Accountability

[kingjammy24]

there's been a fair amount of discussion here about holding auction houses and authenticators accountable for negligence. unfortunately, most of it has been from a bunch of us non-lawyers. the general sentiment was that going after the auction house itself wasn't possible and you'd need to go after the authenticator. (of course, if the auction house keeps the info for their authenticators a secret then that poses a problem). many seemed frustrated that the house would point to the authenticator and certain authenticators are apparently unable to be reached by any means possible. others would point to the auction house and say the issue needed to be resolved with them and the house, in turn, would point to the authenticator and say they were responsible. it was a fantastic little system where both would be absolved and the buyer would be left holding the bag. whilst reading the old forum, i came across this little gem again. for those who may have missed it years ago:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/379976/message/1121042732/last-1121656661/Grey+Flannel+Loses+on+People%27s+Court

GFC didn't even sell the jersey; they simply authenticated it and their "it's only an opinion!" line apparently didn't hold any water in court. i think it's fantastic that john cherpock did what he did, rather than simply grouse and live with it.

rudy.

[bigtruck260]

Re: Accountability

The whole authentication industry is out of control - and cases like this are a reminder to us all. I refuse to buy an autographed item with a PSA/JSA or especially GAI sticker. It is silly. I have been collecting for years, and I do not need a group of opinionators to tell me what I am buying...and even worse, charge me a fee to tell me that an item I KNOW is real is a fake (and list 5 reasons why) - I gave up on that scam long ago.

Game used items are no different. Sure, there are guys like MEARS that are solid, and reliable - AND will actually increase the value of your item over time. Then, there are the guys (won't mention names) that have no business putting their name on a COA or an LOA of any kind. Yet, some auction house continue to use their services - and I wonder how long it will be before someone goes after THEM.

I do not collect jerseys for this exact reason. It is going to come to a point where DNA is going to have to be extracted from the sweat stains on hats/jerseys in order to put a specific player in them before anyone believes the claims being made by auction house "authenticators".

Thanks for posting this gem.

Dave

[earlywynnfan]

Re: Accountability

I totally agree with bigtruck here, but I need to add 2 cents: I've seen a couple autos rejected by PSA, and they list 5 reasons why it MIGHT be fake, but I've never seen them actually say WHY it's fake!

Ken

[mvandor]

Re: Accountability

All I have to say to authentication opponents is think selfishly. You may be the world's best expert nobody ever heard of, your entire collection may be truly solid, but when you go to sell or croak and your heirs go to sell, unless you have solid documentation to support provenance on every item, your personal opinion won't mean jack. Those little holograms help buyers feel much more comfortable and increase value on sale.

For that reason, everything in my collection (I collect signed NFL items) has been authenticated. Not because I revere these guys, but solely for financial reasons.

[bigtruck260]

Re: Accountability

All I have to say to authentication opponents is think selfishly. You may be the world's best expert nobody ever heard of, your entire collection may be truly solid, but when you go to sell or croak and your heirs go to sell, unless you have solid documentation to support provenance on every item, your personal opinion won't mean jack. Those little holograms help buyers feel much more comfortable and increase value on sale.

For that reason, everything in my collection (I collect signed NFL items) has been authenticated. Not because I revere these guys, but solely for financial reasons.

Since 90% of my sigs are in-person, I paid very little. Sure, the Mac and Pujols sigs have Steiner/UD authentication - but that is FAR different from the opinioniators. I refuse to give them a $50 cut (w/shipping) to give me an opinion on a Pujols ball.

I have sold 3 Albert baseballs since 2003, and none had authentication. The highest went for $299 and the lowest, $100. The $100 was a rushed full sig, but the person who bought it knew enough about Pujols trends to buy it...(and this is a person that ONLY collects Cards stuff w/ 2000+ feedbacks). I doubt JSA or PSA would have passed it based on previous submissions of in-person sigs. Here is the $100 ball and one of the better ones - along with two autographed cards that PSA thought were failures.

The first card was purchased from the Cards on Breast Cancer day from Matt Morris's wife Heather...the green testimony card was sent from VP John Mozeliak after I wrote him a letter last year - I have his original signed letter too...should have put it in the submission box with the card.