Forged Blyton signature on ebay

[Tony Summerfield]

There is a signed copy of The Story of My Life currently on ebay. This is a blatant forgery and similar to dozens of others that all came from a shop on the Isle of Wight. The man who owned the shop also flooded the market with forged W E Johns signed books, which he churned out by the score.

I politely informed the seller this two days ago and I know that others have also done so, but we have been completely ignored. As it is a private auction it is impossible to warn any of the bidders (9 so far), but I think it is a disgrace that the seller now knows it is a forgery, but has done nothing about removing it.

[Moonraker]

Cannot eBay be told of this? Surely they can strike him off?

I have now reported this seller to eBay. I will let you know of any reply!

[Tony Summerfield]

I like to give the seller the benefit of the doubt, as most are unaware that they are selling forged signatures. I only got involved here as someone phoned me about it and asked if I would do something.

I'm afraid that dozens of these forged signatures have been sold on ebay and it is very difficult to stop it. Many sellers simply say that the buyer can return the book if they are not happy, but as they have bid in good faith, they are unaware that they have bought a forgery.

The worst examples I saw were a couple of laminated covered Dean books, both published some years after Enid's death. They sold for over £80 each and some poor soul is now the 'proud' owner!

[jen]

this is why I don't have any signed stuff because I'm not a good enough judge to tell whats genuine and what isn't but I feel sorry for those bidders. There is a signed copy on Amazon too, but at £95 of thereabouts I wouldn't dare buy it - it would be an expensive mistake if it turned out to be a forgery.

[Lucky Star]

Unfortunately the forged signature business is thriving on sites such as ebay. Enid Blyton fans are not the only victims, fans of pop stars, movie stars etc have all fallen victim to trickery. It is hard to know whether the sellers of such items are to blame. Many of these items may have been bought years ago in good faith and are now being sold on in the same spirit. However in this instance as the seller is now aware of the issue and is continuing with the auction it appears that at the very least he/she is not interested in the feelings of the buyer. Do let us know if ebay take any action against this person Moonraker.

[Moonraker]

Do let us know if ebay take any action against this person Moonraker.

eBay:

Due to privacy concerns, we cannot keep you informed about the status of
our investigation. While you will only receive this acknowledgement of
the receipt of your report, please be assured that we will thoroughly
review the situation.

I guess we'll never know!

[Rob Houghton]

That just sums up why I won't use ebay. I'm just not trusting enough, and I don't think you can EVER be sure what you're buying on there, or what condition it might be in, let alone if it's forged signatures or not. I'm just too suspicious!

[Julie2owlsdene]

I have to say, that everything I've bought on EBAY, I have been more than pleased with. I recently bought a small Blyton Book, from one of the EBAY shops, and one page was actually missing. I wasn't too bothered, as I'd only paid £2 for the book, but in the feedback, I just mentioned that one page was missing. They replied immediately, and refunded the price of the book and the postage,saying how sorry they'd missed this. So I now have a lovely little book, (minus one page) for nothing. All other books I've bought, have been as described, and not expensive.

[Tony Summerfield]

I would guess you could call me an ebay veteran as I have been buying there for nearly nine years and my own experience is that if you are careful it is pretty safe. Twice I have been refunded after buying something (without receiving it), on both occasions I got the items at bargain prices and I guess the seller wasn't happy, so they come up with an excuse. On another occasion the seller deliberately bid me up using a second identity (there are plenty of rogues around who bid on their own auctions!!) but otherwise it has been smooth sailing.

I have a large number of signed books (over 200 different children's authors) and I am confident that all are genuine signatures. There are one or two minefields that you have to stay clear of - a huge number of J K Rowling forgeries, but with a bit of care it is pretty safe on the whole.

[Blytonboy]

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Whilst Enid's signature is not particularly complicated it is not easy to forge and the forged examples given seem pretty obvious to me.I did work in a bank during the years when all customers signatures on cheques were checked so I do have a "gut" instinct for a wrong one.
Until recent years, EB books were not worth the bother of forging and the main culprit from a few years back seems to be the Isle of Wight source. I have seen quite a few of these and the Secret Seven books seem to have been his/her favourites. I have studied all the Enid signatures on EBAY and elsewhere and the genuine ones are fairly easy to spot. Most are in the characteristic blue fountain pen she often used and I am attaching a couple of images of her signature in my copy of "The Secret of Moon Castle" 1953. I am happy that this is a genuine signature and compares well with all the other ones I have seen so far. I also have a bit of provenance for the book.
As for EBAY Blyton sellers, I do know of one trader who uses two identities but his books are very good as are the batch sold today by Billywahill. I have used EBAY as a buyer and seller for several years and have no complaints about people I have dealt with and the stuff bought. The image is all important and can be zoomed in on to examine detail. Beware of a poor image.It is possible to get a good bargain on EBAY which you won't get from a book dealer who will charge top wack. Just look at ABE to see the prices for 1st Ed Blyton books

[Tony Summerfield]

So much for ebay stepping in - the forged signature has just sold for £100!!

[Blytonboy]

The signature is uncertified and it is purely up to the buyer to make the decision. The seller is not claiming that Enid Blyton signed the book only that it has a signature on it saying "love from Enid Blyton" This is a subtle but important difference. I don't condone the deliberate misleading of buyers but the unlucky purchaser will just have to send it back and get a refund. He is a far more experienced Ebayer than the seller.

[Tony Summerfield]

The signature is uncertified and it is purely up to the buyer to make the decision. The seller is not claiming that Enid Blyton signed the book only that it has a signature on it saying "love from Enid Blyton" This is a subtle but important difference. I don't condone the deliberate misleading of buyers but the unlucky purchaser will just have to send it back and get a refund. He is a far more experienced Ebayer than the seller.

I don't buy this at all. Of course the seller is claiming that Enid Blyton signed the book!!! I am also not at all sure what you mean by uncertified, who is supposed to certify it? I have seen plenty of signed items with COA on them and they are normally not worth the paper they were printed on as the seller is the person signing the certificate. As the buyer has bought this thinking it to be a genuine signature he is not likely to send it back and the fact that the buyer is a more experienced ebayer is neither here nor there.

I said in my earlier post that I have a large number of signed books and every single one is 'uncertified' as you put it, but I have bought them in the belief that they are signed by the author and not by Joe Bloggs.

[Moonraker]

The seller is not claiming that Enid Blyton signed the book only that it has a signature on it saying "love from Enid Blyton"

I've heard it all now!

[Rob Houghton]

at the risk of repeating what I said, thank God I don't use ebay if this seller is anything to go by. Much rather pay more and get good quality at Stella and Rosie's books.