too bad that "davi-dilsi" guy just stole them and used them for his own benefit. Idina has never come out at IF THEN with a silver sharpie ever.

[Tom5]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 11:26pm

The most common ruse is to get a video of a star signing a playbill (Or anything) then using it to authenticate hundreds of counterfeit autographs from that celeb sold over the web. I'd assume every autographed item sold from any website to be a fake.

[JPeterman]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 11:33pm

I have many years experience in the seedy world of autographed memorabilia. Speaking in generalities, more than half of all signed entertainment, theatre, and sports autographs on the market are fake.

The sports market has developed some safe guards through authentication houses, unremovable hologram stickers and databases to catalog everything that is deemed authentic. But it is still the wild, wild west with entertainment and theatre autographs.

Just imagine how much would you charge for an item you took the time and energy to get a single autograph on. If you had to buy the item, buy the sharpie, and wait somewhere for an hour, half the time not getting the signature you were trying to get ... if the price of an item is less than what you calculate it would take you to get it and the value per hour of your time, "if it is too good to be true, it probably is".

Updated On: 3/3/15 at 11:33 PM

[pc1145N2]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 1:02am

I got Sting to sign my windowcard after a performance and it looks NOTHING at all like that signature. That's a shame.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 1:54am

The "funniest" thing was the smiley face he drew in the loop of the 'g'. I mean, c'mon.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 2:30am

I'm not sure that it's ethical to get someone's signature and then sell it on ebay. Does that making buying their signature on ebay unethical? If so, you get what you deserve.

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 2:58am

I've seen Sting do the smiley face before. I was able to come up with an example on eBay. But yes, regardless, the smiley doesn't really look like this one either and for the most part, he doesn't do it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STING-Autographed-CUSTOM-FRAMED-24x30-Brand-New-Day-POLICE-Signed-ALBUM-/151380465848?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233efa98b8

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 4:35am

How is it unethical? YOU own it.

I don't understand stage dooring OR getting signatures, yet alone PAYING for them. I always thought the signature was proof/memorabilia of the meeting. I don't understand why someone would want a playbill of a show they haven't seen, either.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 9:31am

Sting does do the smiley face, but yes, that looks fake. Very fake.

[atuomala]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 12:23pm

I would be very wary of any eBay seller who is trying to sell an 'authentic' Idina Menzel autograph for $10. Especially because of her growing popularity, a lot of fakes are popping up all over the place. From what I'm made to understand, she hasn't signed at the If/Then stage door in a long time (for which I don't blame her because the hysteria of Frozen has spiraled out of control and If/Then audiences have been overcrowded with Frozen fans rather than genuine theatre fans.)

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 1:15pm

I've never and will never buy an autographed anything. I only collect the stuff I actually get signed in person. I only trust myself haha

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 1:56pm

Whenever I search for memorabilia on eBay, I do the "-signed" filter. A fool and his/her money are soon parted, and I'd only maybe trust a listing directly from a verified charity auction with COA. Thing is, with so many other signed or fake-signed things on eBay, instagram, everywhere, especially from high-profile people like Idina Menzel*, it doesn't take much effort to steal others' photos and even do a rough manual trace. Or just photocopy.

I don't feel particular sympathy for the gullible given the caveat emptor nature of places like eBay, but I wonder how these things can even be reported. They're counterfeit in a sense, but can faked signatures be considered another type of offense? That seems like something only the person whose signature was faked could report, possibly, but that's a lot of work against volume.

*She did stage door last Thursday, according to a tweet, but anyone high-profile like her will have to contend with autograph sellers who elbow their way to the stage door with stacks of Frozen crap or having her sign a stack of her own holiday CDs at that B&N thing, and then reselling on eBay. I suppose another way to look at this is that with high volume, "value" will decrease with high competition, so at least the amount of money exchanged isn't something too ridiculous. Still, caveat emptor.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 3:49pm

The only solution is to stop caring so much about getting frigging signatures.

The only laws that conceivably are involved are trademark infringement--if the celebrity has trade trademarked his or her signature--or fraud.

But you would be hard-pressed to find a district attorney willing to spend the time (or the taxpayers' money) prosecuting autograph fraud.

Here's one case where it happened. Good luck getting

But, really: Can anyone tell me how it enhances your life to pay money to obtain the signature of someone?


Massive Fake Autograph Scheme Lands Missouri Man in Jail

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 6:44pm

The Last Ship playbill is not listed anymore.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 6:49pm

PJ - I paid a couple hundred dollars last year for a full cast + John Hughes signed poster of THE BREAKFAST CLUB. How does it enhance my life? Every day when I look at it on the wall, it makes me smile. I also paid for a Brad Pitt signed poster From my favorite film A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT that I've been working on getting the rest of the cast to sign.

I have a whole wall of movie posters signed by people that I love. As a film buff, they do enhance my life by making me happy. It's no different than someone who collects salt and pepper shakers. They make the person happy and that's really all it comes down to.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 7:01pm

I fully understand the collecting. I collect lots of things that would seem illogical. And I also understand framing works of art and putting them up on walls. I totally understand the idea of memorabilia.

What I don't understand--and what I'm asking about--is paying for a signature.

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 10:35pm

Maybe eBay pulled down the LAST SHIP playbill after myself and others reported it. I guess if it has a bid, eBay will take a look into it, otherwise they just leave it up there.

I personally like how on one of that guy's Idina listings, you can see she's holding a black sharpie, yet his is in silver.

[atuomala]

Posted: 3/4/15 at 10:49pm

I consider someone's signature to be like a handprint. The performer put their "handprint" to that playbill or poster and it transforms a cheap piece of paper into a special memento from the show. For me, it further heightens the experience of live theatre and getting to be close to great performers.