Perhaps a person willing to sell is not a true fan and took the opportunity to make a couple of quid by getting a saleable autograph?
Perhaps the "true fan" died and their collection is being sold off by the family?
Whatever the reason, I think it's a good thing that autographs ARE available on the open market for those who want them.
For years I wanted my copy of Bat Out Of Hell signed (turned into a mania actually) but I always held out on buying an autograph as while Meat is still alive, and I am still alive, there is a chance i'd be able to meet him, and I did.Happy ever after.
But not everyone is lucky enough to meet him these days, especially with the more (IMHO) heavy handed approach to meet and greets, so for those who are not able to spend a couple of hundred pounds on M&G tickets, it's a good cheap option of getting the signature you want.
Forgeries are the downside, and always wondering if it's an original is the price you pay.
The problems with autographs is that it's hard to refute a autograph as 100% fake (unless it's a Shakespear signed in ballpoint pen).
How do we know that the sig is fake?
Because it doesn't look like his sig.
But can you say that you have a completely consistant signature?
Perhaps Meat was feeling ill and scrawled, perhaps Meat was in a rush and hurried, perhaps Meat was walking, leaning the record on someones back while talking to someone else over his left shoulder?
So nobody can say that it's a 100% fake, but even if it's real it will not make the money because it's not a good classic example of his autograph.
If you look on my profile, you'll see a pic of a lovely signed pic of Steve Barton, and if I could justify the expence, i'd be very happy to buy it, but I could never be 100% sure it's the genuine article.