loa/coa

is this piece of paper that important that it will make or break a deal? if you know that the person worn/used the item and have or can find photos to prove use, what is the problem?

i have been collecting like most for a long time and most of my items don't have any with the exception of mlb stuff. too much emphasis on that piece of paper.

If it has a photomatch. I think that as good as a COA. The reason is just because someone says they got it directly from an athlete, doesnt mean they did. Unfortunatly there are alot of shady individuals out there. At there is the case of people taking game issued stuff and personally using them and listing them as game used. Thats why that little paper is important to me.

I won't touch anything today, without a photomatch. I've had those "little pieces of paper," even from the player; only to find out when trying to photomatch, that the item wasn't goood.

Those papers help when dealing with a novice/non-collector...

Photo matches are GREAT....until you buy a FORGED Photo-match.....I think that there are way more out there than collectors realize and you really need to be "insanely" careful.....A good Match from a Good source is a Great thing!

Any item that's a collectible there is a chance it is fake so I think while you can never really be %100 sure an loa/coa (from a reputable company) adds evidence that the item is what the seller says it is. I have always felt that I have a limited amount of money I can spend collecting so I would rather buy something with an loa a feel more confident that it isn't fake then to buy something and every time I look at it in my head I question it authenticity. I would compare a loa to money. Its a worthless piece of paper but for the organization that backs it.

Id also like to add random companys that I have never heard of or find anything on the web about them. There COA/LOA is garbage to me.

From what I can see, the LOA/COA/LOO tends to mean more with novices, big dollar/little knowledge buyers, and collectors spooked by all the inflated talk from supposed law enforcement experts about the number of fakes in the hobby. That isn't to say that veteran, and even knowledgeable collectors don't appreciate LOAs...I've dealt with many that do. However,many veteran and niche collectors often would prefer to research items themselves. Also, there are certain niche collectors of specific players and/or teams that likely know more about their field than any third-party authenticator, be it MEARS, Lampson or myself.

Dave Miedema

people or companies shouldn't authenticate and then issue their own COA. it is a conflict of interest. No company I know of allows you to inspect your own work.Besides the fact that You have to disprove their so called experts if something is wrong. Good luck with that.

well here. a guy is issued 1 each home and road. you have a roster with who wore what number. the season ends and the team sells the jerseys. typically, the team doesn't issue such loa/coa.
if you know who wore the jersey, why would you question it and or request a letter?