I have been involved in the magic field not only as a performer but as a collector for over 25 years.  In those 25 years I have learned some valuable tips and advice that could have otherwise been costly.

     I write this guide with ebay users in mind when searching for autographs of famous magicians....past or present....or maybe that rare magic book dated 1924.

     The most valuable advice is the simplest of advices yet we all tend to make the mistake at least once in our collecting career, and that is do your homework.

     Know what it is you are collecting, for example a David Copperfield autograph.  There are two forms of autographs the personalized version and the straight signature alone.

     A personalized autograph that might say "John" best wishes in magic and signed David Copperfield isnt of any value unless your name happens to be "John" and probably wont have a very good apreciation in value as opposed to a straight autograph with just the magicians name.  A collector or buyer would want the plane signature.

     An exception to the fact would be A signature of Harry Houdini very sought after rather it was personalized or just signed.  Also most valuable would be Houdini's signature by his real name Eric Weiss.

     With technology being so advanced like fax,copiers,scanners and other printing devices of such....one must question the authenticity of a product being offered for such a low bid.  You might be lucky and get an authentic collectible for such a low price but highly unlikely.

     Which brings me to the next piece of advice know how much a similar item is going for.  Use the detective powers you have and do your research on the internet.

     If you are like me and collect magicians autographs how do you know if a signature is authentic? How do you know if I just didnt sign a picture with the magicians name?

     Example......I recently purchased a playbill autographed by the late Doug Henning.  Total cost 26.00 including shipping.

     I went on the internet checked other items autographed by him and compared them side by side I noticed that in each case (I compared 19 of them)The letter D in Doug was always different but the rest was a match......that was Doug hennings style, so it was 99.9 percent authentic........I went to a site that sold magic items and notced that the same playbill not autographed by Doug Henning went for 15.00 so there is your target price when bidding.

     How much are you willing to pay for a signature? Is the magician deceseased?  after all Deceased magicians arnt signing much these days....all play a factor in your bidding.

     So compare signatures of like items on the internet.

     C.O.A. Certificate of authenticity means nothing in the collecting field unless it was authenticated by a top appraiser like christies or loyds of london....otherwise I can make up an equally impressive c.o.a. on my computer.

     Back to David Copperfield for a moment, If you can read the signature and read David copperfield on it....its a fake. I have never seen a legible signature of his in my 25 years of collecting.

     Advice #3 would be to puruse retailers of magic tricks and illusions on the internet often they get autograph posters of current magicians.  A autograph poster of David Blaine (promotional poster) retails at a magic shop for 100.00 plus shipping the same poster was auctioned off on ebay not to long ago for over 250.00.

     Keep in mind also that you can write to the magicians personally send a    S>A>S>E  and they will depending on schedule mail you an autograph just for asking....these are usually personalized with your name on it so it dosnt land in an auction on ebay.

     Or you can buy them pre-signed signature only from there web sites.  David Copperfield usually signs stuff after a performance if you are lucky to see him perform live.....

     So there you have it, Do your homework..........KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING..............HOW MUCH SIMULAR ITEMS GO FOR............COMPARE SIGNATURES WITH OTHERS ON THE INTERNET........DON'T BE FOOLED BY A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY..........SCOUT AROUND MAGIC SITES YOU MIGHT FIND IT CHEAPER THERE......AND FINALLY SOME OF THE BEST AUTOGRAPHS YOU CAN GET FOR FREE JUST  THE COST OF POSTAGE.........GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY COLLECTING.