Forge Like a Butterfly...STING on EBAY

Without really intending it, ESPN published a piece that confirms: EBAY IS A WIDE-OPEN PLACE TO SELL FORGERIES.

After all, WHO is going to stop a forger?

EBAY is the smug "We're JUST A VENUE" company, and they don't want cops or copyright enforcers or rights owners ruining the fun.

EBAY does not exactly encourage reps for celebrities to file takedowns. They'll even question a stoppage: "We need MORE INFORMATION before we end this auction. WHY do you THINK this is a FORGERY??"

The number of autographed items that are even pointed out on eBay is miniscule. Complaints only come from a few VeRo reps who stop this shit out of principle ("I don't like to see weasels make a profit") OR from rival autograph houses trying to keep the price up on real items.

Case in point: Muhammad Ali authorized signatures. It turns out that over the years, Ali had several different companies in charge of merchandising.

What prevents one company he fired from pretending to have stockpiled five thousand autographed items and slowwwwwly selling them off over the years? Just the NEW company, declaring the items are forged.

Some of the messy details:

The article was much longer than this, and there was A LOT of finger-pointing.

Some guy who happened to have thousands of leftover Ali signatures whined that his items were pulled on eBay, even though "they are authentic."

Then he admitted he doesn't even bother with a "Certificate of Authenticity" and sells them as "decoration" items only. And fools buy them.

When Ali died, eBay's VeRO office had to pull a lot of auctions from freelance forgers. Still, you can bet a lot got by, and there was confusion over which company was selling authenticated stock, and which "experts" were certifying reality.

How fortunate that gullible people didn't care.

What exactly is the point of BUYING a fucking signature instead of getting it yourself? "You met Ali?" "Errr, no, I just bought this from a dealer." So??

Yes, there's a Huelbig born every minute, a fat dopey grimacing grinning galoot who finds something magical in a piece of "memorabilia." Even counterfeit memorabilia.

Then there are the many eBay dealers who, in violation of eBay's "rules," sell duplicates of autographed photos: "Reprints." No, they are technically not allowed to do it, but, heh heh, only a VeRO rep can request a takedown. You can't say, "Hey, that guy is selling reprints." Ebay: "He might have permission." But he doesn't SAY he does. "Oh well. We're JUST a venue." Catch 22.

There are so many dealers on eBay who play the penny ante forgery game. They go to used bookstores and record stores, and turn dollar items into "autographed" rarities. They easily fool the average dolt. Then there are the professionals who bother with details (like using an antique fountain pen to add a signature to an old sepia print photograph).

Some VeRo reps have heard ALL kinds of stories: "That's authentic, it was just a very cold day and she was outside, and that's why the signature is off..." or "What do you mean it's fake, just because the name isn't spelled right?" Or "It's authentic, it was received by mail from a collector. What do you mean a secretary signed most of the routine photo requests, and the star had several different secretaries over the years, and and you can tell very easily which secretary signed it????"

Too bad Ali isn't around to walk into a restaurant, see a framed forgery on the wall, and say "You ARE as dumb as you look. That's not MY signature!"

Nice going, eBay...the trustworthy website.