I want to buy an autographed picture (of Ellen Degeneres, in case it matters) as a present, and it isn’t hard to find one. But how can I tell if an autograph is authentic or not? Any advice would be appreciated.
Jay
I am no expert but I doubt there is any way for you to be certain unless Ellen signs the thing in front of you. I can only guess that the warranty whoever is selling the object for would be an indication of their certainty that the object is authentic. Of course, you have to be confident that the company is on the level and not some fly-by-night deal so you’d know they’d still be there if something was wrong with the object you bought.
After that I can only think that an auction house might be able to determine the validity of the signature. I also suspect they’d charge a stiff fee for doing that work for you.
All a WAG on my part but you might consider contacting an auction house for a really good answer to this. It is often their business to determine legitimacy of this or that object and they’d probably tell you what is necessary.
Ackk…instead of using the word “warranty” I should have used “guarantee”.
Perhaps you can contact the network which airs her show and request one? I’m sure they can at least forward your request to her PR people or something.
Thanks, Whack-a-Mole; I’ll make sure there’s a warranty, and there’s an auction house nearby that I’ll check out.
And good idea, Q.E.D.; I should have tried that right off, and I’ll probably try that first, although I don’t expect anything to come of it.
Jay