According to the leading Dutch Football Magazine "Voetbal International" all players from Man Utd are forbidden to sign ManUtd-Memorablia (including shirts) anymore. Reason for this is that prices for these items are getting out of hand. Will more clubs follow?
your information is correct.manchester united players are now forbidden to sign anything other than pieces of paper.no shirts-no photos-no memorabelia.sales on ebay were used as an example of the reason why this has happened.
fascinating really as so much on ebay is fake anyway.things like "i live near carrinton so it must be genuine" come up regularly.
so does a photo of half an out of focus head near a car window get offered as a genuine coa.
so does a glossy coa from nobody of any influence pass as more proof of guaranteed authenticity.some people still accept a nice looking certificate which has probably cost more to produce than the item it authenticates.
still i expect ebay to carry items."here's one i got before the ban" or "the real madrid kit manager flew in just for me cos they will still sign for him.he met me at luton just before he got the easyjet flight back to madrid"
The magazine also said that the ban was a bit strange as in the past the son of Alex Ferguson sold replica's of ManUtd shirts for big bucks as he had them signed by the whole ManUtd squad.
On the one hand I can understand the ban, the fraud in selling fake-items is enormous and it's good that they want to protect innocent people from that. On the other hand, what if you're a ManUtd supporter who wants an autograph of your idol on your shirt? I can't imagine that the players refuse to sign a shirt if a 10-year old kid stands at the trainingground with his replicashirt to get it signed.
I agree with Raymond that it won't reduce the number of fakes offered on Ebay or other sites. Probably the money asked for it will increase as the items will become more and more rare. I myself am trying to get one of my Ajaxshirts signed by Johan Cruijff. When I look at Ebay I find several shirts signed by him every week and sometimes think that Cruijff must have a shop somewhere where he sits all day doing nothing else then signing shirts. I just can't understand why I haven't succeeded in getting Cruijff to sign my shirt. All I know is that it's easier to get an autograph from Osama Bin Laden than from Johan Cruijff.
the players have realised that most 10 year olds with a shirt have been paid 2 pounds to get the shirt signed.
the players will sign a few blank pieces of paper but not shirts,blank cards,books and anything that looks like it might go on ebay.even then they ask your name so they can dedicate to you.if you are a real fan you will be happy and if not the job is screwed up.