First let me say that there are some very good autograph auction houses around. They tend to specialise in this field and in most cases will guarantee that an item is what they say it is without question, but they are few and far between. The real culprits are the ones who make claims to be "fine art dealers" or similar, but in fact are really only house clearance specialists, and these are the ones to avoid. I am certainly not going to name them all here, but do remember that we offer a Quick Opinion service for any item (other than signed football shirts or similar) and its advisable to do this before you bid and not after, it may save you a lot of time and money!  

So once again I have been asked about an item being sold via an auction house (a well known name at that!) only to find that it's a very obvious fake. Covid has meant that there are now many more "Auction Houses" than before, and most of them have no knowledge or expertise in autographs at all so you need to be very careful. Autographs is a very specialist area, and very few have the real expertise and experience to ensure that all they offer is in fact genuine, most simply rely on any COA (which often have no contact details of the original seller) or the word of the consignor. They rely on the fact that almost all bidders are now online and are not attending in person, which means you never get to see the items with your own eyes! 

"The image of the Rowling signed book you see on this page is fake, its a machine made signature and was sold at auction as genuine"

In most cases the buyer has only come to me after they have purchased the item and can then see that its not authentic. The auction house however will always say it's genuine and that the buyer had ample time before bidding to check it out, but never admit that the item is a fake. They will tell you that you cannot have a refund, that you will need the written opinion of two experts (and often only agreeable to them!) and that you should have read their terms and conditions etc. 

So lets look at these terms, as you can see it allows them to say whatever they like about an item "(name of auction house) accept no responsibility for the accuracy of any statement, whether printed in a catalogue or made orally, as to grading, authorship, attribution, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance and condition"  

So in other words, they can say what they like even if its not correct or even true! That is fairly typical of the small print you will find if you look, but how many of us look and check these things? 

So what do you do if you buy an item like this and the auction house refuses to refund? Well, I have now had many customers who have been able to obtain a refund, but you have to be determined and do it the right way. The law is on your side no matter what the auction house might say regarding their "terms and conditions" as they cannot simply get away with it by saying that their opinion is the only one that counts and that you should have checked the item and read their terms before you bid. The fact is that if you purchased it without seeing it first hand, then you have every right to a refund.  

Under the "Distance Selling Regulations" you have 7 days in which to file a complaint regarding the authenticity or otherwise of an item, so dont fall for their terms and conditions stating otherwise.  But you must inform them in writing within 7 days of purchase, don't simply phone or email them!

So before you bid, be sure to read all the small print, and if its sounds at all dodgy then stay away. Always ask for hi-res images for any item you are interested in and check them carefully before you bid, and never buy from any auction that only accepts bank transfer for payment, as this will likely make it impossible to get a refund. 

I will add a short piece regarding obtaining a refund soon, so keep watching!  

Copyright Garry King 2022