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Hello and welcome back to another weekly TTM success post. I hope everyone had a great graphing week. This week I thought id talk about the steps I go through before I purchase an autograph. I see to many people getting ripped off on facebook deals or purchasing fakes off eBay. To many times have I seen new collectors buying horrible fake autographs of some rare expensive signers for prices that are just way to good to be true. Sure occasionally you can run across a authentic autograph for a really good deal but I'm talking about ones from celebs like The Beatles, Babe Ruth or Mantle big name autographs like that and they are selling for less than $100 when real authentic ones sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars. Just be careful. So if i see an autograph for sell the first thing that I do is see if the celeb is still living then I see if they sign free TTM. I can't see paying someone my hard earned money for an autograph that I can get for the cost of a few stamps and a little bit of my time. Sometimes the autograph you need can only be obtained by purchasing. Maby the celebs have passed away or they don't sign TTM and only sign IP or have stopped signing all together and leaving purchasing your only option. The next thing I do I research the celeb. If they died when did they die. You'd be surprised how many times I see autographs for sell that the items that have been "autographed" have been signed on items that hadn't even been made until after the celebs passed away. Check your dates! Even photos usually have a time stamp on the back. Check album dates, book printings, Copywrite dates, ect. Next I look to see if they signed alot over the years. Did the celeb sign for everyone they met or was the signer a recluse and rare signer. Next I pull up as many authentic examples of the signers signature that I can find. Not just a couple I mean 20 + take your time do your homework. With technology these days there's no excuse for not doing your research. Almost everyone has the internet in the palms of there hands. Google the celebs signatures and info. Just make sure you pull up authentic examples. And when all else fails and you're just not sure don't be afraid to ask other collectors. Sure not everyone is an expert on all autographs but there's a entire world of experienced collectors out there willing to help. After I determine its authentic then I look for the value so I dont over pay for an autograph. Always deal with well known reputable dealers. They tend to work with you if you have a problem with the item and they usually ship the items with plenty of protection. Always and i mean Always use tracking numbers because it covers both the buyer and seller if its gets lost or damaged in the mail. Try to avoid the scammers on facebook be wary of the ones looking to buy large quantities of high dollar autographs. They get people to send there items for trade or sale then never follow through or you get a empty box in return for your prized autographs. Anyways it all comes down to taking your time and doing all your homework. Ask questions. How, when and where was it signed. Ask for good clear close up photos to compare with. If its matted and framed ask for pictures of the items out of the frames. Most decent IP dealers now provide exact photo proof so that helps some but like a COA its still just a meaningless piece of paper so dont automatically assume its authentic just because it has one. The same goes for third party authenticators just don't assume its real because of a little sticker. Do your research everyone makes mistakes even authenticators. Well I hope that helps before your next purchase. Now on to this weeks successes. Our dry spell finally ended when we received our first success of the week on Friday. Dean Torrence of the legendary music group Jan and Dean signed both pictures we sent plus he added in a signed paper with info about his book. An amazing success IV always loved the songs "Surf City" and "The Little old lady from Pasadena" and it took just under a month to return. To finish off the week we received two returns Saturday. First after twenty days we received both pictures back signed from Dee Hartford she even signed and returned our letter. To finish off the day I received my Trek book back signed from author Diane Carey. She's written some of my favorite Star Trek books and it only took her about two weeks to return. She even sent an extra signed book so super bonus with this amazing success. That's it for this week. Have a great graphing weekend and ill be back next week with more TTM autographs and addresses.
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Dean Torrence
18932 Gregory Lane
Huntington Beach, CA 92646-1917
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Dee Hartford
47153 El Menara Cir.
Palm Desert, CA 92260-5811
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Diane Carey
652 Adams Street
Owosso, MI 48867-2244
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