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Author
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Topic: Buzz Aldrin suspect autographs on eBay UK
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medaris
Member Posts: 184
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 07-22-2020 04:36 AM
   
There have been a remarkable volume of what I believe to be fake Buzz Aldrin autographs on eBay in the UK, from a seller in England. The cheapest I have seen is an alleged Aldrin signatures going for £3, up to nearly a hundred pounds for a full signed Apollo 11 crew portrait. If you search on eBay on sold Aldrin signed items, you will have no trouble spotting them. A peculiar double market has opened up, between the prices of the items from this person, and the rest of the market. I don’t think any collectSPACE user is likely to buy one of these items, but it would be disappointing if this put a new collector off. I tried to notify Trading Standards, but they would only take reports via another organisation, which in turn would only take reports from people living in England. Anyway, worth people being alert to these items, in case their quality improves. Of course, if anyone looks at them and feels I am being unfair, I am sure they will let me know!  
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albatron
Member Posts: 2785
From: Stuart, Florida
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted 07-22-2020 08:56 AM
They give me a headache just looking at them.  |
usafspace
Member Posts: 117
From: Los Angeles, CA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 07-22-2020 09:09 AM
Those might be some of the worst fake Apollo signatures that I have seen. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4248
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 07-22-2020 09:30 AM
Classic... fakes. |
rgarner
Member Posts: 1255
From: Shepperton, United Kingdom
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 07-22-2020 11:33 AM
It looks like a child's drawing of a horse. |
SpaceCadet1983
Member Posts: 271
From: Pacific NW, United States
Registered: May 2012
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posted 07-22-2020 02:59 PM
Not even close to the real deal! |
Mike Dixon
Member Posts: 1461
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003
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posted 07-22-2020 03:13 PM
Wasn't even trying. |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1701
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 07-22-2020 03:26 PM
LOL
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 44384
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-22-2020 03:30 PM
All these comments are great, but given how obvious the forgery style is, how do we account for the people who seem to buying these for non-trivial amounts?One would hope the bids are shills, but if not, it is troubling that people would throw away their money when even the most cursory of research (i.e. a simple Google search) would save them from being scammed. |
usafspace
Member Posts: 117
From: Los Angeles, CA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 07-22-2020 03:54 PM
A fool and his or her money are soon parted.It makes no sense. They sell copies of authentic signed photos on eBay for $9.00,
which by the way has really hurt the space autograph market. |
medaris
Member Posts: 184
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 07-22-2020 04:05 PM
Yes, it is very strange. I am sometimes left behind by more educated autograph discussions — my signature doesn't look the same every day, so I assume most people's change (well, I exclude Wernher von Braun from that) but these are so far away it's hard to fathom. Perhaps people's desire to possess something signed by Aldrin, which I understand, overcomes their suspicion? On the other hand, I always assume there are people who know more than I do. I collect ancient coins, which is a minefield on eBay. I sometimes pick up a genuine bargain, usually because the coin has not been well described. But if it is easy to find, then an expert will come in and pick it up, or at least bid it up to an appropriate price, nine times out of ten. I don't expect to get a well labelled, catalogued coin on eBay cheap, if it appears genuine. So how can you think that dealers/experienced collectors would let a well labelled Apollo 11 completion get away from them for less than £100? That you were right and they were wrong? Interestingly, I think some other Aldrin prices may have decreased on UK eBay, possibly because this is pegging them back. I did wonder if that might be the plan; flood the market with fakes so prices drop and the cost of genuine items drops so you can pick them up, but that seems far too subtle. If you were going to make fakes, why not make the effort and make good fakes that would cause doubt and command a higher price? Or if you can make £100 for a few minutes work, perhaps it is not worth the effort? What do others think? |
albatron
Member Posts: 2785
From: Stuart, Florida
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted 08-01-2020 10:10 PM
quote:
Originally posted by medaris:
I tried to notify Trading Standards...
Are you familiar with Garry King in the UK? He can help you with trading standards. |
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