While the website is new, we have been in business since 1993 and were formerly known as "Galaxy Space Autographs" throughout the 1990's. Before the internet, we sold mostly through catalogs send through the US mail. In the past 20 years however, we have wholesaled to other dealers, almost exclusively to Astronaut Archives.
In the past 5 years, we have sold on ebay as either "apollospace" or "apolloastronauts". We are hoping that our ebay customers can find us here as our ebay account will be phased out at some future date. We're glad you found us and hope to be your main source of Apollo-era signed photographs.
We ship throughout the United States and its territories as well as to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Since many countries do not have reliable postal systems, then in order to avoid theft and other problems, we will not ship to those places. Countries to which we do not ship include most of Latin America and most of Eastern Europe. Please contact us first if you have doubts or questions about your shipping location before making a purchase.
For the United States only, the shipping cost is a flat $12.99 for as many photos will fit into the package. Each shipment will arrive in a plastic sleeve and two photo mailers with cardboard inserts to insure safe delivery.
For international shipping rates, the prices will vary. We will only ship photos internationally and not the larger bulky items, such as books. We do add a surcharge for handling and the cost of packaging materials. Please calculate your international shipping costs using the shipping calculator provided. Most international packages cannot be tracked. Once it leaves the US postal system, we can no longer track your item. In some cases, there may be delays of up to 1-2 months due to screw-ups caused in foreign postal systems which are beyond our control. Please be patient.
Customs taxes are always an issue. Since photos are flat, they appear as mere documents and are not typically opened by customs officials. However, we cannot assess and are not responsible for the Customs charges levied by foreign governments.
Packages are typically sent out within one business day when possible insuring a quick delivery. However, there are rare cases in which circumstances make delay your shipment. Most domestically-shipped packages will require a signature delivery to insure that your item reaches you.
Please place all of your items in the cart before checkout to avoid being charged for two separate shipments. Should the customer fail to combine items before purchasing, we will make every attempts to combine items if possible. However, if the shipment has already left, then a second shipping charge will apply.
We want you to be happy with your purchase and allow a 10-day money back guarantee from the date of receipt provided that the item(s) is returned in the same original condition in which it was received. However, unless the mistake is ours, the original shipping costs will not be refunded, and the buyer agrees to pay the return shipping costs and a 10% restocking fee. Therefore, we ask that you please be certain of your commitment before making a purchase. We are not Amazon and may find it necessary block customers who make a habit out of incessantly buying and returning items.
A Word About Certificates of Authenticity (COAs):
The concept of the COA's was started by some of the dealers in their effort to appease their newer collectors who had not done their homework and who may have lacked confidence as to the authenticity of what they were buying. These buyers were given a false sense of confidence that the COA "proved" that their autograph was authentic. Of course, nothing could be farther than the truth. COAs can be issued by anyone and do not not prove anything. They are also often not worth the paper on which they are printed. Because of this, we do not issue them.
A COA is signed by someone you do not personally know, could probably never find again, and who may or may not be an expert in anything. Also, the person who is issuing the COA has an interest in selling you the item, so of course they are going to "certify" that their item is "authentic". Additionally, people have issued COAs on our autographs as though they were their pieces originally---all the more reason to avoid COAs.
In the case of most of our items, there is more than just a signature----there is an entire sentence. This was done specifically to help the buyer to see more handwriting and to know that the item is real. Forgers may be able to write someone's name and occasionally fool people; however, trying to forge an entire sentence in someone else's handwriting is nearly impossible.
If you are seeking COAs with your autographs, then the question you should be asking yourself is this: “What does the COA do for me?" If your answer is, “it proves that the autograph I am buying is authentic”, then you are mistaken. COAs do not prove anything. A collector needs to educate himself as to what the handwriting of the person he is collecting looks like, and then he will know if it is real or not by his own knowledge. Do not leave this to someone else to do for you. You need to know that your item is authentic because you have done your homework----not because some piece of paper signed by someone you do not know and who wants to sell you something says it is authentic.
If you have not done your homework, and if you have not researched and are familiar with the handwriting of the person whom you are collecting, then with all due respect, you do not know what you are doing and have no business collecting autographs. Placing your faith in COAs to serve as your “proof” that your item is real is irresponsible and quite risky. Houses and cars are issued titles---not autographs. So for these reasons, we do not issue COAs. We do sell a lot of items however, both on ebay and off, and our prices will not stay low forever. The Apollo astronauts are passing away as we speak, so expect prices will go higher in the near future.
If you buy from reputable dealers, then you will be safe. We hoped that this helped you to understand our field a little better. Good luck to you in building your space autograph collection, and be safe.
All autographs were acquired by us through direct contract with the astronauts and are guaranteed to be authentic for life. We will issue a full refund at any time to anyone who has purchased from us and who can prove that the autograph is a forgery and not authentic. With the exception of a few lithographs, all autographs were printed on Kodak or Fuji photographic paper and are originals. They are not photocopies or reprints. Each was brand new at the time when we received them and have never been displayed. We are the original owners and nothing sold through us came to us second-hand from anyone except the astronaut.
Unless specifically stated, the autograph you receive will not be the exact same photograph shown in the listing. We contracted each astronaut to sign more than one of each product so they are essentially the same inscription and the same, high-quality product. It would not be possible for us to re-scan and continually re-post an image of each of the photographs for sale in our collection every time one sells. For this reason, we will not do so. We ask that you please resect this policy and not request this.
Autographs are investments, so take a good look at the competitors and invest your money wisely. Does the competition have any inventory left, or is everything they're selling"out of stock"...? And when an item is out of stock, do they then remove the listing, or do they leave it up for 3 years in an effort to create the illusion of a website full of inventory? Are they pushing shuttle and Russians autographs? Who collects this stuff...? Do they really have an autograph business, or are they instead showcasing their own amateur collections...?
Have you gotten tired of seeing endless signed photos of McDivitt, Cunningham, and Stafford,...and Bean, Borman, and Schirra in business suits? Again, who buys this stuff? And who wants a 16x20 print of Dave Scott in his Apollo suit with only a mere signature, not even a crew mission...? Is the buyer supposed to frame this and place it on his bedroom wall...? The 8x10 is the currency of collectors, and unless you plan to display it, don't buy the big bulky items. And the Russian items---if you can't read Russian, then how do you even know what it says?
A wise autograph investor chooses his investments well. We believe that we are the only serious game in town. After making a detailed comparison, we hope you too will agree that the quality space autographs are found right here at apolloastronauts.com.