Pujols "Autograph"?

This was sent to us by one of our readers. It is our understanding that Pujols does not sign premium items (bats, jerseys, etc) for less than $700 each. This ball is being sold by ajdjsmom on eBay. Below is a Pujols autograph from Mounted Memories. You make the decision.

Search for Albert Pujols Memorabilia

Wayne Gretzky Autograph?

This eBay seller was sent to us by one of our readers. It is being offered by auctions1800 on eBay and the signature is questionable for the following reasons:

1. Wayne Gretzky has his own autograph company and all autographs are authenticated by his company only. He is very careful about how many autographs hit the market every year and limits his signings.

2. This signature is very sloppy and does not look like Gretzky.

3. It is authenticated by Platinum Sports who is virtually unknown.

4. The seller puts the following disclaimer on all auctions: AUCTIONS1800 DOES NOT OWN AND IS NOT SELLING THESE GOODS, BUT IS MERELY ACTING AS A BAILEE ON BEHALF OF THE SELLER TO FACILITATE THE SALE OF THE GOODS BY HOLDING THE GOODS UNTIL SUCH TIME AS A SALE IS COMPLETED AND THE GOODS ARE SHIPPED TO THE BUYER

As always, we welcome this seller to comment on this blog to explain their side of things.

Montana & Rice Autograph?

These autographs don't look good. We have done several shows with Jerry Rice and Joe Montana and we have watched them sign thousands of sports memorabilia items. This is being offered by amishrakefight5 on eBay and was sent to us by one of our loyal readers.

We believe these autographs are questionable for the following reasons:

1. Look at the home made COAs in the picture.

2. There are no Montana or Rice holograms. Both players have their own hologram and they usually supply these when they sign things.

3. The seller states that "...I started going to collectors shows...but I figured why not get more than one of each item..." So it appears that this seller goes to collector shows and buys multiples. Montana and Rice ALWAYS put their hologram on items at shows.

4. The autographs are not consistent with how Rice and Montana sign. Look at these authentic autographs below:

Can you see the difference?

A lot of people write us and say that "everyone signs different all the time". They also say "my own signature looks different every time I sign but it is still my signature"

There are a few problems with that statement. The first is that Jerry Rice and Joe Montana autograph items FOR A LIVING! Which means they are very good at signing their name and making it look consistent. Especially when they are being paid $100+ per autograph, they make sure their signature is clean and consistent.

Other people will say, "what if they signed this in an airport or in the locker room? Wouldn't their signature look different?"

First of all, when someone on eBay tries to tell you that they got the signature in the locker room, on the golf course, or in a hotel, you probably shouldn't be buying that item. The fact of the matter is that most athletes make a good living signing autographs these days so they do not sign a lot in public for free. Most of the times when they sign for free in public they will personalize the autograph (i.e. To Jim) so the person can't turn around and list it on eBay.

5. Other items. Take a look at the other items the seller is offering on eBay. Shaq, Dwayne Wade, Tom Brady, Sammy Sosa -- these guys don't sign much (and look at the autographs they are horrible). You can often tell if a seller is offering questionable merchandise by looking at everything else they are selling. If there are too many questionable items, everything is probably fake. Legitimate sports memorabilia dealers don't offer some authentic autographs mixed in with some fake autographs. It is either all real or all fake.

Sloppy Magic Johnson "Autograph"

We found this "autographed" Magic Johnson picture on eBay and it doesn't look like Magic's signature. The description has nothing in regards to where the photo was signed or who is authenticating it and Magic does not sign that way. This is being offered by designer_treats on eBay who also has other PSA-DNA authenticated items.

The picture is being offered for $9.95. Magic charges almost $100 to sign flat items at shows.

We could be wrong, we invite the seller to comment on this.

See what an authentic Magic Johnson autograph looks like.

Jury Duty Scam

Not sports memorabilia related, but thought you should know this:

Scammers pretending to work for local courts are calling potential victims with the news that they have failed to report for jury duty and a warrant has been issued for their arrest.

The victim unaware and caught off guard will claim they never received the jury duty notification. At this point the scammer will ask the victim for personal confidential information, including Social Security number, birth date and credit card information for “verification” purposes.

This scam has been verified on Snopes.com

Find Scams Quickly

www.Snopes.com is generally referred to as the authority on Urban Legends. If you hear of an email going around that says Bill Gates is giving away cash to people who forward emails, or the Osama Bin Laden virus, or parking lot carjackers that put flyers on rear car windows -- go to www.Snopes.com to see if it is true.

We found a great story regarding the Dust Off product (the can that you use to spray down your computer). There were stories going around that kids were dying when inhaling this product. Snopes did the research and showed that this was true.

This site will really save you time and give you the edge on a lot of the false information that circulates around the web.