[alexautographs]

And year after year these retreads get away with murder - even in my trade (historical stuff). And it's a damned shame.

Murder in the First Degree:

- Incompetent authenticators, crooks and non-crooks alike.

- Collusion between auction houses and their authenticators who both authenticate AND consign...and therefore may reject their competitors' or enemies' consignments as they choose, willy nilly (love that expression).

- Bogus auction trade practices including inflated sales results that were never realized, and the same item selling for the same amount sale after sale after sale.

- Auction results that are never published, or if they're published, show a 99% sell-through rate. Sure.

- Auction houses that brazenly advertise (for example) original Picasso oil paintings certified by so-and-so forensic examiner, sell them for $3,000 a pop, and continue to gull the public shilling the same level of bogus crap.

- Hugely profitable un-"reality" pawn shop shows legitimizing the sleaziest dealers and bums in the trade and thereby verifying their "credentials.

I once pondered a class action lawsuit against the really criminal forensic crooks out there for passing bad material that sold for pennies on the dollar. Why? It devalued MY material and that of my consignors, thereby costing me and fellow dealers and collectors a lot of money. No one stepped up to the plate, as I suspect that the grip these people now have on the industry is simply too strong and they throw lawsuits around like pennies. Witness what happened to Frank Caiazzo...

Evidence? I find it especially interesting that 24 hours after I criticized a West Coast auctioneer for reneging on $7,500 worth of eBay purchases, our email address was subjected to "mail bombs", a sophisticated internet attack that so far we have tracked to...the West Coast, home of the auctioneer, and to New Hampshire...the site of our chief competitor. Go figger.