Boy, this is starting to sound familiar. An eBay bookseller was busted for selling signed books — with the signatures forged. Forrest R. Smith III, 48, of Exeter Pa., got 33 months in prison and will pay $120,000 in restitution by auctioning books with fake signatures of Truman Capote, Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, Kurt Vonnengut, Anne Rice, and selling them on eBay.
Here’s a picture of some Capote signatures. Click on it for a larger view:
The picture above was posted here at Boing Boing courtesy of Tomfolio.
Another bookseller discovered the scam after noticing that someone was buying up First Editions, then quickly selling the same books as “signed” copies. The signatures couldn’t have been real, since the authors were dead.
According to posts on the eBay Booksellers Board, the seller’s nickname was Big Daddy, who had more than 3,000 feedback ratings, mostly positive. Until, of course, he began his life of crime selling fake collectible books. Could he have done this on Amazon Marketplace? I doubt it — my collectible listings generate very few sales. Then again, I don’t have any First Editions signed by Capote, Crichton, Clancy, etc.
Earlier this month, a seller was caught selling counterfeit stamps on eBay. The bogus stamps were apparently printed in China — the same place were most of our books are printed these days!
Related posts:
![[Google]]( http://www.weberbooks.com/selling/wp-content/plugins/easy-adsenser/google-light.gif)
5 Comments
This is a major problem with signed memorabilia on eBay. It always amuses me when there's a certificate of authenticity – as if that couldn't be faked too. I can see the appeal of signed books, but can't imagine buying them on eBay because I could never be certain they were real.
Steve, glad to see you posting again. Dont be a stranger!
Very difficult without a comparison – some author/artists signatures change over time or are intentionally disguised.
I hod one problem with an authentic signature being doubted. The current signature was a composite of the musician had signed in the past. The authenticity was with the inscription going from Musician [it was a Biography] to the author.
There are some what I can only term "questionable" autographs. If a Book published 20 years ago is recently autographed. Books stores having Autograph events want only and will only accept the current publication. I am not sure of the "refusal" rate amongst authors.
Missed your posts, but understand you are a busy man, Steve! Thanks for the info, although in this case, WHO wouldn't be buyer beware? Antiques Roadshow (the end of finding great stuff at thrift stores, thank you very much!) says to be very careful about buying valuable stuff there. They show it on every few shows where someone got taken with a fake!
Debbie
I've never understood the appeal of an autograph on any item. I can see how an autograph would have meaning if you were present when an item was signed. Other than as an investment item, I just don't understand the concept… But I've been called weird before.