Fake autographs

[clial-96]

Here I am angry as heck because I lost $80 to Beckett. I sent (4) pictures with autographs to Beckett only to have them come back as fakes. Yep, it's an ebay seller with a real shady practice. This seller told me that the holographic sticker on the bottom is from RAD Graphz also radzautographz.com and they are a legit company. Well noooo they are not! I just looked today online at the so called legit company and all of the pictures have been taken down and are no longer selling anything....I wonder why. 

I had to threaten that seller on ebay to give me my money back of I would raise hell with Paypal - Credit card company and or the FTC. The seller stated that he/she is selling for other people and for me to please take down the negative feedback.  

So here's the thing. The seller knows it takes 30 days to get the autos looked at by Beckett. Ebay's policy is that you have 30 days to make a complaint for your money back. So the seller just sits back and rakes in the money because you can't get your money back by ebay's rules. I only got my money back by having to threaten them with filing a fraud complaint.

The seller also knows that ebay does nothing if the seller gives the money back. Paypal does nothing because ebay does nothing after 30 days.  So the seller keeps on screwing people with fake or photo copies of originals to unknowing buyers. 

I tried to click on negative feedback but I couldn't leave any feedback. Why? Because the seller blocked me! Yep! That's all you have to do is block someone if you don't want a review from them. 

So go out there and sell sell sell all of those Tom Brady autographs. Just tell the potential buyers that you got the autographs in person after the game.  Then when a buyer starts complaining to you about fake autographs, just block them so they can't give negative feedback. If ebay tries to say something, just remind them it's after their 30 day money back guarantee. 

Buy from ebayers that sell from one of the three pro companies like - Beckett - PSA - JSA.  

I wonder how many buyers think that they have legit autos from that seller. I know I spent $260 and that seller almost got away with it but I lost $80 to Becket. 

[lamber9347]

@clial-96 I'm sorry that you lost $80, I can understand that. However you are incorrect in some of what you post. 

A buyer can leave negative FB from a seller they purchased from, makes no difference if they blocked you. Blocking means you cannot purchase in the future but doesn't alter the current transaction. If that were the case literally no one would ever receive negative FB from any buyers, ever. 

PayPal is separate from eBay so you can file for a return after 30 days passed. PP actually gives buyers 180 days to file for a return. 

Best of luck to you....

[mudshark61369]

@clial-96,

  "Here I am angry as heck because I lost $80 to Beckett... This seller told me that the holographic sticker on the bottom is from RAD Graphz".

Even if the autographs had come back as authentic, you would still be out the $80 you paid Beckett's.  That is a chance you take when buying supposedly authenticated signed items online.  Any one can have holo stickers made up, so they do not prove anything. Neither do COAs since most of those are fake as well.

Before you bought the cards, you should have checked out reviews of the authenticating service, and the seller's feedback profile.

  "Buy from ebayers that sell from one of the three pro companies like - Beckett - PSA - JSA".

Unfortunately, scam sellers who list cards/signed items that have stickers or letters from the above authenticators, may use a sticker/letter from another item authenticated by them.  If the authentication number is not clear on the listing page photos, ask the seller for the number. Then you can run it through those sites data basses to see if the number matches the item it is listed with. 

  "The seller also knows that ebay does nothing if the seller gives the money back. Paypal does nothing because ebay does nothing after 30 days".

That is not exactly true, I'm sure if the seller has scammed other people there will be negative feedback on their profile page saying that. So you need to check profile pages before buying.   eBay gives you 30 days from the date an item is delivered with tracking, or from the last estimated delivery date to file disputes.  However, right now with slow mail and depending on how long it takes the authenticating company to check out items you risk going past that time frame.  You can report the seller, if the item is rejected by one of the authenticators, and attach the letter saying that to the report.  Once you report the item/seller, if there is still time left from the 60 day time frame for leaving feedback, if you wait a week or so, you should be able to leave appropriate feedback.

However, PayPal gives you 180 days from the date of purchase to file a not as described dispute, and if you attach a scan or clear photo, of the letter from the authenticating company.  If PayPal denies the first claim you can appeal, but a letter from an authenticating company should allow you to get a refund without having to send the item back.

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security.

[simba6]

Fakes are nothing new. They go back as far as sports. Many a ball boy has signed a famous name on a ball and sold it. The only to be sure is to go to a singing event and see the person sign it. But, even then how could you ever prove it to another person?  Then ther is the problem many players are under contract and can't sign many items at those events.  What about a number that was signed and later put on a jersey? The number is "real" but what about the jersey?

[clial-96]

Hello, I did try to leave feedback on one of three items purchased but could not leave it. We have 60 days to leave feedback or we lose out according to ebay rules. You are correct about  'if I was blocked, I could still leave feedback.'  I assumed that since I was blocked from my buyer, I couldn't leave that last feedback note. 

Update as of today: I have all of my money back from that seller but have lost the $80.  I contacted Paypal about the fraud and they said go to ebay. I did that again and an ebay rep said that they will look at that sellers feedback.  If anyone looks at that sellers feedback there's only two people that have left negative feedback for fake autographs.  People assume that since the photo's have a hologram that they can't have the signatures authenticated.  I cut the holograms off from the bottom and sent the photos in and they were all fakes. 

Chinese sellers are getting richer because they are selling and not having to pay taxes! They even sell Nazi items online and get away with it! What the seller do is photo shopping the swastikas' out but leaving just enough so you can tell it's there. I complained and ebay stated that they found no fault in the sellers photo's. 

Ebay won't have sellers that are selling fake auto's payback a buyers authentication. Paypal is the same way, they suggest not buying anything from ebay but rather go to the actual grading service store.  

Lastly, ebay wants my SSN now and they won't get it. I will just sell on ETSY and Craig's list without having to add my SSN. I just made over $3K last year but they think I'm a business and I'm not. I've seen other forums on a Google search and other sellers are doing the same.  

I'm done with the scammers that come on with two accounts to sell with one site and to up bid their item with another.  That's just **bleep** and ebay can't or won't do anything about it.

[therogue-trader]

"Buy from ebayers that sell from one of the three pro companies like - Beckett - PSA - JSA.  "

I'd trust the "pro companies" as much as any other big corporation/company (not at all).  Too many scandals.

[clial-96]

Hello, I made a purchase for the first time on Ebay for four autograph photo's.  The seller had good / positive feedback from ignorant buyers. They assumed that since the photo's had holograms and a COA plus an internet webpage was / is legit. 

I was one of those uninformed buyers and assumed (We know what that means) that everything was up and up. Well my lovely next door neighbor who used to be a scammer many years back told me to send them to Beckett grading services. He used to scam people with fake Tom Brady autographs online and used fake PSA and Beckett cards. Tom (Neighbor) has all of the expensive equipment to make copies, photoshop, card laminating machines, and holograms. 

I had no idea he was like that until he told me how he could make everything. So he told me to cut off the holograms that were attached and the bottom of each photo and send them in. Tom used an eyepiece that jewelry store use to look at diamonds to check the signatures. "Buddy, these are photo copies of a signature," Tom stated. 

The sellers feedback was 99.7% because people never sent their items to be looked at from Beckett or the PSA companies. I would have assumed that my Tom Sellick was real and put it up on the wall with my other autographed pictures. 

So I did what Tom told me to do and I spent $80 for four pictures to be looked at from the pros. Being that the Covid-19 crisis is here, it took a month before Beckett notified me that they received the pictures.  Well there's the 30 days to make a complaint to ebay for my money back. 

I got an email from Beckett that all four were fakes and then two weeks later I got my pictures back. I tried to request a refund but that didn't work because they were past the deadline.  I went to Paypal BUT they couldn't help because the seller took down the photo's and ended everything on his/her site.  Paypal didn't even have my transactions from that seller! My bank sure had it all but the bank told me to file a police report from the sellers home town. What the hell? Are you kidding me?  I can't get that information from ebay or Paypal unless a serious crime has been committed.  The FTC wants all of my info and then all of the sellers info...but no one will give me the sellers name -address - phone number - website address - etc.

If the autographs were real, I was happy to pay the authentication charges.  Beckett charges two to three times more at their site for the same autographs, so I went with a lessor known seller on ebay.  At the time I had no idea who Beckett or PSA was until now. 

Anyways, I was so angry at getting ripped off that I wrote an angry email to the seller. I basically told him/her that I was ripped off and that if I did not get my money back I would report him/her to the FTC-Local police in their town- Paypal and Mastercard for fraud.  I also said that I had their return address of the PO Box that they were using. Using a PO Box for fraud is a felony under the law of the government. lol  I have no idea but I tried to bring in the big guns, lol. 

I got my money back on each picture but could only (somehow) give two of four negative feedbacks. The other two were not accepted for some reason. 

The seller is   and look at my feedback. Another buyer clicked on positive but meant negative and wrote a bad review of the autograph.  Ohhh I just looked at that sellers feedback now and there's another negative added! lol 

Lastly, look at the sellers positive autograph picture reviews. Most of them are positive and most likely they have not checked with Beckett. The seller also has been on since 2001 so I'm guessing that they close their account before things get crazy with negative feedback.  Once six months to a year goes by, I bet they start selling fakes over again. The feedback is non existent when it's been over a year I believe. 

Finally, Tom stated that Beckett is easy to fake on some items because you don't see the photo just an item number on their site. Like one of his Tom Brady fakes is a picture of Tom Brady throwing a football and the site states: Tom Brady in Uniform.  He was making $100 - $500 per photo and cards!! Tom was selling on ETSY and ebay. It's disgusting and Tom should be in jail, even though he stopped doing it 'he says.' 

[muell.marku · Accepted solution]

Beckett ,PSA and others are not always right ether. I have had things singed in person and beckett said they were fake. Just really no way to know for sure.

[durthawg]

PSA offers a quick opinion for $10 and will put the $10 on the price of the authentication if it looks legit. Just saved me $200 from a Ken Stabler GAI (Global Authentication) Jersey. I've had bad luck with GAI in the past when there stuff wouldn't pass secondary authentication, but did receive an oh darn letter from them along with a handful of more suspect autographs which I threw out.

[pdxeddie1111]

seems like that's a standard practice for e-bay these days got stuck with a fake coin and just bought one of these silly autograph pictures but I'll return and ask for my $ back because of this commentary. The coin was too long before I realized it was a fake and the guy is still selling to unsuspecting people like nobody's business certainly not E-bay's. I will get my money back on this or else. Remember when E-bay was good site and not a harbor for con artists?

[tempera-1]

I have left earned negatives for scam sellers only to have eBay remove my fb rating..eBay is in on it!

[tempera-1]

My 68 year old roommate had her heart set on a Cher signed photo..I warned her, begged her..the scan showed an actual Cher signed photo..to my surprise the photo she received was the same as the one in the scan...

Compared to known Cher autographs they appear to be the same..but, the coa is fake..the company listed only deals in signed sports memorabilia..I questioned the seller...no reply!

That's OK..I have her name and address for my complaints..FTC AG..I also plan on informing Cher of the forgeries..in the meantime my roommate is over the moon..she doesn't realize she was cheated out of $35.. 

[tempera-1]

A different seller (marks-**-*-*-more in Los Angeles) sold the same roommate a CSI Miami cast photo..the problem is the photo used for the sale page was not the photo she received..sale page photo has finger print smudges on the upper left corner...received photo has no smudges..when asked about it, Seller became hostile and rude...he refused to acknowledge the complaint..ebay was notified... Their response nothing...my negative was removed and ANOTHER crooked Seller gets away with bait and switch. .

[auto_serious_mart]

good vibe

[auto_serious_mart]

so good