So…you love F1 and are a F1 collector? Nice to meet you!
We’ve been collecting and sharing signed F1 memorabilia for quite some years now.
Through the years we’ve been asked for tips ‘n trick on how to safely buy signed items online.
We’d like to share some of our most useful tips, because we understand the joy an unique F1 collection can bring!
Buying an already signed item
Great, so you got your laptop fired up and your payment method is on stand by….ready for an online purchase! This is probably the most easy way to expand your collection, but also the one with the most risks. The most risky part is authenticity. Why? Because there are a lot of fake autographs out there.
One of the most populair online market places is Ebay. A great place to source unique items and yes, they can be found there. But a very large portion of signed F1 items offered for sale on ebay, are fakes. Not a small percentage, not incidentally, but a large part is fake. So you have to beware and do your homework. If we were to create (and update) a list of all fakes currently for sale, we would almost have a day job doing that. Some are easy to spot, others are not. Recently we spotted a great F1 related DVD for sale, which was hand signed by the legendary Ayrton Senna. The item looked nice, great autograph -ticking a lot of the boxes-, but….the DVD was only introduced in 1995. So Ayrton could never have signed it.
There is a lot of research you can do yourself. Compare the autograph online to other autographs, preferably offered by well known dealers or sources. Double check the signed item and ask yourself if there are any red flags there (remember the DVD we just talked about?).
Double check the seller and reviews. A one-off seller does not have to be a fraud, but must be a reason for you to be extra alert. Recently registered sellers and sellers with low or no reviews should also make you extra alert.
Items with a Certificate of Authenticity (CoA) are preferred. But let’s be honest…anyone with a printer can create a CoA. Therefore, always check who is the supplier of the CoA. This must be a well known supplier or dealer.
The CoA itself must tick all of the following boxes:
-1 It needs to provide a guaranty on authenticity and a money-back warranty.
-2 It needs to show detailed information about the specific item
-3 It must have an unique number
-4 It must show information about the supplier (company name, website, other contact details etc)
-5 It must be hand signed by or on behalf of the supplier of the CoA
-6 It must be fraud proof by design, such as hologrammed or other features which make it hard to copy
Most of the times a CoA isn’t part of the sale. That does not have to be a problem, but you need to be aware that the risk of buying a fake then increases. If a CoA isn’t supplied, then try to find out more about the background of the item. A seller should be able to supply more background info about the item and the signing history. Sometimes photo proof of the signing moment is supplied, but this is often not the case. So make sure you are satisfied about the background info and the item/autograph itself before purchasing. Don’t be affraid to ask someone else for their opinion, this can help too.
And always follow your instinct….if it’s to good to be true, well….then it is too good to be true.