Authentic or Unauthentic Autographs- A Subject of Debate

            

As the money has hiked up with prices reaching at its peak so does the market and its stock crashing down and rising again. Popular personalities and celebrities do earn a lot of money in selling their products and middle class persons are the bridges to connect to high class and lower class .People have a lot of hobbies collecting autograph is one among them. Celebrities and famous people do sign their autograph and give to people as the token of their gratitude. Athletic players do sign their balls and bats with their signatures to their fans and other people who made it a hobby of collecting autographs.

 

 

Authentic or not is another subject of debate which can be sort out later as debate usually takes more of a leisure time and space of its own kind. Memorabilia gift for all people can be one such example of dream coming true of a peasant or middle or lower class families as to sell them with more price and get more money for authentic autographs and little less money for unauthentic autographs. Sport people and star people both sign their autographs on their football, shirts and jerseys. Most of the time it is a doubt that some of the autographs are authentic and some are unauthentic. Authentic signed autographs on items are rare and those which are unauthentic are very easily available just like stamp collection. Collection of particular items is rare quality found in either rich people or well considered persons.

Movie Memorabilia

There are several associations that promote genuine autographed memorabilia the most famous being the U.A.C.C. ( Universal Autograph Collectors Club). They have two types of membership, Registered Dealers and members. The first is highly recommended as the selection procedure is very strict and to add substance to this statement there are less than 275 members worldwide who have achieved this lofty status. Memorabilia 4U, my company is RD 292. A person who is a U.A.C.C. member is just someone who has joined the club and has no accreditation other than being a member.  So always buy autographs and signed memorabilia from UACC and AFTAL approved dealers.

  

A U.A.C.C. registered dealer is different from a U.A.C.C. member in as much as a member pays an annual fee to be a member of the organisation, whereas a Registered Dealer has to have been a member of the U.A.C.C for at least 3 year and dealt in autographs for at least 3 years. After a very strict selection process in which you need two registered dealers to forward your name, your company and autographs are subjected to scrutiny by the board and should you be successful in passing this test you are awarded a registered dealer number. Passing the initial criteria is not all that is required, you are under constant scrutiny form fellow dealers and Board members to make sure you keep the high standards set by this orginisation. 

An A.F.T.A.L. approved dealer is an Autograph or memorabilia dealer resident in the U.K. and Europe who has passed a thorough examination into their background and the items they have for sale further to this they all have to sign a contract agreeing to the following code of ethics This condensed Ethics Code briefly sums up what every AFTAL approved dealer has signed and agreed to. Failure to conform to this code could result in expulsion from AFTAL.

An A.F.T.A.L. Certified Dealer is a dealer who has attended a course run by A.F.T.A.L on how to identify Forgeries, Scanned, Printed, Autopen and Stamped signatures and has passed all the criteria laid out in the course content.

My advice to anyone who wants to collect a genuine autograph is try and get the celebrity to sign the item for you. I would strongly advise that you do not try and get signed movie posters as these are easily damaged in a crowd looking for famous autographs (made that mistake already!).This is not always possible and the next best thing is to use a trusted U.A.C.C certified dealers and A.F.T.A.L approved autograph dealer especially if you collect vintage autographs and authentic autograph collectibles or even more so if you collect rare autographs.

Happy collecting………     

PETER ANDRE COMES TO ABERDEEN

Last week can be considered as a memorable week. One of my all-time favourite celebrities came to Aberdeen. I headed down to the shopping centre where he was signing in the hope of meeting the gossip magazine star and in hope of getting his autograph.It was no surprise when I arrived there was an absolutely massive queue of women and children awaiting his arrival, all in anticipation of meeting Peter Andre in the flesh.

After almost an hour of queuing I could hear people begin to scream and chant his name. It was at this point the excitement started to really sink in. Pete was escorted through the crowd and greeted all his fans on his way to the perfume store where he was to sign.

After almost three hours of queuing it was my turn to go into the shop and meet Peter Andre. I have met a lot of celebrities in my time of autograph collecting but I have only met a few that I truly admire. So when I met Peter I was truly star struck! It was obvious that Peter was pushed for time as there were so many fans that wanted to meet him; however, he seemed very relaxed and signed photographs and even signed albums whilst chatting away. It was very refreshing to discover that somebody I have a lot of admiration for was a genuinely kind person.

I like to take advantages of the times when celebrities visit my home town as it is an easy and more convenient way of collecting memorabilia than travelling long distances to award ceremonies and other events. Furthermore, it is a good opportunity to broaden my collection of autographs for sale.

Not only have I been given the opportunity to meet Peter Andre but I have been able to obtain signed memorabilia to add to my ever growing collection of famous autographs.

To see more autograph collections and autographs for sale please visit our website at : Memorabilia4u.com

MUSIC FESTIVALS

It is at this time of year that the line – ups for the music festivals that occur during the summer are announced. This introduces the prospect of being able to attend the festivals, not just for the enjoyment of the vast amount of musical talents but also for the ability to meet and collect autographs from the various musicians that attend.

 

The first event to kick off the summer festival spirit is Rockness. Situated in Inverness, not far from where Memorabilia 4 U is based, the event attracts music lovers from all over Scotland, and not forgetting some of the greatest names in music. So far the artists who have confirmed their appearance over the weekend include the likes of Kasabian, Paolo Nutini andThe Chemical Brothers as well as some fresh up and coming talents such as Two Door Cinema Club and Katy B. With my autograph collectors on guard I am hoping to catch the vast majority of celebrities who shall be attending the event and I shall hopefully be able to add to my collection of music autographs.

 

Next on my list of potential collecting grounds is the well-known Scottish festival T in the Park. The line – up for the festival this year is phenomenal. Announced to perform so far this year are; The Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Blink 182. This creates a fantastic opportunity for me to expand on my collection of rock autographs. Also set to perform are some of the biggest names in the chart at the moment such as TinieTempah, Jessie J and Ke$ha. To have the opportunity to have an item hand signed from artists as well-known as these would be readily welcomed.

Last, but definitely not least is Glastonbury. The biggest most highly anticipated festival of the year and this year it looks like it will be unforgettable. Currently, the only acts that have been announced are the headline acts. However, with U2, Coldplay and Beyonce as headliners who can complain? As always Glastonbury will be sure to deliver an incredible line up, as well as delivering the chance to collect as many famous autographs as possible!

I look forward to being able to offer these incredible artists autographs for sale.

A DINNER WITH ABERDEEN FOOTBALL CLUB

I recently attended a dinner with Aberdeen Football Club as part of a charity event. Aberdeen being my home team I was extremely excited to get up close and personal with the squad and also hoped to be given the chance to get my hands on signed football memorabilia.

The dinner went smoothly and the players seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the guests, probably partly to do with the amount of champagne that was flowing! After the dinner the guests were given the opportunity to meet the players. Of course, I jumped on the prospect of being able to broaden my collection of football signed memorabilia.

I got talking to two players in particular, Fraser Fyvie; who is set to be Aberdeen’s next big player, and Jamie Langfield; Aberdeen’s goalkeeper. The guys seemed very genuine and were extremely helpful in terms of getting the other players to autograph footballs. They also introduced me to their manager Craig Brown, who was kind enough to sign photographs. This was set to be an interesting piece of football memorabilia to add to my collection.

It was obvious that the team was very appreciative of the support that they received from the guests and this was shown by the amount of signed football shirts and autographed photos that we were able to come away with.

Not only are dinners with footballers and other famous names a good way of raising funds for charities, they also make a useful contribution to the amount of autographs for sale within Memorabilia4U’s sports autographs’ collection. It was a very enjoyable evening and I will definitely be looking forward to more of these events in the near future.

How to Buy Authentic Autographs and Signed Photos of Famous Celebrities

Buying autographs has now become a very risky business, what with bogus autograph dealers and forgeries rife in the market place it is very difficult for the collector of signed memorabilia and hand signed photos to garner authentic sports memorabilia, music memorabilia or movie memorabilia. With this in mind I have tried to put together a guide below for the novice to obtain authentic autographs and memorabilia and eliminate the collectors worst nightmare a FORGERY!!!     

The easiest thing in the world is for somebody to get a photograph and forge a famous signature and low and behold a piece of Frank Sinatra Memorabilia or item of music memorabilia which to the untrained eye looks like a genuine collectible autograph.

 My advice to anyone who wants to collect a genuine autograph is try and get the celebrity to sign the item for you. I would strongly advise that you do not try and get signed movie posters as these are easily damaged in a crowd looking for famous autographs (made that mistake already!).This is not always possible and the next best thing is to use a trusted autograph dealer especially if you collect vintage autographs or even more so if you collect rare autographs.    

There are several associations that promote genuine autographed memorabilia the most famous being the U.A.C.C. ( Universal Autograph Collectors Club). They have two types of membership, Registered Dealers and members.  

For example if you are looking to buy a signed Manchester united shirt or a signed Chelsea shirt it would be advisable to buy it from a British UACC registered dealer or an AFTAL approved dealer. You are probably wondering why? AFTAL and UACC are governing bodies who check regularly on there dealers and both organisations have strict policies as to the buying and selling of autographs. Also that is the country where those teams play! Over the years I have stood outside football stadia to get the occasional football autograph, signed football jersey, signed footballs or for those in the U.S. soccer memorabilia. In the UK that can be a cold and thankless task as the sport is played during the winter.

For many years I have collected celebrity autographs in all kinds of weather, waiting for movie stars at film premieres to get authentic autographs or waiting in line at sports memorabilia shows to meet the occasional sports personality and after many hours of queuing coming away with a smile on my face and genuine autographs.

I have on occasion had the time to jet off to the U.S. and do some collecting there, when in the U.S. I concentrate on collecting actors autographs, Hollywood memorabilia, actresses autographs and if I have time I trail round the stores in L.A. for horror movie collectables.

In fact the last time I was in the States I attended several conventions and memorabilia shows where I picked up loads of collectible memorabilia namely, star trek memorabilia, star wars memorabilia and several celebrity addresses of which I will be writing to in the upcoming months.

Happy collecting............

   

Awards Season 2011

Collect Famous Celebrity Autographs, Movie And Music Memorabilia During Awards Season

February is normally the month of the year when all the awards ceremonies are in full flow. You have the Oscars the Brit Awards, BAFTA’s and virtually dozens of other ceremonies taking place in the capital of the U.K London.

This is a great time to get out your autograph books, posters and your photos and get along early to these red carpet events. I unfortunately will not be making it down to the awards this year due to business commitments but I have several of my agents collecting famous autographs, movie memorabilia and hopefully collecting lots of autographed photos for my website. Sometimes there are unexpected celebrities attending and when I am normally there I get a few of my autographed albums topped up with movie autographs and sometimes rock autographs depending on the awards ceremony.

If you are a collector of movie memorabilia, whether it be signed movie posters the occasional actor autograph or Frank Sinatra memorabilia, star trek autographs this is the right place for you as there will be loads of celebrities and a great chance for you to get them to autograph photos or even signed jerseys as I forgot to mention there will be stars of the music world attending and you can even collect autographed music memorabilia and signed music autographs.

Attending award shows are a wide scope of celebrities enabling me to gain access to a range of famous celebrity autographs. So this will be a good opportunity to collect Star Trek memorabilia, such as signed Star Trek posters, autographed Star Trek merchandise and signed Star Trek collectables. Furthermore, the actors Kiran Shah and Warwick Davis, both known for their roles in Star Wars will be signing memorabilia. I am keen to collect Star Wars memorabilia, signed Star Wars merchandise and Star Wars collectables as it is particularly popular form of movie memorabilia, attracting a wide range of attention from all parts of the world.

I recently had several collectors at the BAFTA award ceremony to try and collect a much sought after vintage autograph, Christopher Lee. Unfortunately my guys and girls were unable to get anything signed by Christopher but they did manage to get an awesome piece of music memorabilia. Sir Paul McCartney signed an old Beatles album on the same night. It just goes to show that you never know what you are going to get no matter how well you plan.

I was planning to go over to the States in time for the Oscars but as with the Award ceremonies in London I am just too busy working on another website which is unrelated to the memorabilia industry. I am fortunate enough to have several good friends in Los Angeles who occasionally rub shoulders with the rich and famous and over the years have supplied some memorable pieces of signed memorabilia.

If you are in London or L.A. be sure to dig out your autograph album and get down to the award ceremonies.!!! Happy collecting............

Collect Golf Memorabilia and Movie Autographs During Spring Vacation

Every year everybody starts planning holidays as soon as the New Year celebrations are over and like everybody else I have started planning my bi annual visit to the United States. Normally I go to the big apple or Los Angeles to collect celebrity autographs I cannot get in the U.K. however, this year I am going to do something different! I am going to go to Arnold Palmer’s golf tournament in Bay Hill Florida to collect some golf memorabilia. The reason for this is I have had many requests for American golfers and scores of requests from my golfing buddies for an Arnold Palmer autograph. So in March true to form I will be spending a week in Florida, but not all of it is work I plan to bunk off for a couple of days down to Miami to check out a couple of autograph dealers my friends have bought items from before.

After a week in Florida I am off to my favourite haunt L.A.

I am really lucky as I have an old friend who stays there and puts me up free of charge every time I go across which is a great help to the wallet! On my visit this time I will be frequenting a couple of VIP nightspots to increase my stock of movie autographs and movie memorabilia. I am hoping that I will be able to pick up a couple of vintage autographs to add to my personal collection before I jet back to the U.K. although I may have to buy autographs from other collectors if I am going to make this a very successful trip. 

I was just thinking about the last time I was in L.A. out drinking with my friends we walked into a bar and stumbled across a celebrity for obvious purposes will remain nameless, as we had a very drunk night drinking tequila every way possible until the early hours in the morning!!!  

Hope you all have a great year and are lucky enough to plan holidays overseas.

Martin Kaymer Autograph- Martin Kaymer Memorabilia- Sporting Memorabilia

How To Collect Original Hand Signed Autographs from Famous Film Stars and Celebrities

For many years now I have collected celebrity autographs in all kinds of weather, waiting for movie stars at film premieres to get authentic autographs or waiting in line at sports memorabilia shows to meet the occasional sports personality and after many hours of queuing coming away with a smile on my face and genuine autographs.     

In October I am braving the cold Scottish wind in St Andrews at the Dunhill Links Championship to collect golf memorabilia, mostly signed photos and with luck some signed football shirts along with the occasional piece of movie memorabilia, as the Dunhill Links Championship is a golf event which attracts celebrity amateur golfers as well as the professional golfer. I have collected many items in St Andrews over the years I have even managed to get the most famous James Bond autograph, Sir Sean Connery on the steps of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.                                            

Buying autographs has now become a very risky business, what with bogus autograph dealers and forgeries rife in the market place it is very difficult for the collector of signed memorabilia and hand signed photos to garner authentic sports memorabilia, music memorabilia or movie memorabilia. With this in mind I have tried to put together a guide below for the novice to obtain authentic autographs and memorabilia and eliminate the collectors worst nightmare a FORGERY!!!     

The easiest thing in the world is for somebody to get a photograph and forge a famous signature and low and behold a piece of Frank Sinatra Memorabilia or item of music memorabilia which to the untrained eye looks like a genuine collectible autograph.

 My advice to anyone who wants to collect a genuine autograph is try and get the celebrity to sign the item for you. I would strongly advise that you do not try and get signed movie posters as these are easily damaged in a crowd looking for famous autographs (made that mistake already!).This is not always possible and the next best thing is to use a trusted autograph dealer especially if you collect vintage autographs or even more so if you collect rare autographs.      

The question you are probably asking yourself now is who can I trust?

That is not so easy if you are a novice but these words of advice may help you get that item of authentic sports memorabilia without the worry of “Is it Real?” There are several associations that promote genuine  autographed memorabilia the most famous being the U.A.C.C. ( Universal Autograph Collectors Club). They have two types of membership, Registered Dealers and members. The first is highly recommended as the selection procedure is very strict and to add  substance to this statement there are less than 275 members worldwide who have achieved this lofty status. Memorabilia 4U, my company is RD 292. A person who is a U.A.C.C. member is just someone who has joined the club and has no accreditation other than being a member. 

So if your penchant is for  collecting or buying, football autographs, boxing memorabilia or even music autographs I hope this article will help you obtain a genuine item of memorabilia.

Sporting Memorabilia, Autographed Football, Autographed Shirts and Jerseys For Sale

BOXING DAY SALE IMMINENT!

Memorabilia 4U is proud to announce its first ever Boxing Day Sale.

On the 26th December we will be opening this mammoth sale to all its existing customers to have the pick of all of the memorabilia on the website at a bumper discount price. So if you have had your eye on a specific autograph or autographs for a while then the 26th is the time to purchase this item of sport memorabilia. The sale initially will be for previous customers who have purchased items over the years however new customers looking for bargains they will be able to peruse the goods for sale on the 27th of December.

This is an excellent chance to buy autographs for your memorabilia collection at rock bottom prices as we will be slashing 25% off of all stock prices! Unlike most internet companies who are trying to get rid of old stock we have loaded up the shelves with lots of goodies. To give you and idea of what’s in store we have autographed football jerseys from the premiership and also legendary players shirts like a Diego Maradona signed jersey, Pele signed football jersey and Eric Cantona signed shirt.

Golf memorabilia has 100’s of golf autographs including a Rory McIlroy autograph, Martin Kaymer autograph and a Graeme Mcdowell autograph. From the world of film and screen we have several clasic movie autographs including Top Gun memorabilia, Titanic memorabilia and loads of comedy autographs at greatly reduced prices. Last but not least we have an incredible collection of music memorabilia and autographs included in the sale, namely Michael Jackson autograph, Kings of Leon autograph and even an Elvis Presley autograph.

So if you have nothing to do on the 26th or 27th of December why not have a look at what we will have up for sale a bargain basement prices!

Signed Memorabilia, Celebrity Autographs, Signed Photos and Pictures, UK: GOLF MEMORABILIA

Signed Memorabilia, Celebrity Autographs, Signed Photos and Pictures, UK: GOLF MEMORABILIA: "I have just recently spent a week at St Andrews collecting golf memorabilia and golf autographs. I took a week out to go and collect autogra..."

Always Buy Authontic Autographs and Celebrity Memorabilia From Certified Dealers

OPERATION BULLPEN

I have just recently started reading a book about autograph forgery in the United States, the title of the real life account of a F.B.I. investigation is called “Operation Bullpen”. Although I am not finished the book I could not help but get on my keyboard and make people who have not read the book aware of the amount of forged memorabilia that was confiscated and also sold from this illegal activity. 

 

It was not just the forgers who profited from the sale of autographed memorabilia but several large autograph dealers who either unknowingly purchased these items or worse still knowingly purchased fake famous signatures.Amongst the most popular autographs to get forged were baseball autographs, basketball autographs and NFL autographs. The forgers did not stop there after initial success with the aforementioned items they progressed on to Hollywood memorabilia, historical autographs, sport autographs and movie star autographs. The extent of how much of the items forged that is still in circulation or hanging in someone’s home is debatable but it amounts to millions of dollars. 

The subject of fake memorabilia is one which I must confess makes me very angry and every time I hear of it I feel the need to write about it. I hate when I see a fake autograph at a memorabilia show or fund raising dinner. I feel that it is often a crime which goes unpunished most of the time in the U.K. Although there have been several convictions for fraud in the U.K. concerning fake signed memorabilia and autographs to date there have been only light sentences and fines imposed. Some of the these forgers of football memorabilia and football autographs have been making hundreds of thousands of pounds on a regular basis off a poor unsuspecting public. 

 

The forgery is not limited to autographed football memorabilia, there have been cases of music memorabilia, vintage autographs, rare autographs, golf memorabilia, formula one memorabilia that have landed in court.

Today it is not enough to have a certificate of authenticity, anyone can put one of them together and attach it to a forged signature. I t makes sense to research your autograph dealer and ask how he gets his items it is also prudent to deal with autograph dealers who are AFTAL dealers and also UACC registered dealers, at least you can complain to the aforementioned organizations and they will investigate your complaint. Most autograph dealers will send a certificate of authenticity with their items but it is only of value when it has the dealers address, e mail, telephone numbers and affiliations to autograph organizations, if the certificate does not have this then it is worthless ( how are you going to contact them to complain!!).

I have been collecting autographs for over forty years and I must inform the prospective autograph collector to be very careful of who they buy autographs and celebrity memorabilia from as there are vast amounts of fake autograph dealers and those only too quick to take your hard earned money fraudulently.

LAUNCH OF MEMORABLIA4U NEW WEBSITE

On the 9th of November Memorabilia4U saw the re-launch of its website. In an attempt to make the site more customer-friendly we have added a few extra features, such as a selection of premier movie autographs, sport autographs and music autographs, making your searching less laborious and easier to navigate the autograph or memorabilia that you desire. This currently features an autograph signed by the musical genius that is Michael Jackson, a promotional photograph for the hit movie Titanic, signed in person by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett and also features a limited edition Ferrari cap signed by the formula 1 racing legend Michael Schumacher. As well as this we have formulated a product category list to assist you with more refined searches including categories such as ‘Dr Who Autographs’ and ‘Harry Potter Autographs’ making your search less time consuming and also to display our full range of autographs within these categories. So whether it is vintage autographs, historical autographs or especially rare autographs, you will find our adjustments make it easier for you to navigate around the website. Alternatively, you can contact us directly by clicking on the ‘contact’ category displayed along the top of the website.

Included in these improvements to the website is the ‘Online Framing Service’. This service allows you to preview your chosen autograph within a frame, producing a more attractive final result and also ensuring that you control the additions to the piece of memorabilia, in turn making it more suited to your taste and decoration in the home and also adding that extra wow-factor to the item, as well as adding that final special touch to a gift. By clicking on the ‘Online Framing Service’ icon on the homepage you will see instructions to follow in order to access this service.

Furthermore, we have added a ‘Scrapbook’, which can be located on the homepage, where you are able to view photographs of Celebrities that we have met and also photographs of the celebrities signing the certain pieces or memorabilia. This addition has been made as we fully believe that it is crucial that our customers can trust that the service we provide is 100% authentic. Included in the scrapbook are photographs of celebrities such as, Samuel L Jackson who can be seen signing memorabilia including Star Wars autographs, and many sports legends, including Ernie Els, Archie Gemmill and Colin Montgomery, signing autographs.

In addition to all these amendments, a link to Facebook can be used. By choosing a specific autograph, for example, Pele memorabilia, you can click on the ‘Facebook share’ iconand the autograph will appear on your Facebook, allowing you to display the desired item to friends on the site. You can also join the Memorabilia4U Facebook group and follow us through the social networking site, where new and exciting stock is regularly posted allowing our fans an exclusive first look and the advantage to purchase heavily demanded items before they are added to the website for the rest of the world.

AN EVENING WITH MIKE TYSON

I was recently invited along to an event in Aberdeen Exhibition Centre to a Gentlemen’s Dinner. The main guest being Mike Tyson former World Heavyweight champion, along with Mike was another former heavy weight champion Tim Witherspoon and an another World Title holder Lee McAllister who hails from Aberdeen. During the course of the evening I was fortunate enough to meet Mike and Tim and got a photograph of myself with Mike Tyson which is in the process of getting framed as I write this article.

 

Throughout the evening there were opportunities to purchase boxing memorabilia, boxing autographs and signed boxing gloves via raffles, auction and a game called heads and tails. Amongst the items in the auction there were Muhammad Ali signed shorts, Mike Tyson signed gloves and also a great deal of signed boxing merchandise available at reasonable prices.

This was probably one of the biggest dinners I have attended with over 500 people turning out to see Mike and his fellow World Champions. As you can imagine he was in great demand to autograph memorabilia and he did do several signed photos for charity and for those involved in the organising of the evening. However his time was in great demand and not everyone got signed boxing memorabilia.

I was fortunate in so much as my friends did a private signing session with the champ earlier in the year where I obtained a signed photo, signed boxing shorts and a few unusual items of boxing memorabilia and a personalised autograph.

 

Getting back to the items that were for sale in the auction there was some great Muhammad Ali memorabilia signed in person by the legend including signed pictures, autographed boxing gloves and even a signed boxing robe. All of the items in the auction were fantastic and well presented pieces of autographed boxing memorabilia. But my favourite item was of the greatest pound for pound fighter around at the moment Manny Pacquiao signed shorts which was in my opinion the best framed autograph that was up for auction.

The highlight of the evening was a question and answer session with Mike where he covered his career from start to finish including all of the ups and downs and even a few of the controversial moments in his life, all in all it was a very entertaining evening spent in the company of one of the all time Heavyweight greats.