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1. The UACC is the Universal Autograph Collectors Club and is the USA professional body for autograph Dealers, AFTAL is the European professional body for autograph Dealers.
It is often asked what the difference is between Dealers and Members. As a good example we can compare a school that is the institution (like AFTAL or the UACC) and the prefects are those with responsibility in the school (like the Dealers) and then there are the students (like the Members).
AFTAL and the UACC, expects its Dealers and Members to abide by their Codes of Practice, Dealers are expected to attend conferences and the bodies audit the Dealers, regularly vetting ther stock. Dealers in turn monitor Members who sell to the public.
The UACC and AFTAL are independent of the Dealers and Members both having Ethics Boards that are a bit like the autograph police. None of the Dealers or Members are above the UACC or AFTAL, should they break the code of conduct they are expelled from the organisations. Should a there be a major dispute with a Member or Dealer it can be brought before the Ethics Board as a last resort.
2. What they are -> A Certificate of Authenticity is a Certificate issued with an autograph by the vendor that acts as confirmation that the signature is genuine. There is no standard format for the certificate, each vendor has their own design, furthermore, COA’s do not have the force of law and there is no requirement to issue them, indeed some vendors don't.
Can I rely on them -> The best way of explaining this is that you can have a certificate to say you have a degree, but is only worth something if it is issued by a registered University.
So, you see, its validity depends on who has issued it.
The problem is, ANYONE can issue COA, if a rogue seller is consciously selling forgeries they will feel no shame also issuing bogus certificates. What makes them reliable is when they are issued by a reputable, registered AFTAL or UACC Member or Dealer.
3. Yes, you can, however, there are a very small number of these people around.
*For larger collections, respected auction houses will employ such persons to validate collections and usually only perform a nominal valuation on the understanding that they charge for the service as part of selling fees, offering no guaranteed sale price.
*Some AFTAL and UACC Dealers will validate collections for a fee, often depending on the size of the collection, usually with a minimum fee of around £20, some also procure, offering a fixed price.
It's likely you'll come across traders who claim to have used American and DNA authentication companies. Most of these "authentication firms" are not approved, and their opinion (which they charge handsomely for) has no real value or significance whatsoever. With autographs, it is knowledge and experience that is key which is the hallmark of a registered Dealer.
It is commonly asked whether the opinion of one Expert can differ from that of another. It is possible that this could arise, but there would have to be an unusual situation where it could be a difficult grey area to make the decision on (for example, the proof is debatable.
4. Every autograph that Movie Autographs Worldwide handles is allocated a reference number, this appears on the COA of each picture PLEASE DO NOT LOSE IT as it makes it a lot of extra work finding the exact item without it!
Each reference number accesses a record in our database detailing the following information :
- Who and where the autograph was originally procured from
- Details of proof of authenticity
- If we have procured it ourselves the record will tell us where we have stored our evidence of proof (photo, video, or documentated evidence)
- If procured from a runner the record will tell us where we have stored their evidence of proof (photo, video, or documentated evidence) we DO NOT deal with anyone who cannot provide us with the primary source of this evidence
- If procured from a dealer, the record will contain their unique code for them to trace it through their system to access their evidence of proof. We DO NOT deal with anyone who does not support this.
- Date when the autograph was procured
- Who the autograph was sold to
- Date when the autograph was sold
- Other details such as price and taxes applied, addresses etc.
5. There are LOADS of fakes out there. In the legitimate autograph community it is estimated that up to 90% of autographs in circulation are FAKES, repudedly, Sport is by far the larger contributor to this.
The reliable prices and items are those that are issued by AFTAL & UACC Members and Dealers (note FAQ Number 7 - there can be price differences between two items signed by the same person).
The absolute key to autograph validation is knowledge and experience, Dealer's are mines of this sort of information and many specialise - use them.
6. Yes – if you abide by the 10 Commandments all Autograph Collectors should know and read through our FAQ's and get clued up about which ones are Genuine and which ones to avoid.
DO NOT be enticed by sellers with high selling ratings i.e. Power sellers (selling thousands of fakes?), Gold star sellers, fancy shops set-up, claiming to be members of various things etc. Look through our advice, check them out and sort the wheat from the chaff.
An interesting thing to do on online auction sites is to filter down on an online auction on UACC or AFTAL and autographs. Amazingly the massive list of available autographs zips down to a much smaller number.
Did you also know? that the UACC and AFTAL have independent field auditors who monitor these lists and have any bogus people booted off as sellers....unfortunately they do come back with new nuicance user names and profiles though.
But in as much as the organization and genuine traders can do to prevent the bad sellers, it is always the buyers that need to understand what is really happening and stop buying off them. Remember, if a parasite has no host, it dies.
7. Well, lets take the example of two pictures, same person signing:
Picture 1 This is the stars most famous picture, it is a really good-looking shot of them and they have a clean signature in a good spot in a complementary marker.
Picture 2 This is one of the stars lesser known movies, not a fantastic shot and the picture is a bit gloomy, the signature has also been written in a dark pen so is difficult to make out and they have managed to get the signature slap bang over their face, extending to the white bit at the edge of the picture.
Mmm, picture number 1 is the better one and is more sought after, work the maths!......BUT, there are exceptions, you could have a not brilliant (but very rare) signature, due to it's scarcity it is worth it's weight in gold.
There can be somewhat of a black art in valuing autographs, but in the end it comes down to a combination of knowledge and experience of the trader. Certain images, documents etc signed by a person command a premium over others.
8. The best ones are ones where:
- The authenticity of the signature can be validated when put to the test (state the obvious)
- It is a rare and sought after signature. Or, group of related autographs, that as a whole are sought after...Star Wars Cast for example ££££
- If the signature is on a picture/document that is from a prominent film or event or perhaps an item of particular interest or significance
- It is in good condition, picture not dog eared or scratched or a well preserved document or card with low fading or acid seepage etc.
- The location of the signature is appropriate (the person has not signed upside down or on a silly place on the item)
- It is a clean signature (the pen is not running out, the colour of pen used suits the picture/item etc)
9. We can receive payment from any currency, we offer an option for you to use a currency converter on our site to calculate the value of your order in popular customer currencies.
When you come to pay you can:
- Pay online using your credit card with our secure, encrypted online website facility or choose the Paypal option
- Contact us and give us your card details to process (NOTE NEVER SEND YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAILS ON AN E-MAIL OR BY POST) we cannot guarantee its security by this means. But telephone is fine !
- Send us a cheque or Postal Order (if you do this please send us an e-mail or call us to let us now you want to do this and we will hold the item for 5 working days). If payment is not received by then we will release from hold status.
10. The largest threat to the industry if the fake market, it is big money and genuine Dealers are constantly educating people about it, it is often long after a person who has spent a substantial sum of money on fakes that they approach a Dealer for a valuation and find out what they have bought is worthless, by which time the cowboy has long fled off over the horizon.
This clearly affects confidence in the industry, but, as people learn these lessons, and professional organisations continue to promote the good guys, slowly, the tide will turn.
*The UACC and AFTAL work with law enforcement and have successfully prosecuted some of the larger perpetrators, and continue to work in this area - some Dealers having even received death threats for standing up in court providing opinions and evidence such are the stakes.
*Larger online auctions also take steps now due to the number of complaints they receive to remove the people trading fakes, although this is a slow process and difficult as these people use different aliases etc……
*Auction houses employ specialist valuers in order to prevent the recirculation of forgeries into the public domain and safeguard their business.
At the moment other main actvities to safeguard the future are :
- Activty 1
UACC and AFTAL dealers go out of their way to educate collectors and the public at large.
- Actvity 2
The UACC and AFTAL are keen to see greater regulation of the industry, backed by law. If you are caught selling forgeries then you are caught as a thief.
- Activity 3
There is discussion within the industry of the possible move toward a Central Database of all source documentation (proof) of authenticity.
- COA’s could be issued on laminated forms that require standard information and have references issued by the traders that link the paper and number trail back to the Central Database reference
- An independent body separately audits and policies the stock of traders to reference back to the Central Database and audits the content of additions to the Database
There would be a cost associated, however, there is currently a cost associated with the level of fakes on the market.
Regardless, GENUINE autographs are and always will be collectable items, increasingly viewed as investments.
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