Helpful Hints And Tips To Buying Authentic Memorabilia

Helpful Hints And Tips To Buying Authentic Memorabilia

Trying to buy an autographed photo or any signed memorabilia can be more problematic than you think. Whether you are a seasoned collector or a first-timer, you can still be caught out by the many pitfalls involved in the memorabilia industry. Unfortunately, there are now many fake signatures doing the rounds and it is extremely easy to get caught out if you don't know what to look for.

Here are a few things to be on the lookout for:

First, beware of offers of valuation. Even though a shop or site may seem credible be careful when companies offer valuations and seek to buy from people other than their reputable sources.'

When looking for signed photographs be careful of shelling out for pre-print photos and not the original signed piece. A pre-print photo is one that has been signed by a celebrity and then copied through a machine and has no significant resale value since they are not the genuine article. You should be able to tell the difference by holding the photo up to the light; the pre-print photo will be blurry whereas original photos will not.

Duo print photos are another thing to watch out for. These have a separate signature printed on top and look original but are considered fake. Again, these have no significant resale value and genuine collectors will not buy them. You can identify these in the same way as you would a pre-print photo.

When buying signed memorabilia it is essential to be sure that the autograph has been signed by the actual celebrity, otherwise it will be worthless. Some celebrities will occasionally ask their secretaries to sign photos for them if they are busy; these are not genuine signatures. The best way to identify a fake signature is to compare it with a real one. You can find examples of celebrity autographs online to compare with your signed memorabilia.

Sometimes, for convenience and speed a rubber stamp signature can be used. However, these are very easy to identify as fake as the signature is usually very messy and can appear to be faded.

Forged autographs can vary greatly in terms of quality. Some maybe easy to identify whereas, others may not be so easy. There are a lot of skilled fraudsters out there who are very good at producing forgeries. Again, you can compare the autograph to the real signature on the internet to see if it matches up.

If, despite being careful, you do find yourself a victim of forgery then you need to complain to the relevant authority or company, i.e. Trading Standards, eBay etc. This can however, take a long time and it may be very difficult to get any sort of recourse.

Collecting singed memorabilia and autographed photographs is a fun and rewarding hobby, so don't let the fear of fakes interfere with your collecting; just make sure you are aware of what is out there. Always try to ensure that you are buying from genuine, established websites or shops as if you have any problems, you have a better chance of having them addressed at such a place. Make sure you do your research on the company and you should be able to shop in confidence!

For more information on genuine websites such as Genuine Memorabilia click here.

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