A tourist from the UK is vacationing in Las Vegas. He’s been saving up for a while for this trip, and is in a spending mood. He does some gambling at a world-famous casino, and then wanders over to their beautiful indoor mall, one of the most prestigious in the country.
He’s strolling along, amazed by what he sees, when one of the stores catches him by surprise. It’s an entertainment memorabilia store. He isn’t a collector per se, but has always loved the music of the sixties. He walks in, and is immediately overwhelmed. They have everything. He sees several fully signed Beatles and Led Zeppelin albums, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, and on and on. Each item is beautifully signed and exquisitely framed along with a creative presentation of the artist’s name, one or two photos, and a plaque. The way the pieces are put together is in itself a work of art. Needless to say, he has never seen a more beautiful collection of music memorabilia in his entire life. It looks more like a museum than a store.
How can they possibly have this quantity and quality of inventory? Is this for real? Then again, considering where the store is located, and the painstaking detail that has gone into the framing of these items, how could it not be real? He’s taking it all in when one piece in particular catches his eye. It isn’t an album, but an acoustic guitar signed by Jim Morrison, the legendary lead singer of the Doors. Should he buy it? He sure does love the Doors. While it’s a lot of money, it’s better than gambling. At least he’ll have something to show for it.
The extremely friendly salesperson (who also loves the piece) comes over and explains that in addition to the store’s COA, it also includes a COA from a highly qualified “forensic document examiner.” His impressive credentials include work as an “International Police Technical Advisor”, a “Special Agent, U.S. Secret Service”, and a “Court Qualified Forensic Science Expert.” How can you possibly do better than that? Well, that seals it. He purchases the piece and has it shipped to the UK…
Some time later, the owner decides to sell the piece on eBay. It isn’t an easy decision, but he really needs the money. After a few days, he is completely stunned to find that the listing was ended by eBay. It has to be a mistake. After all, the piece wasn’t purchased at a flea market, but at a very prestigious mall. What about the two COAs, one of which is from a highly qualified “forensic document examiner”? The owner then learns that the “forensic document examiner” on the COA is on eBay’s list of banned authenticators, and his COAs aren’t even allowed on the auction site. It’s not easy to get on that list.
The piece is eventually sold outside of eBay to another collector who is impressed by the accompanying documentation.
