This makes me ill.

[griffeyfan]

Person selling Unique Sports certificates on e-bay for Griffey items . . . without the items.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ken-Griffey-Jr-1994-Game-Used-Home-Jersey-COA-LOA-Autographed-Seattle-Mariners-/200916259836?pt=US_Autographs&hash=item2ec78ad3fc

I guess this rules out ever buying a 1994 jersey for me now. Also has certificates for a belt, jacket and hat.

[onlyalbert]

Person selling Unique Sports certificates on e-bay for Griffey items . . . without the items.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ken-Griffey-Jr-1994-Game-Used-Home-Jersey-COA-LOA-Autographed-Seattle-Mariners-/200916259836?pt=US_Autographs&hash=item2ec78ad3fc

I guess this rules out ever buying a 1994 jersey for me now. Also has certificates for a belt, jacket and hat.

I love how he gives a suggestion for its "ideal use"!!!

[griffeyfan]

Something tells me somebody will find other uses for these certificates. I'm tempted to buy them to simply destroy them.

[joelsabi]

Person selling Unique Sports certificates on e-bay for Griffey items . . . without the items.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ken-Griffey-Jr-1994-Game-Used-Home-Jersey-COA-LOA-Autographed-Seattle-Mariners-/200916259836?pt=US_Autographs&hash=item2ec78ad3fc

I guess this rules out ever buying a 1994 jersey for me now. Also has certificates for a belt, jacket and hat.

In description,
I obtained these COAs directly from Jeff Johnson, owner of Coast to Coast around 2000, after Griffey was traded to the Reds. Jeff said the items were sold at auction and the auction house did not want them.

I got to believe his statement is true that Auction houses replaced their own COA from a third party authenticator or their own auction house COA. I don't know why people think this is better than the original COA from Coast to Coast but the third party COA has less cloat than the Coast to Coast Certificate. I have seen numerous items that have "lost" or replaced the dealer COA even if the new COA is authenticating the item several years in the past. Shouldn't these original COA still stay with the GU items even if it passes PSA/DNA to show a chain of ownership?

People will pay more for an autograph baseball with a PSA/DNA certificate than they would for the same autograph baseball with a Coast to Coast COA. Someone please explain why this is the practice. I know the system back then without any one to one correspondance between COA and its GU item could cause problems.

I also see this practice of replacing an old (player dealer)COA as creating more GU items in the future as I assume someone will try to pass this COA off with their own GU Griffey item. It is a possibility. Save them images of the COA. We may see them again unfortunately.

[joelsabi]

In description,
I obtained these COAs directly from Jeff Johnson, owner of Coast to Coast around 2000, after Griffey was traded to the Reds. Jeff said the items were sold at auction and the auction house did not want them.

I got to believe his statement is true that Auction houses replaced their own COA from a third party authenticator or their own auction house COA. I don't know why people think this is better than the original COA from Coast to Coast but the third party COA has less cloat than the Coast to Coast Certificate. I have seen numerous items that have "lost" or replaced the dealer COA even if the new COA is authenticating the item several years in the past. Shouldn't these original COA still stay with the GU items even if it passes PSA/DNA to show a chain of ownership?

People will pay more for an autograph baseball with a PSA/DNA certificate than they would for the same autograph baseball with a Coast to Coast COA. Someone please explain why this is the practice. I know the system back then without any one to one correspondance between COA and its GU item could cause problems.

I also see this practice of replacing an old (player dealer)COA as creating more GU items in the future as I assume someone will try to pass this COA off with their own GU Griffey item. It is a possibility. Save them images of the COA. We may see them again unfortunately.

meant more cloat

[KGoldin]

UNREAL situation.
I want everyone to know I am currently the high bidder and will be sure I win the lot.
I will then post a link to a you tube video where I cut the cert in half to save the griffey sig and ruin the cert.
so please do not run up my price.
A comment on this situation will be...THERE IS ZERO SHOT...ZERO SHOT THAT ANY AUCTION HOUSE WOULD NOT WANT A LOA SIGNED BY GRIFFEY AND PREFER TO USE 'THEIR HOUSE LOA'.
unreal

[Rob L]

The signatures are always good, especially because they are on these COAs. Cutting them out removes the provenance. Can the GU items be blacked out to keep the cert together? Just a thought.

[trsent]

According to eBay guidelines, these cannot be sold on eBay:

<LI class=unorderedList>COAs and LOAs as stand-alone items


Are listed as not allowed on eBay on the following page:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/autographs.html

You have to click on the list titled:


Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) and Letters of Authenticity (LOAs)

The seller should just cut the Ken Griffey, Jr. Autographs and slab them or something like that. They are really cool vintage autographs.

[griffeyfan]

Thanks, Ken. I like your solution.

[KGoldin]

I am not a big EBAY user, but i see it is against their policy for this to even be listed.
hopefully someone can have them take this down.
I sent one of those online 'report item' forms and hopefully everyone who reads this does the same.
if anyone has contact with EBAY please email or call them
this just is begging for fraud to be committed.

[slab0meat]

and slab them

Ouch!

[swainer]

It would be better if the auctions run and someone could win them to ensure they are destroyed. If he takes them down, I'm sure he'll find another way to sell them. Or maybe contact him and offer him $50 for each of them and conduct the transaction outside of ebay.

Peace!

[Samets]

I agree! Just get them out of circulation by defacing them is enough.
Although eBay made it very difficult to contact sellers outside of their system.

[TNTtoys]

Rather than destroy them, why not buy all of them and cut them up, saving only the signatures. Things like these can make their way nicely into framed displays, trading cards, etc.

[swainer]

Rather than destroy them, why not buy all of them and cut them up, saving only the signatures. Things like these can make their way nicely into framed displays, trading cards, etc.

Agreed. I guess when I said destroyed, I figured that's what someone would do and the document would essentially be "destoryed".

Samets,

You're correct ebay does make it difficult but there are a few ways around it. For a while, if you sent a message with a smart phone, they didn't have the filter that detects an email address but that has been updated. You can put a bunch of spaces between the email address to get it to go through sometimes.

[viperjody]

I am the seller of said items on eBay. I am ending them now and have sold all 10 to a dealer that goes by the name of AM Sports Marketing Group. I assure you I will use a sharpie per their approval to make them not viable for re-use.

[viperjody]

I am the seller of said items on eBay. I am ending them now and have sold all 10 to a dealer that goes by the name of AM Sports Marketing Group. I assure you I will use a sharpie per their approval to make them not viable for re-use.

Also, AM Sports Marketing Group is a member here under the name: trsent

[joelsabi]

Guess we will see them slabbed soon. Nice vintage autographs.

[joelsabi]

Person selling Unique Sports certificates on e-bay for Griffey items . . . without the items.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ken-Griffey-Jr-1994-Game-Used-Home-Jersey-COA-LOA-Autographed-Seattle-Mariners-/200916259836?pt=US_Autographs&hash=item2ec78ad3fc

I guess this rules out ever buying a 1994 jersey for me now. Also has certificates for a belt, jacket and hat.

The problem with these 4 COAs is that they do not specify the year of the GU item and are very generic. They merely say that the GU item was autograph by Griffey in 1994. I would have less interest in these Griffey items even with this certificate.

I can see someone potentially matching this up with a Griffey item from 1989 to 1994. These certificates are pre third party COAs. PSA/DNA was around in 1998.


Someone emailed me this morning that he had contacted the seller and told me that the seller has 10 of these COAs. He also told me he is an active member here so maybe he will be cooperative if we address him and his property here. He bought something that he saw having value and stated fairly how he came across these COAs. I confirmed the person's finding by finding a match between the seller item on ebay and his mention of the item in a GUU thread.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jay-Buhner-1987-Rookie-Rawlings-Game-Used-Yankees-Seattle-Mariners-Bat-/200913073694?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec75a361e

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=54752

Was writing this when I saw the seller posted

[viperjody]

Here are all 10 so you know what they look like in case of questions down the road:

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/7861/griffbelt2.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img836/9792/grifftneck.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img833/9596/griffroadpant.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img585/19/griffjersey.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img593/1037/griffbelt.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img341/9675/griffhelmet.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img197/7828/griffpants2.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img33/8509/griffpants.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img33/4844/griffashat.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img20/9959/griffhat.jpg

[TNTtoys]

I am the seller of said items on eBay. I am ending them now and have sold all 10 to a dealer that goes by the name of AM Sports Marketing Group. I assure you I will use a sharpie per their approval to make them not viable for re-use.

Jody,

I appreciate the information, and I am sure that the collector community does as well. I am concerned by the statement "I assure you I will use a sharpie per their approval to make them not viable for re-use." Can you please clarify this? Does it mean that you will mark them up with a sharpie based on the buyer's approval of you to do so? If so, if he outright refuses, how can you assure us that it will be done?

Nick

[viperjody]

Jody,

I appreciate the information, and I am sure that the collector community does as well. I am concerned by the statement "I assure you I will use a sharpie per their approval to make them not viable for re-use." Can you please clarify this? Does it mean that you will mark them up with a sharpie based on the buyer's approval of you to do so? If so, if he outright refuses, how can you assure us that it will be done?

Nick

Nick, If he approves, I will do so, take new photos and repost them. I am working on this now. If he refuses my request, I will try to understand why and come up with a compromise with him, if he will not compromise, I will mark them with invisible ultraviolet ink and post here. Does that suffice?

[TNTtoys]

Here are all 10 so you know what they look like in case of questions down the road:


Unless the potential buyer reads this forum and this thread specifically, they will not know the source of the LOAs if they are not specially marked as you say. If they appear on ebay, or even at a card show, it is a very slim chance that the buyer will make this connection.

[TNTtoys]

Nick, If he approves, I will do so, take new photos and repost them. I am working on this now. If he refuses my request, I will try to understand why and come up with a compromise with him, if he will not compromise, I will mark them with invisible ultraviolet ink and post here. Does that suffice?

Don't you think you should have worked all of this out before striking a deal?

[viperjody]

Unless the potential buyer reads this forum and this thread specifically, they will not know the source of the LOAs if they are not specially marked as you say. If they appear on ebay, or even at a card show, it is a very slim chance that the buyer will make this connection.

I understand what you are saying and that is why I will push to use a sharpie. Joel is not the owner, and I think he will understand. This was his repsonse to my questioning his intentions:

FROM JOEL: I am 100% going to cut the autographs out, send them to PSA and have them slabbed. They will never be used as letters of authenticity again after I receive them.

I will do to process myself so the autographs are properly removed but this was always my intentions.

Peace

Joel

[viperjody]

Don't you think you should have worked all of this out before striking a deal?

No I don't. I honestly had not thought of this being a problem since I had pulled them from public sale and sold them to a Reputable Dealer.

[viperjody]

Joel has authorized me to SHARPIE them, so they will be destroyed. I will post proof when this is done.

[swainer]

I understand what you are saying and that is why I will push to use a sharpie. Joel is not the owner, and I think he will understand. This was his repsonse to my questioning his intentions:

FROM JOEL: I am 100% going to cut the autographs out, send them to PSA and have them slabbed. They will never be used as letters of authenticity again after I receive them.

Joel

I, for one, 100% trust Joel. I may not always agree with him but I definitely trust him to do as he says.

[swainer]

Joel has authorized me to SHARPIE them, so they will be destroyed. I will post proof when this is done.

We need more people like you in the hobby Viperjody! Thanks for doing the right thing!

[commando]

I'm glad these were sold to a well-respected member of our GU community.

The only thing that confuses me a tiny bit is the value of a Ken Griffey Jr. "cut signature." How much value would these really have, since Griffey is alive, well and signing? Thirty dollars each, maybe?

[viperjody]

I'm glad these were sold to a well-respected member of our GU community.

The only thing that confuses me a tiny bit is the value of a Ken Griffey Jr. "cut signature." How much value would these really have, since Griffey is alive, well and signing? Thirty dollars each, maybe?

It is not up to me to divulge what Mr. Joel paid, but you are in the ballpark.

[trsent]

So, I don't get to have the fun and announce that I bought all ten of the COA's and I will destroy them after cutting out the vintage Ken Griffey, Jr. signatures and having them slabbed by PSA/DNA.

I thought everyone would be so happy I took the suggestions of this discussion and my own suggestions, made a deal to buy these and didn't object to the game used reference being blacked out before I received the certificates as my intention was to do the hobby a favor a cut the signatures and destroy these certificates.

So, as usual, good job to the forum for helping make the hobby safer for others.

[earlywynnfan]

Kudos to both parties to stop a potential future scam.

Ken

[trsent]

Kudos to both parties to stop a potential future scam.

Ken

I like it when Ken says nice things about me.

[viperjody]

Done, I am out.

http://imageshack.us/a/img4/2227/jcl8021.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img405/1783/jcl8022.jpg