Funny, how Tom's signature changes a little bit here and there. Fortunately, all the items have lines like "this was signed in person" and "this is a signature, not a pre-print." Any pictures of Tom actually signing these? Of course not.
At a time like this, sellers are taking a knee. Or rather, doing knee-jerk posting to grab quick sales. Many veterans of the game know to do "ONE DAY" specials. It's that first day of shock and awe that gets people to bid with their hearts, not their heads.
EBAY has that reputation (undeserved) for honesty. Surely, eBay doesn't allow forgeries. Surely, they also don't allow bootlegs and counterfeit Gucci bags and there are many safeguards in place. Ahem. As a VERO rep for some celebrity friends, I've seen many a bold forgery and many an outrageously bad one. I've seen reputable sellers (or ones who claim to be, and even have their own websites) selling forgeries. I've even bought a few to see how they did it. As in, "Was this a free-hand fake, or did they use Photoshop to trace a real signature and then print it onto a new photo." Very fascinating.
Maybe fans think that Tom Petty's wife is a VeRO (verified rights owner) rep on eBay and is, at this very moment, sending in DMCA's on the items she thinks are obvious forgeries.
A few wise, wise people bought their items from sellers who posted BEFORE Tom died. Surely, those all have to be the REAL DEAL. Sellers can't be so craven as to use scanning equipment to slap professional-looking genuine ink signatures on any photo or CD booklet or album cover they like. Surely, sellers couldn't keep making a living on eBay if they were known to be crooks...even if they use different selling names and routinely switch item locations around.
It's an odd form of mourning, to suddenly want a signature on something or other. You didn't want it before? You need it NOW? It's a tribute? It's a fantasy, like, "well, I was hoping to see him at a memorabilia show, or go to a concert sometime and wait at the stage door...." This is ink that came out of a pen. It's possible Tom Petty never even TOUCHED the item. No forensic scientist could lift a single fingerprint.
$250 for an autographed baseball? Do allow for the fact that the signature might NOT be completely accurate because the surface is round. $600 for an album jacket. A seller with 10 of them? Heck, he's a pro, he just waltzed over to Tom, and said, "Sign all these so I can make money," and Tom did it. Any excuse will do. And remember the seller who says "I guarantee this with my OWN "Certificate of Authenticity." If you can PROVE it's fake, you get your money back. I WON'T BACK DOWN! And I'll write on the envelope - HANDLE ME WITH CARE."
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