Fab Four Memorabilia founder Alfie Evans spoke to The Telegraph about celebrities quitting autographs, fakes, and why the market keeps growing.
We're proud to have been featured in The Telegraph this autumn, in a piece about what happens to the autograph market when famous names announce they've stopped signing.
The story
The article was sparked by Tame Impala's Kevin Parker saying he would no longer sign autographs. He's far from the first. Billie Eilish, Steve Martin and Bryan Cranston have all stepped back over the years, and Paul McCartney has become far more selective. Each time it happens, collectors ask the same two questions: what does it do to prices, and does it open the door to more fakes?
Where we came in
Our founder, Alfie Evans, was interviewed alongside other leading dealers.
Alfie explained that what excites him most isn't the common stuff. Sets of signatures on scraps of paper from early-60s gigs exist in their hundreds. It's the historical pieces — items with a real story behind them — that make this business special.
Too good to be true?
The article also touched on fakes, and Alfie summed up the golden rule of the trade: "If something's too good to be true, it is." It's the principle behind everything we do, from checking every item under magnification to backing every sale with a lifetime money-back guarantee of authenticity.
Does "no more autographs" change the market?
Asked whether retirements from signing affect demand, Alfie's answer was simple: stars rarely stop completely.
What these announcements do is make verified, well-provenanced signatures more important than ever. That's exactly where a specialist dealer earns their keep.
Read the full article
The full piece, "When celebrities resign from the autograph game", is available on The Telegraph website.
Thank you to everyone who's got in touch since it was published. If you have something you'd like us to look at, come along to a valuation day or get in touch.