never buy autographs on ebay

See how the number “3” is different in the photos? Someone is running a scam on ebay.

As a general rule of thumb, never buy autographs on ebay. Sellers can be especially tricky. I caught a crooked seller on ebay. And ebay makes it quite difficult and practically impossible to properly report fake items.

The seller, tim3333, was selling a supposed autographed jersey signed by Hall of Fame baseball star, Ryne Sandberg. tim3333 offered a photograph of Sandberg supposedly autographing the jersey for sale and a photograph of the autographed jersey itself. See photos above.

THE TWO PHOTOS ARE CONFLICTING. The “3” in “23” on the “autographed” jersey is clearly different from the “3” in “23” on the jersey in the photo of Ryne Sandberg signing the jersey.

The alleged autographed jersey has a more rounded “3” while the photograph of Sandberg shows a more sqaure-like “3”. Look at the shape of the “3” at the top and bottom of the “3”. Then look at the shape on the inside portion of the “3”. Upon examining the “3” in “23”, it is quite clear that this seller is misleading the public and potentially selling fraudulent merchandise.

The item sold for $262.

Here’s the item description that devilish tim3333 used for this item:

“The item up for auction is a hand signed brand new Chicago Cubs jersey by Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. Ryne signed his name and his number 23 on the 2 and HOF 05 on the 3. The jersey comes with a COA from Bases Loaded Sports and a ticket from the Peoria Chiefs game where Ryne is currently managing and a Peoria Chiefs schedule. I will also include a VOA (Video of Authenticity) which is a video of Ryne signing the jersey in Peoria, IL. The jersey has the numbers and name sown on and are button up just like the ones the pros wear. The autograph is in paint and looks excellent. Shipping will be $10 in the US. Check out my other auctions and ebay store for more Ryne Sandberg autographed items and MLB jerseys.”

Perhaps the autographed jersey he is selling is legit. However, it’s clear that tim3333 is misleading the public with this combination of photographs. That photo of Sandberg signing a jersey is not the jersey for sale.

Isn’t it funny that this tim3333 has not one, not two, but four number “3”s in his user name when it’s the “3” in the “23” of this jersey that exposes how his is stealing from people?

ebay item number 230260397734.

There’s only two real ways to report fake items to ebay and both ways are really, really lousy.
1. This link lets you report fraudulent autographs, but ebay only allows you to enter the ebay item number. It doesn’t allow you to explain why you think it’s fraudulent.
2. You can report a fraudulent item here, but you have to be the buyer to report so.

I posted a topic in the “Sports Cards, Memorabilia & Fan Shop” section of the ebay Forums about this crooked Sandberg jersey. It was removed about 10 minutes afterwards.

Here’s ebay’s policy on autographs. It’s good to see that ebay has an official list of “authenticators” that they refuse to sell. But this doesn’t go far enough in preventing fake autographs. ebay must do a better job of allowing people to report fake autographs. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of buyer-beware.