I would NOT buy a GW jersey with a MEARS A5 grade

[clinton2828]

anyone agree....i read what requirements a jersey must have to be graded A5 and i personally think it is a joke for the amount of money they charge.......any thoughts?

[nate]

Clinton2828,

Who do you mean by "they" in amount "they" charge?


Nate Leet

[suave1477]

Nate i believe thats what hes talking about

[nate]

Mears authentication charge or the people selling the jerseys?

[clinton2828]

MEARS and if you read there website close they dont even stand behind the jerseys they grade A5

[trsent]

Ok, so you won't buy a jersey with a MEARS A5 letter. To some people, it is nice to have MEARS evaluate a jersey that does not have a team letter or something of that nature, so having a 3rd party give their opinion of the item is better than nothing.

MEARS A5 basically is evidence that the item matches what a game used item should look like, be tagged like and shows normal characteristics of game use. You can bash the system, but to many who are not arm-chair authenticators, this service is terrific.

What would you do for MEARS to improve their authenticaton service of post 1987 jerseys?

[nate]

Clinton2828,

From reading the website I found nothing that says they do not stand behind the A5 rating. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe an A5 is a pro jersey from a star/hof player after 87 that is without provenance and no negative characteristics. Personally, I would buy an A5 Mears rated jersey and not think of it as a "bad" thing. I'd rather have a letter from the player/team or a dna match from the jersey to the player, but that does not happen too often.

Take care,

Nate

[kingjammy24]

"The highest grade a post-1987 jersey can obtain without team or player documentation, or verifiable provenance, or a combination of known distinct player specific traits is an A5....A5 designation may still be assigned if the jersey possesses all the qualities and physical characteristics of a Major League jersey that was manufactured for player use or as an extra for a team or player, or one that may have been made available for retail sale or promotion."

In other words, if you have a post-1987 jersey and do not have team/player documentation, verifiable provenance, or a combination of "known distinct player specific traits", the highest you can get is an A5. An A5 basically states "this jersey can either be a game jersey, retail jersey, extra, or promo". In short, it's an utterly useless grade which says that the jersey could be anything, including fresh off the rack from Walmart. I believe that, under the MEARS definition, the mini Angels jersey I purchased from Petco for my terrier from would also receive an A5.

Apparently, their reasoning is that 1987 is around the time that "authentic" jerseys started to become available to the public and as such it's far too difficult to gain the skills, knowledge, and expertise necessary to discern retail from pro jersey. Strip tags, flag tags, different buttons, different stitching, different fabric...all of these apparently are useless when it comes to helping discern retail from pro?

Here is my offer to all forum members: Submit any jersey in your collection, from 1900-2006, and for absolutely no cost whatsoever I will gladly tell you that what you have is either a game jersey, extra, retail or promo. (How can I be wrong? I've included every possibility). It's not very helpful in determining what your jersey is but at least it's free.

Rudy.

[nate]

Rudy,

I didn't know your terrier played pro ball.



Nate

[beantown]

I have to diagree with the negative sentiments towards MEARS...they have set forth guidelines that are acceptable to me as a collector. Moreover, if the prospective item you're contemplating buying has a grade you don't like, then don't buy it! My dealings with Dave and Troy have been nothing but professional and they are making strides in this hobby that haven't been approached by any authenticators and for that, they should be commended...