Charleton Heston autographed photo

Charlton Heston Signed 8x10 Autographed Signed COA Auth


ended - Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Auction grade: C-

Starting bid: $149.99

Final selling price: $0 - no bids


Up for sale in this eBay auction is an autographed photo of the late Hollywood legend on and off the screen - Charlton Heston. The seller claims that this is a genuine autographed photo and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

The auction's title looks pretty good except that the seller said "signed" twice. One of those needs to be replaced with "photo" to help draw in more shoppers.

A more amusing note with this auction deals with its subtitle:

"Guaranteed authentic for life !!!!!!"

Unless they are destroyed or were originally signed with a pencil, autographs aren't known for fading or expiring. So therefore one would conclude that autographs that are declared to be authentic would automatically be authentic until it's no longer visible.

The auction's description needs to be rewritten so it looks more professional. Looking at the large font, all capital letters and misspellings, it's obvious that the seller quickly created this auction after hearing about the actor's death.

While I'm not going to criticize the seller for trying to profit on news about the actor (that's how many quick thinking sellers make a lot of money on eBay), I can and will criticize the auction for its poor look and layout.

The large font with all capital letters is annoying and an insult to fans of the actor and other sellers. It shows that this seller doesn't care about typing properly or taking the time to do things the right way.

"PLANET OF TEH APPES" --- Planet of the Apes

If you're going to mention some of his films, don't stop at just two films. Go for better search engine results and also mention other movies such as Ben-Hur, Midway, Earthquake, The Greatest Show on Earth, and even The Omega Man. Take the extra minute and do it right.

The other good parts of this auction deal with the actual photo and shipping charges. The picture clearly shows Charleston Heston and the autograph at the bottom of the picture. The free shipping is a nice add-on.

Personally, I believe this seller is being too greedy in the starting bid price. $149.99 seems too high considering: A) there are lots of other autographed photos and memorabilia now available, and B) apart from the autograph there's nothing special about this picture. Seeing the overly high starting bid and poor layout of the auction, this one almost needs that four letter "S" word as a warning. You know the word. SC_M.

Utah Ute Indian photo

1913 Ute Indian Camp Panorama Photo Native Ame ORIGINAL

ended - Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Auction grade: A

Starting bid: $0.99

Final sale price: $365.00


Up for sale in this eBay auction is a 1913 vintage panorama picture of a group of Utah Ute Indians. The indians appear to be wearing traditional clothing, including weapons such as shields and tomahawks.

Overall, this is a clear and professional looking auction. The title is neatly written and includes many good key words. The main body of text is neatly spaced and easy to read (only one or two spelling and grammar errors). The seller took the extra step and went into the history of the picture, Ute tribe, and location.

With over 800 positive pieces of feedback in the past month, this seller means business.


Overall, this is an excellent auction. From the very good title, to the vast amount of information in the text, to the numerous pictures, this will bring in the buyers. The only reason I didn't give it a perfect score was that I didn't like how all of the text was centered in the main body of the auction. That is unprofessional and looks a little bit sloppy. Left-oriented paragraphs would have been a better option.