Quote:
Originally Posted by GrayGhost
Would you have told him, or minded your own business?
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I've found the best way is to engage the seller in a friendly manner, like asking if he has any other items, and strike up a conversation about autographs. At some point I sneak in the fact that I've been collecting autographs for 30+ years and that there are a lot of forgeries out there and even most COAs aren't worth a damn. Most will ask questions if it's not too busy.
Most casual sellers of autographs don't know anything about autographs, have never heard of Operation Bullpen and believe that any COA is a stamp of legitimacy. 90% of people I've approached in this manner have been receptive to what I had to tell them. The other 10% usually brag that they've sold "hundreds" of autographs without a problem. You're not going to reach them, they only care about the $.
If you have business cards, give the 90% guys one and tell them if they are ever offered autographs you'd be happy to provide them a little advice for free. For one, you might save someone a ton of money, and two, they might bring you in on the deal or offer to flip to you (both have happened in my case). I saved one guy from spending over $5000 on Operation Bullcrap stuff. He thought he was getting $100K worth of stuff for pennies on the dollar. Every stinking item in the lot was bad.