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  370846790338: Collins-signed "First on the Moon"

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Author Topic:   370846790338: Collins-signed "First on the Moon"
neo1022
Member

Posts: 281
From: Santa Monica, CA
Registered: Jun 2013

posted 07-09-2013 01:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for neo1022   Click Here to Email neo1022     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just purchased a Collins signed "First on the Moon" from eBay, and wanted to get the cS community's take on the authenticity of the signature. Any help would be much appreciated!

chet
Member

Posts: 1506
From: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 07-09-2013 03:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for chet   Click Here to Email chet     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but hope you didn't spend too much on this.

neo1022
Member

Posts: 281
From: Santa Monica, CA
Registered: Jun 2013

posted 07-09-2013 04:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for neo1022   Click Here to Email neo1022     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, Steve Zarelli very kindly confirmed my suspicions on this one. I was focused on the C-to-o transition as the biggest anomaly. Steve zeroed in on that right away, as well as the overall size. Said he wasn't comfortable with the signature. I've asked that the transaction be cancelled. Caveat emptor!

neo1022
Member

Posts: 281
From: Santa Monica, CA
Registered: Jun 2013

posted 07-09-2013 06:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for neo1022   Click Here to Email neo1022     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Good news on this — the seller (dzstephenns) cancelled the transaction. At first I thought this was an honest mistake (hell, the seller even provided a story about how his (?) uncle had this signed while he worked at Rockwell in Downey...). Then I decided to google them and found many pages claiming (and documenting) forgery of all types of signatures. He/she is currently selling a number of space-related items, including a pretty questionable John Glenn...

There is a lesson here, I suppose. I had been looking for a signed "First On the Moon" for a long time. When this came up with a Collins signature, I overlooked what are now obvious issues, and tried to jump on what seemed like a bargain. Plus which, the seller had 100% positive feedback...

But once I looked closer, the problems became clear. Then the experts weighed in, and I knew I had probably made a bad decision, influenced by desire and the good feedback. Clearly, on eBay, positive feedback means nothing if the customers are being duped, and don't realize they've been sold a bad item. So once again, be careful out there guys — the eBay waters are treacherous.

But thanks to this amazing community, there are ways to stay safe!

Steve Zarelli
Member

Posts: 731
From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 07-09-2013 07:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Steve Zarelli   Click Here to Email Steve Zarelli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Positive feedback on ebay typically means the seller quickly shipped an item and it arrived in one piece. It has little bearing on authenticity of product in my opinion. Some of the worst sellers of forgeries on eBay have nearly perfect feedback.

mjanovec
Member

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 07-09-2013 08:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by neo1022:
I was focused on the C-to-o transition as the biggest anomaly.

I don't like the M-to-s transition.

fredtrav
Member

Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 07-10-2013 12:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for fredtrav   Click Here to Email fredtrav     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
But the BS was pretty good.

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