Why You Should Buy Autographs ONLY from a UACC Dealer

Why You Should Consider Buying an Autograph ONLY from a UACC Dealer.....

Because of the high demand and excitement of owning an intimate connection to a historical figure, i.e. their personally handwritten signature, comes with it the unscrupulous temptation for fraud by the more desperate elements of society. ...

But, as with any high value transaction,  whether it be a $500,000 baseball card or $10 million painting is the responsibility to use intelligent judgment and research before making such a worthy investment.  Today , there are expert resources to utilize so you will not experience a painful financial loss at the hands of unethical or less reliable sources. .   Wealthy art collectors employ expensive art experts.  In the autograph collecting industry are organizations that offer reliable expert opinion and Dealer oversight.   

Why is “Dealer Oversight” so important to Collectors like you?  And Why is it such a threat to autograph forgers and unethical dealers?

Let's address the issue of buyer protection
There are many elements of society that demand a certain level of authority to answer to.
For children it’s their parents, for lawyers they must answer to their state bar association, for career criminals they are kept in check by the police or FBI and the risk of going to prison.  . 

In the collectibles industry are many organizations that represent dealers like the Antiques Dealer Association, Manuscript Society, even the BBB.   But, few actually hold their members accountable for illicit activity.    So, autograph dealers who claim to have a good reputation because they belong to the BBB or Manuscript Society (MS)  are really being deceptive because there are no requirements to maintain membership in those organizations.   So, if you purchase an autograph that turns out to be fake,  you will have no support from the BBB or MS .

In contrast, the autograph community has the Universal Autograph Collecting Club (UACC) established in 1965 for the sole purpose of maintaining a high level of integrity within a collecting genre that has one of the highest rates of fraud.    Along with the UACC are professional Independent authenticating companies like JSA and PSA, that provide a highly valuable service to curtail such fraud, while enraging autograph forgers and less ethical dealers.

About 15 years ago, the UACC setup the Registered Dealer Program where only autograph dealers with a history of highly ethical practices could be accepted into.   In other words, if a dealer has ANY history of selling questionable autographs they CANNOT be a Registered UACC Dealer.   And if a UACC Dealer sells an autograph that is later deemed to be fake by a reputable authentication company, that dealer MUST offer the original buyer a Full Refund.    And no UACC dealer is going to dishonor that code of ethics or it would be devastating to their business.  Hence, why “less conscientious” dealers want no part of the UACC and the UACC’s Code of Ethics.

About 20 years ago I consigned a very valuable JFK Personally owned item to an autograph auction house (they are no longer in business) .  The auction house never put it into their catalog and after months of trying to contact them and no responses, I sought help from the UACC.   The UACC contacted this dealer/auction house and within a week they called me , apologetically offering to return my items immediately.   Just like the misbehaved 10 year old boy who won’t do what he is told, until Dad comes home…;)    Without the UACCs help, I am sure this dealer would have had no “authoritative motivation” to return my items. 

You can see the list of UACC Approved Dealers HERE..

I hope this tidbit of information keeps you safe out there, while providing a valuable resource to enhance your exciting collecting ventures !

Kevin Conway
Conway's Vintage Treasures
UACC Registered Dealer 307.