be VERY careful before buying signed merch, especially off of sites like eBay, unless the seller can provide proof / information about who they bought it from, when, etc.

or, a thread analyzing an ebay listing that I'm 99% sure is a fake.

I was on eBay earlier today and saw a listing for a signed Red Velvet album (DM me if you want the link):

It was listed for US $18 and at first glance, it makes sense for the price to be fairly low - the first info you get is that there's no photocard and damage to the album.

this is why DOING YOUR RESEARCH is important. I almost bought it right away, but decided to compare it against other signed albums from the era first, and thank goodness I did because this appears to be a forgery.

I messaged the seller to ask for more info about where they bought it and let them know about the likelihood that the signatures aren't real. They took the listing down and said they were scammed themselves, but I still want to share this info for anybody collecting signed merch.

here is the album in question versus the other signed albums that appear at the top of a google image search (there's no way of confirming that these are authentic but they're all consistent and so are others but there's a four image limit on twt so google if you want more).

If you compare this album to other albums signed during the same era, you'll notice a few things immediately: first, the members always sign in the same spot - ex. Irene, not Seulgi, in the top right corner.

Also, this was the era that Yeri changed her signature from the smiley face on the Y that she used during Ice Cream Cake and Dumb Dumb promos to the heart style that it is today. here's a picture of the back of the Yeri PC from this album vs the previous two Yeri PCs.

The forged album has the "smiley" signature, while the other albums all have the "heart" signature.

Finally, this album is signed on the back (Joy looking down instead of straight at the camera, KOMCA sticker) - the other albums are ALL signed on the front.

it looks like the signed Russian Roulette album this seller had listed is fake as well. Here's their image vs (again) google sourced images.

this forgery is much less obvious but still there. The biggest things I can see are that although the signatures are in the right place, there's overlap on Wendy and Joy's signatures (almost never happens), +

and Wendy's letters are much more scrunched up and less defined than they are in other signatures from the era. Also, Seulgi's bear is more circular than it should be.

tldr be VERY CAREFUL WHEN BUYING SIGNED MERCH! do your research, google that shit, compare very carefully and don't be afraid to message a seller to ask for more information if you're not sure.

thank you for reading <3

adding as an addendum that nothing I've found on the internet suggests that RV has ever signed anything but album covers (as album promo, often for PDs/songwriters) & pages (during fansigns with personal notes). To my knowledge they've never signed photocards.

If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. WHENEVER you're buying anything signed, do due diligence and ask the seller where they got the item. If they won't tell you, it's probably fake. If they do tell you, check THAT person's account to see if it seems legit.

For signed albums, check google images for other signed albums of that era to make sure signature placement & shape matches. For signed album pages, check the message handwriting against the girls' handwriting on the backs of photocards / confirmed fansigns pages (from fansites).

If there's other signed merch you're thinking about buying, google to see if there's any record of the girls ever signing that merch type. If there isn't evidence (photographs) that they've ever signed that type of merch, I'd be skeptical.