 AUTOGRAPH COLLECTORS AGAINST FAKES |
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So... Just What Is This ACAF Thing Then ?
Keeping it simple... ACAF is an expansion of an eBay forum that was launched in 2005 by a number of collectors who were becomingly increasingly frustrated at the amount of fake autographs that were being peddled on the internet. On a daily basis forum members and moderators offer help and advice to collectors on all aspects of the hobby, in addition to actively searching for fake autographs on auction sites and helping victims of the fakers obtain refunds. We have a diverse membership, from novice collectors just starting out, to expert dealers who travel the world collecting autographs, to individual dealers who host their own private memorabilia signings with celebrities. The one thing that all members have in common is a passion for the hobby and a loathing of those who seek to destroy it. Whilst we do work with a number of respected dealers, ACAF is primarily run by collectors, for collectors. By keeping it a collectors-led organisation, we can ensure total impartiality when recommending items and sources to members as we have no ties whatsoever to any organisation or dealer. We do not accept nor solicit payments from dealers to approve their stock, instead we anonymously purchase and monitor those we feel are an asset to the community over a long period, prior to adding them to our list of approved dealers. In the spring of 2008, the forum moderators met to discuss ways to take things forward and gain more publicity and it was decided that we needed to become more pro-active in making people aware of just how big a problem fake memorabilia is. Check out our help section for a few tips on how to avoid being duped. As a result of this meeting, we decided to start listing on eBay to bring in more members, make more people aware of the problem of fakes and ensure that sellers of fake memorabilia were actively targetted and reported. To coincide with the new seller account and the launch of the website, we decided to choose a charity to support as many members have provided items from their own collections to auction. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark also agreed to help launch the group with their first ever memorabilia signing, which raised over £1,000 in pre-orders alone for our nominated charity, The Variety Club of Great Britain. ACAF has committed itself to raising a minimum of £17,000 in the first 6 months to provide a Sunshine Coach for the Variety Club. With at least 2 memorabilia signings planned each week for the rest of 2008, we are confident that we can reclaim a lot of ground from the fakers and make more people aware of the risks in buying what may appear to be a bargain... but in fact is likely to be worthless.
The ACAF website launched in July 2008 as an extension of the successful eBay Autograph Collectors Forum. With over 2,400 members, including collectors and dealers from around the world, we hope you will find this site a useful tool to help you with your hobby. For more information on ACAF, please use the links at the top of the page or visit our forum.
ACAF Approved Autograph Seller Membership Number : AD001
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ACAF : PO BOX 1051 : BB9 4BH |
