Fetched my mail this afternoon and I had a large sorta flat square parcel.
I knew exactly what it was, a recent eBay purchase of an LP of an interview with Guns N Roses from back in the day, put out by BaktaBak, which I think did a lot of these sorts of releases. I’m pretty sure this is the third version of the same interview I have: one was the CD version I bought in the late 80s with my allowance, the second was a set of 4 picture 7″ records (black and white pics of all but Steven Adler, which frankly I don’t mind one damn bit), and now this.
But of course, I didn’t buy it for the content, I bought it for the fact that the cover was signed by all five guys. I’d scrutinized the photos in the listing before bidding and they jived with all the photos I’ve seen of legit GNR signatures.
Now, a few months back I alluded to a situation of wanting my money back and said I’d post in more detail later but never got around to it. Long story short was that I bought a photo that was supposedly signed by all five guys, and was supposedly original signatures, but when I got it it was a scam because I’d paid a couple hundred bucks for something someone printed off on an inkjet paper with modern “photo” glossy inkjet paper and needless to say, the “autographs” were part of the print. Once upon a time, there had been a real version, but this wasn’t it.
Which reminded me of Adam Carolla’s old saying “stupid or liar?” I’d been willing to assume the former and that it was someone who genuinely couldn’t tell the difference between a reprint and a genuine signature, but when I asked about returning it for a refund as it clearly was not what was described, the seller basically told me to eat shit, so I had to assume it was more of a “liar” situation and went through PayPal’s claim process and eventually won, was told to return the fake and eventually got my money back.
And actually, since then, I’ve seen several versions of the same pic turn up, all marked honestly as reproductions, and all selling in the $15 range, so I guess shame on me for falling for it, but in my defense that one was the first time I’d ever seen that one, and double shame on the cunt seller for trying to pass it off as legit and then having the gall to dig in her heels when I demanded a refund.
Cunt actually tried to tell PayPal I was a fraudster who’d been sent a real autographed pic and then made a fake to send back to her.
I seem to recall venting to my best friend and saying I hope that seller gets run over by a truck. My friend one-upped me and said she hopes said truck is carrying a load of legit GNR merchandise on the way to a tour date. Meh, I personally think it would be funnier if it was either a truck carrying inkjet photo paper or one carrying a payload of Sharpie markers to a Staples warehouse.
But I digress… Back to today.
So, with that ordeal in mind, I was a little nervous today as I gingerly open the tape holding the box shut. However, I breathed a big sigh of relief as I opened the flaps to see genuine Sharpie signatures.
This one’s real!
Anyway, I already had Duff’s signature, as well as Gilby Clarke’s, and in a weird twist, that was accidental. A couple months ago, I’d bought one of those bio books as it had photos in it I hadn’t seen before, and gotten it for pretty cheap, and then noticed that on the email from eBay the title/description of the item mentioned it was signed. Sure enough, Duff and Gilby had signed it (and those were also legit signatures).
So, I’m now loaded up with Guns N Roses autographs. And both that book and this LP cover have pride of place in my main writing area. I figure a little inspiration never hurts.
