Warning: Stop trusting those 'authentic' prop certificates without checking the guild stamp first
I saw a guy drop $400 on a "screen-used" blaster from a famous sci-fi movie at a con in Denver last week, but the COA had a typo and no replica guild registry number. Turns out it was a recast sold as original, and the seller ghosted him after payment. Has anyone else run into fake COAs from specific prop houses on the west coast?
Learned that lesson the hard way myself a few years back so I feel for that guy. Now I always check the prop forums first to see if the guild stamp matches what the seller claims, sometimes the numbers are tied to specific runs or replicas. Found a recast ring from a fantasy movie that way the COA looked perfect but the registry listed it as a fan replica not a screen used piece. Getting the seller to refund was a nightmare, but having that proof helped me win the chargeback with my bank. Checking the stamp literally saved me from buying a fake lightsaber hilt last month too, the number was one digit off from the real guild listing.