If you were a KISS fan in 1975 you probably starting practicing the famous KISS autographs when they were first widely shown on the inside gatefold of KISS Alive. Then in '77 when their autographs became trademarks, and were slapped on everything, we all had them down. KISS has signed a lot of autographs in their days however, there are alot of horrible fakes on Ebay. So here are red flags to look for. I am NOT saying all KISS autographs on ebay are fake, but 90% are. If you have more than one of these characteristics in your auction, BE CAREFUL and QUESTION THE SELLERS! 1) PRIVATE BIDDING: A good way to keep you unaware of whose bidding and an easy way to prevent people like me from warning you that you are bidding on a fake! 2) PRIVATE FEEDBACK: Another of hiding their bad feedback, and complaints. 3) CERTIFICATES OF AUTHENTICITY: Only a very few individuals can offer real ones. Basically it is a worthless piece of paper. Anyone these day can print these from home. 4) BUYERS WHO DON'T ANSWER QUESTIONS: I have repeatedly asked these "Autograph Stores" when the band signed a particular item, and most of them don't even reply. Why? Because the band never signed it! 5) ALL 4 ORIGINAL MEMBERS SIGNATURES ON NEWER ITEMS: Kiss 1996-2002, we barely seen all together except for onstage. The likelihood of getting their signatures all at the same time is RARE! 6) SAME COLOR INK FOR ALL 4 SIGNATURES: Like before, KISS is rarely seen all together, as they take seperate limos, etc. It is rare that you will find each guy and have the same type of pen at that moment. 7) LINE THICKNESS/SIMILARITIES: Each KISS member has a certain way they sign autographs. Gene and Ace used a heavy hand, and the thickness of their signature line shows thicker than Paul or Peter's. Beware of autographs that all look similar in thickness. Also look for similar letter styles on different member autographs. I have seen many fake autographs where the "e"s are from the same hand, not KISS'. Note: The "P" in Paul's name is done in one stroke, not two. Gene's "G" today does not look anything like his signture of of the 70's. Both signatures are more compressed today. So beware of long signatures (see picture, all sigs are the same weight).
8) SIGNATURE PLACEMENT: Most signatures are signed in a semi-hurried fashion. It is rare for the band to sign exactly next to their picture or perfectly near to their likeness. Beware of autographs that are too perfect. Each name right under each guy. 9) ACE's CARD: Ace started drawing a card under his name in the late 80's to discourage fake autographs. He would date the card to shown when he signed it so people couldn't claim it was an early signature of his. Beware of pre-85 items with the "new" card. 10) REFERENCES: Kiss DID sign all of their copies of Kisstory, their huge history book. So look for auctions selling this book and see what a real mid-90's signature looks like. Then compare!