Identifying Fake / Forged Beatle Autographs

This section will attempt to educate potential buyers about Beatle autographs. I added this section because the volume of fake / bogus / fraudulant Beatle autographs offered for sale is pervasive.

OK, first things first. You are not going to buy a signed Beatle album, picture, napkin or whatever autographed by the four lads for $100, $200, $300 and so on. So anything on eBay that is not being offered by experts such as Perry Cox or authenticated by experts like Frank Caiazzo are just about gauranteed to be fakes. Legitimate Beatle autographs which are becoming increasingly rare by the day go for many thousands of dollars not hundreds. Experts estimate that only 6% of all Beatles autographs are authentic. If you are interested in purchasing the real deal then check out Frank Caiazzo's site at beatlesautographs.com (be sure to add the www. prefix).

Here are REAL Beatle signatures. Whenever you're looking at autographs compare them to these samples - by doing so you will eliminate 99% of the fakes being offered for sale:

Also, Beatle LPs signed by all four Beatles after 1967 are very, very rare (as in virtually non-existent). Be extremely suspicious of any item for sale boasting of having secured all four of the lads' signatures after Sgt Pepper (1967).

Scammer Tricks You Need To Know About

Ever notice that 99.9% of the sellers selling autographs have the buyer IDs as "private"? There are two reasons why they do this:

• By keeping the IDs private or hidden, this keeps people who know the "autograph(s)" are bogus from contacting a potential buyer (i.e., bidder) and alerting them that they are chasing a fake. This notification would most likely result in the bidder retracting their bid on the item - much to the seller's dismay, and...
• By keeping the IDs private these sellers then place bids with other IDs they control (either they created or via their cohorts) and bid on the item making it appear as if people are actually placing bids. This gets the unsuspecting buyer all lathered up thinking this is the real deal. It's not. The seller is engaged in shill bidding.  Shill bidding is a serious offense which eBay will investigate. If eBay is able to find evidence of shill bidding, their actions can range from issuing an educational alert, a temporary suspension, or in some cases an indefinite suspension. For more information on shill bidding and reporting suspected activity, click here: Shill Bidding.

Last, those COAs (Certificate of Authenticity) they offer are created using a program like MS Word or PowerPoint. They are, like the autographs, not worth the paper they are printed on.

I hope this section helps you. To pay a $100 or a few hundred dollars for forged Beatle autographs is too much to watch over and over again. Be smart and do your homework! If the individuals pushing this stuff can't sell, they go out of business.