What happens in Vegas gets removed from eBay
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What happens in Vegas gets removed from eBay
It may have gone something like this…
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.
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.
Last edited by BallroomDays67 on Wed Aug 17, 2011 5:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- jamestkirk
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Wasn't it W.C Fields that said, "You can't cheat and honest man."? If it's looks too good to be true, it likely isn't!
But really, a store full of signed artifacts from the golden age of rock. Hey! it's Vegas man.....he forgot the ol' gambler adage...you gotta know when to fold 'em. The first clue for me would have been, hey! this IS Vegas, nothing is what it seems.
But really, a store full of signed artifacts from the golden age of rock. Hey! it's Vegas man.....he forgot the ol' gambler adage...you gotta know when to fold 'em. The first clue for me would have been, hey! this IS Vegas, nothing is what it seems.
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
-Aldous Huxley
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- Porsche
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Nice read! Reminded me of this link recently posted on Ida's site: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/auction ... -poem.html
It's from an episode of Auction Kings that doesn't air until August 16 so I don't know what their expert said, but it is quite possibly one of the worst examples of Jim's "handwriting" I've ever seen. Second only to that 1930s songbook. I can't believe Sugerman allegedly told the guy it looked legit.
It's from an episode of Auction Kings that doesn't air until August 16 so I don't know what their expert said, but it is quite possibly one of the worst examples of Jim's "handwriting" I've ever seen. Second only to that 1930s songbook. I can't believe Sugerman allegedly told the guy it looked legit.
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Thanks! I saw that clip, and can't believe it either. I hadn't heard of that show before, and thought it might be a parody of "Pawn Stars." It doesn't seem like it could be serious.
The thing with the guitar is that, aside from the quantity of inventory, everything is put in place to make the customer feel comfortable in making a purchase.
The thing with the guitar is that, aside from the quantity of inventory, everything is put in place to make the customer feel comfortable in making a purchase.
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ha, I remember seeing that guitar. I think they wanted like 8k for it. The memorabilia store has location in 3 or 4 different casinos. I only visited the stores at the Mirage and Planet Hollywood casinos. I remember looking at a signed album that was listed for around 5k. They had other Doors items but the only "unique" item was the guitar. The store has tons of signed items from musicians, movie stars, ex presidents and all sorts of movie props. It reminds me of the memorabilia store that used to be at downtown Disney.
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Yes, it was the same guitar. The first shop I went into was located at the Mirage. After talking to the girl for a while (she was also a Doors fan) she took me in the back and showed me what other Doors items they had at their other locations. When she said their location at Planet Hollywood has a guitar signed by Jim it peaked my interest enough to go down there and check it out. It was definitely the same guitar.
edit
This is the store
http://www.artofmusiclv.com/
The Planet Hollywood location is/was at the Miracle Mile shopping area. Maybe that location is closed? That is where the guitar was located.
edit again:
The Art Of Music store at the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile shopping area is located in suite 15.
http://www.miraclemileshopslv.com/direc ... llectibles
edit
This is the store
http://www.artofmusiclv.com/
The Planet Hollywood location is/was at the Miracle Mile shopping area. Maybe that location is closed? That is where the guitar was located.
edit again:
The Art Of Music store at the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile shopping area is located in suite 15.
http://www.miraclemileshopslv.com/direc ... llectibles
- jamestkirk
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- Porsche
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Update: Watched this episode of 'Auction Kings' last night. Unbelievably, the item was "authenticated" by one of the auction house staffers who -- I kid you not -- looked at some Google images of Jim's signature and thought it looked real. No handwriting experts looked at it. No collectors looked at it. No one who would know what they were talking about were asked to authenticate it. Just a guy who drives the company truck and knows how to do a Google image search. They put it on the block and it sold for $2000. Ouch.Porsche wrote:Nice read! Reminded me of this link recently posted on Ida's site: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/auction ... -poem.html
It's from an episode of Auction Kings that doesn't air until August 16 so I don't know what their expert said, but it is quite possibly one of the worst examples of Jim's "handwriting" I've ever seen. Second only to that 1930s songbook. I can't believe Sugerman allegedly told the guy it looked legit.
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- Porsche
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Yeah, as if the handwriting wasn't enough, the "poem" itself is terrible and nothing like Jim's work. Why didn't they try to compare the writing to his other writings as well as the handwriting? According to the episode, the guy only looked at the signature at the bottom.
The sale didn't look like a reality show gimmick, but who knows for sure. The auction house is called Gallery 63: www.gallery63.net
Here's the entire episode for anyone who missed it or doesn't get it in their area: http://www.sendspace.com/file/72ufnf
The sale didn't look like a reality show gimmick, but who knows for sure. The auction house is called Gallery 63: www.gallery63.net
Here's the entire episode for anyone who missed it or doesn't get it in their area: http://www.sendspace.com/file/72ufnf
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What the guitar buyer shud have known is that is most cases a COA isn't worth shit. They can be faked just as easily as a signature. As far as the video goes, the chords to RHB aren't that hard to master.
On most episodes of Pawn Stars, a rather large painting of Jim can be seen in the backround. Often a Hendrix painting is shown in the same spot.
On most episodes of Pawn Stars, a rather large painting of Jim can be seen in the backround. Often a Hendrix painting is shown in the same spot.
- lizardkingteo
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