Buying Rock and Roll Autographs on eBay

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Rock and Roll autographs sold on eBay are fake. This is particularly true of signed albums and guitars. Your best bet is to purchase from a seller with a solid, longstanding reputation in the memorabilia marketplace.

A couple of waring signs to watch out for when buying autographs on eBay.

• Private Autions - This is almost a sure sign that the item being sold is a fake. Fraudulent sellers don't want knowledgeable experts contacting their bidders to warn them about authenticity.
• Seller Inventory - Does the seller seem to have a steady, continuous supply of autographed albums by the Beatles, Monkees, Stones, Byrds, etc? If so, that seller is probably sitting at home forging signatures on a regular basis.

Don't be fooled by COAs. Any seller forging a signature can easily forge a COA. A PowerSeller ranking is no indication either of a reputable seller. It's merely a measure of sales. eBay does NOT get involved with authenticity of items. Forget about UACC membership also. Any seller that pays their dues can be a UACC member. And forget about supposed forensic exams. It's just another scam.

Beatles Autographs

Fortunately, if you are buying Beatles autographs there are some steps you can take to ensure you are buying authentic signatures.

1. Buy your autographed Beatles item from Perry Cox
2. Buy your autographed Beatles item from Tracks
3. Make sure your autograph has a verifiable COA from Frank Caizzo (yes, some people are actually forging Frank's COAs)

Authentic Beatles autographs are very rare and valuable. Even signed items that can be proven to be from the 60s may not be authentic. Most of the Beatles autographs from 64, 65, and 66 were signed by a secretary. At the low end, an authentic autograph of all four Beatles from 1963 on a plain sheet of paper will sell for $2000 to $3000. If those signatures are on a photo, or program or magazine cover the value will increase by 2x to 5x. Rarely will an authentic signed album cover sell for less than $20,000.

Authentic US album releases signed by the Beatles are extremely rare. There are probably less than 20 known to exist. Of course, there are probably 20 Beatles autographed albums on eBay at this current time so draw your own conclusions. I'll give you a hint. I have not seen a single, authentic US album signed by the Beatles EVER sold on eBay. Beatles autographs from 1967 and later are also very rare. The Beatles made very few public appearances after they stopped touring in 1966.

This may not be pleasant news for someone hoping to buy a set of Beatles autographs but there is a positive side to all this. In spite of the massive numbers of fakes, Beatles autographs have proven to be an exceptional investment. The value of authentic signed Beatles items has continued to rise over the years and should continue to do so in the coming years.