Need help with fakes or forgeries?
WARNING!!!! It has come to my attention that a company based in the UK is using my name to promote their "Authentication" services (i use the term very loosely as they appear to be simply issuing COA's for any old rubbish!). They have made the mistake though of spelling my name incorrectly (with only one R) and authenticating signed football shirts, and as anyone who knows me will tell you, i do not authenticate signed football shirts for the public, and never have done!
So if you ever see anyone using my name in any way to suggests that i work with them or advise them, then do please let me know. I do work with several well known auction houses, and i also help other dealers from time to time, but the company that are using my name are unknown to me and are clearly fraudulent as they have no contact details on their site (and they are obliged to have these by law!), they have images for Trustpilot that do not go to Trustpilot, and they tell you nothing as to who they are other than a load of crap regarding their alleged experience etc.
So please, before you buy anything from anyone on the web, always always always check their contact page, no details as to address and phone number? then simply avoid them, as you have zippo chance of getting a refund if you do not know where they are based do you? Never simply accept what is on any website as the truth, because in so many cases its simply not true, so do your homework and always check them out first.
I would send them a legal letter regarding using my name etc, but as their contact page does not have any details its impossible!
Read more about how to avoid some of these scammers here.
Please read all of this page before you contact us, it may save you some time.
Dubbed the "King of Autographs" by Chris Evans on his Radio show, Garry can provide a 'Quick Opinion' service via email for virtually any signature so if you need assistance with authentication, you are in the right place.
But please note......we do not offer the Quick Opinion Service for any modern signed football items of any kind.
Owner of both Autographs.co.uk and Autografica.co.uk, Garry King has been a full-time autograph dealer for over 30 years. He's completed UACC courses, USPAP appraisal training in the USA, and created a UK autograph course for AFTAL as well as offering the same service to numerous UK auction houses. His Quick Opinion and Authentication service, running for over 20 years, was the countries first and is the UK's longest-standing, and is considered by many as the Gold Standard in the UK.
Garry has provided numerous expert witness statements in autograph fraud cases (you can find more about those here), and advises caution when choosing any authentication service. Beware of "free" services or those that authenticate without physical inspection, then later charging for worthless certificates of authenticity. Only an idiot (or a fraudster!) would certify an item as authentic without seeing it first hand!
• Do they provide FULL verifiable contact details? This is a UK legal requirement for every online business.
• Lack of business details? What or why are they hiding?
• Are they transparent about their identity? No? Then why trust them?
• Do they showcase their experience? No? then do they really have any?
• Simply put, can you trust them with your money or your valuable collection?
Garry's accolades include UACC dealer of the year 2000, the 2006 UACC Presidents Quality award, and AFTAL Dealer of the year 2011. He's a UACC Registered Dealer and Collector Approved Verified member. His expertise has been featured on BBC, ITV, Sky TV, numerous radio stations, and various publications. Garry's expertise is regularly sought by dealers, auctioneers, collectors, Police and Trading Standards regarding autograph authenticity.
Garry has had multiple appearances on 'Fake Britain' with Dominic Littlewood since 2011, BBC's 'Inside Out', 'The One Show', and 'The Real Hustle'. He has also been featured on 'Pawn Stars UK', 'Posh Pawnbrokers', 'Posh Pawn', 'Expert Witness', 'Millionaire Hoarders', and Bargain Hunt, whilst also advising various BBC and ITV shows on autograph matters, all this is easily verifiable through Google or other autograph industry contacts, unlike many self-proclaimed “experts".
Notably, Garry is among the very few dealers whose expert witness testimony has led to convictions in court cases in the UK, including those where the fraudsters have been jailed in some cases for up to 6 years. No other UK authentication company can make that claim.
For authentic autograph verification or refund assistance, Garry's 30 years experience and expertise is without doubt unmatched in the UK.
We are unable to provide authenticity or valuation assistance over the phone, as value depends on authenticity, condition, and size - factors we cannot assess without seeing the item. I will also not accept items for Quick Opinion or Authentication unless you made the payment first, so please do not send me images first before payment.
The Quick Opinion service covers almost any signed item, and is only available online. If you require an item to be authenticated, then you must use the Quick Opinion service first, as this then allows us to evaluate your item and may save you both time and money in posting it to us. Once your item has been through the Quick Opinion service then we will be able to give you a firm quote for full authentication which starts at £29.95
If your item passes Quick Opinion, then in most cases it can be sent in for full Authentication, this will then provide you with our Letter of Authenticity and will have our hologram (we normally add this to the reverse of the item and not the front) plus a matching numbered hologram on the Letter. Our letters are accepted as proof of authenticity by Propstore, Chiswick Auctions, Omega Auctions, Excalibur Auctions, Bishop and Miller and many others as well. These are by far and away the best known auction houses for quality signed items in the UK.
The reason we insist on the Quick Opinion first is that most of the items put to us first originated on ebay, etsy or similar, and in 75% of cases prove to be fake, so this process will save both of us time and money. If you read this article it may well offer the advice you need regarding items purchased via this route.
The Quick Opinion service covers any signed item, and we require all items to go through "Quick Opinion" first. The cost is £14.95 per signature. If the item has two or more signatures then you pay twice (£29.90), so your maximum payment for one single item with multiple signatures would be £29.90. If you want 2 separate items checked, then you pay for each item. If your item passes Quick Opinion then we will be happy to quote you for our full Letter of Authenticity which start at £29.95
Important. You must pay for the Quick Opinion first, then wait until you receive our email before sending any images.
Please note that we will not accept framed or 3D items, Funko Pops, footballs, slabbed or framed items etc through the mail for full authentication. This is purely for logistical reasons as the number of items posted that arrive damaged or very badly packaged has meant that we will now no longer accept this type of item. It is also not possible for us to now accept items from outside of the UK, as there are often customs duties added on UK arrival and this is something that we are unable to avoid.
OR SIMPLY CLICK HERE FOR PAYMENT VIA PAYPAL
Once paid, you will receive an email from us detailing what we need from you normally with 12 hours.