[JimStinson]

This might sound like an over simplification of a complicated process but it's not. FIRST there is no magic wand that any one in the hobby owns that they can wave over an autograph and its going to tell them if its good or bad. Authentication at least at this point in time is not science. To quote an old George Carlin line

"Somewhere in the World is the World's worst doctor and whats truly terrifying is that someone has an appointment with him tomorrow"
he also said
"Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "Practice"?"

So my point is that with autograph dealers , as with doctors, auto mechanics, plummers, Chefs, or just about any occupation you can think of there are some people that are really good at what they do and some that are really bad. Luckily for us the really bad ones are not in business for too long, at least not under the same name so the first question anyone thinking of buying an autograph should ask is "How long has this person been buying and selling autographs?" And autograph dealers or authenticators (yes, even the good ones) Don't have a monopoly on being able to tell you if an autograph is genuine or not. Some of the best "eyes" I know are not dealers, they are collectors.
As a kid in the 1960's I was facinated with getting the autographs of baseball players. This was usually done both inside and outside the stadium, before and after games but the idea of paying MONEY for an autograph in those days was a little silly. Later as an adult I wanted to add those names that for obvious reasons I was unable to acquire as a kid to my collection, At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur let me say that in the "Old days" when I first stated BUYING baseball autographs I asked an old timer....a guy that had been already collecting autographs for many years the best way to go about doing this and not get burned. What he told me was as true then as it is today. He said "Ask other collectors for 10 names of reputable people to deal with, You'll find at least five names that continually overlap and then just do business with those people" So thats what I did and the names I ended up with were, JACK SMALLING, DICK PATMAN, DOUG AVERITT, BILL ZEKUS & TED ELMO. Sadly Bill and Ted would end up getting burned themselves later but thats another story. As a starting point those five names were the guys I spent my money with. I had no reason to go outside that circle at that time because among them they ALWAYS had more autographs to sell than I had money to spend. And as my experience grew so did my circle of people I would deal with. In this day and age with more collectors and more dealers and forums like this one compiling a list of reputable people to deal would be even easier. If I were to do that today the list might look something like this, BILL CORCORAN, RICHARD SIMON, RON GORDON, KEVIN KEATING & RICH ALBERSHEIM and probably a few more names you could add to the list, Since I rarely buy stuff at auction I'm sure there would be at least two auction houses you could include in the mix too. reputable people will have at least two things in common #1) Almost everyone knows who they are because they have been around awhile #2) They are already net working with other dealers and collectors to minimize and eliminate any "mistakes".
At the risk of ticking anyone off, I've always believed that the uninformed collector does as much damage BUYING bad autographs as the crook does when he manufactures them. Again to quote George Carlin,

"Think of how stupid the average person is and realize half of them are stupider than that"

That is the market the bad guys are selling to. If that drys up so will they. Its called "BUYING SMART". It never ceases to amaze me that when guys who should know better shot me a scan of an autograph already under suspicion and I ask them where they got it they mention someone's name that no one has ever heard of or company x, or company z, that is known to be operating out of that gray area of the realm. It helps to keep the crooks in business. Buy smart and in thirty days (or less) the "bad guys" will be pursuing a proper line of work or living back at home in their parents garage.