Posted By:
CoreyRS.hanusEvan,
If that's the case then in my view you are not obligated to pay for the item on the grounds that the auction house intentionally withheld information that it knew or should have known would have been deemed material by a reasonably prudent bidder. That said, I agree with the advice that you seek other expert opinions on the authenticity of the signature. If they opine that the signature is genuine and you can as a result obtain a sufficient comfort level to allow you to enjoy the piece, you might want to keep it.
Going forward it's always a good idea to not assume all the bad info about an item will be disclosed. Especially with an item that is missing authentication from one of the big authenticators in the hobby. It's always a lot easier to ask questions before you place a bid than to deal with a post-auction dispute. Yes, I understand that sometimes there is a fear of inquiring too deeply for fear of tipping off a potential competitor. But my experience has been that almost always the main players are aware of what's going on, especially in regard to recognized auctions. And that you have a lot more to gain by doing exhaustive due diligence than believing the item will fall through the cracks.