JSA autograph authentication question

[cjclong]

Does anyone know about JSA (Jimmy Spence Authentication) as far as their reputation for authenticating autographs?

[legaleagle92481]

Some people still trust them. Personally I and alot of others do not and think it is just tossing money in the trash. Go to www.autographalert.com or Richard Simon's website if you would like to read some horror stories about them and the people who "authenticate" for them. Or google "jsa" and "sal bando" and you will get links to stories and videos about the "sting" a news station ran on them. In summary Mr. Bando was signing at a show in Chicago and JSA was there "authenticating" the female reporter on camera forged Mr. Bando's signature on a photo in the parking lot outside the show then she went inside with it and JSA "authenticated" it.

[CUTiger23]

Some people still trust them. Personally I and alot of others do not and think it is just tossing money in the trash. Go to www.autographalert.com or Richard Simon's website if you would like to read some horror stories about them and the people who "authenticate" for them. Or google "jsa" and "sal bando" and you will get links to stories and videos about the "sting" a news station ran on them. In summary Mr. Bando was signing at a show in Chicago and JSA was there "authenticating" the female reporter on camera forged Mr. Bando's signature on a photo in the parking lot outside the show then she went inside with it and JSA "authenticated" it.

If I am not mistaken the lady submitted her 8x10 with the show ticket to buy what should have been the autograph.

Personally, I really do trust JSA and PSA/DNA. That incident is isolated based on my knowledge of autographs. I would not touch GAI anymore though since they have been passing highly questionable ones in the past couple year.

[joelsabi]

If I am not mistaken the lady submitted her 8x10 with the show ticket to buy what should have been the autograph.

Personally, I really do trust JSA and PSA/DNA. That incident is isolated based on my knowledge of autographs. I would not touch GAI anymore though since they have been passing highly questionable ones in the past couple year.

i concur that it was a sad, embarrassing but isolated incident. some newbie employee was caught off-guard faced with approving a semi-star's signature that was signing on-sight. based on the exemplar library that jsa possesses and advanced, signature verifying methods, i see them in the forefront of autograph authenticating. i imagine the person was reprimanded if not fired for his poor performance on that day and that stricter procedure were implemented to prevent a similar situation in the future. if this had happen with a high end $1K item on that video, JSA would seize to exist.

[cjclong]

Legaleagle, I went to the site you suggested and was shocked to see some of the misses on autographs. I know that authenticating autographs is not an exact science, but I was surprised at how far off some of them were. I decided to go with the Steiner ball as I trust them on their signings. Too bad there are so many fakes out there as it makes you reluctant to purchase autographed items. Steiner is about the only one I'll purchase where I haven't seen a player sign in front of me.

[David]

As far as the big companies go, JSA has a good overall hobby reputation, on the order of PSA/DNA. In fact, Spence used to be the head expert at PSA/DNA.

[legaleagle92481]

Legaleagle, I went to the site you suggested and was shocked to see some of the misses on autographs. I know that authenticating autographs is not an exact science, but I was surprised at how far off some of them were. I decided to go with the Steiner ball as I trust them on their signings. Too bad there are so many fakes out there as it makes you reluctant to purchase autographed items. Steiner is about the only one I'll purchase where I haven't seen a player sign in front of me.

Yeah it is scary how many fakes there are, the good news though is that there are quite a few reliable sources. Upper Deck authenticated, Tristar Productions, Mounted Memories, Ironclad Authentics and Locker Room Memorabilia and CSA Shows (Collector's Showcase of America) are a few, besides Steiner. Also from other compaines if a baseball has the MLB hologram and before purchase you verify the number in the database that MLB.com maintains, the item is real. (Meaning the description in the database for that hologram number matches the item in question)

[Dalkiel]

i concur that it was a sad, embarrassing but isolated incident. some newbie employee was caught off-guard faced with approving a semi-star's signature that was signing on-sight. based on the exemplar library that jsa possesses and advanced, signature verifying methods, i see them in the forefront of autograph authenticating. i imagine the person was reprimanded if not fired for his poor performance on that day and that stricter procedure were implemented to prevent a similar situation in the future. if this had happen with a high end $1K item on that video, JSA would seize to exist.

That guy was no novice authenticator. It was 'Larry' one of their head guys, if not their head guy (aside from Spence).

He's probably the least friendly human being on the face of the planet. They'd have been doing the world a favor by firing him.

[dbushing1]

Have been following this topic with some interest. Having no personal investment in either company and after reading the comments I just have to ask. What alternatives due the naysayers suggest.
1. Collect only autographs you get in person. That is a 100% slam dunk. I have a few autographs of players I've met, all obtained in person. But what if I want to collect players who died before I started? Is seems, by some of the prices I have seen, that many people do collect deceased players, so what safety net do they have to make sure the autographs are correct?

2. Every collection will eventually be sold by someone. The market place recognizes PSA and JSA as the most reliable sources.

3. Would the hobby be better off with no authenticators? It seems that if there is no fear of authenticators , the forgers would have a field day and that the market would be flooded with forgeries and would hurt the value of everyones collection as confidence would erode along with prices. Every single collector I have ever known, regardless of why they collect, wants to feel that their purchases are a sound investment, either for their future or the ones they leave the collection to.

4. What about some of the former authenticators whose track record could not be counted in the single or double digits as to mistakes. Without the better companies in the business, these characters would still be pumping out letters for a dollar each with a rubber stamp.

5. Money back guarantees on mistakes would be nice but what do you do if one company likes it and another does not. Who is to say which is correct. One thing I can say is that when I have run an item by both PSA and JSA, the conclusion has been the same 100% of the time , either good or bad, which shows that there is a consistency.

6. I have known Jimmy Spence and Steve Grad since they both started in this business and have always found both very knowledgeable and helpful. I know they try to get it right every time and while , with autographs, there is plenty of room for subjective opinion, it is based on years of experience and loads of examples that continue to grow.
Because of this, I would not think of buying an autograph at a show unless one or the other of these two companies gave it their blessing. I've seen a lot of autographs but cannot even begin to compare my meager knowledge against theirs. I have also met the fellows behind the autograph alert a few times but have no experience with their company. So said, I cannot lay claim to any knowledge of the rift between the entities. As to the filing of lawsuits, the reason it is often not pursued is that it costs a ton of money and is often very hard to prove damage in dollar amounts and makes for a costly and often losing proposition with regards to where suits must be filed and proving the dollar value.

To conclude, I think it best left to each individual to set the guide lines for their collecting interest. For those of us without the experience to compare to either JSA or PSA, we rely on these companies to help avoid costly errors and I think the hobby at large, regardless of the mistakes, is far better off with such companies than we would be without such services. If you have enough knowledge to make you own decisions, that is great, but some of us are not that comfortable doing so and speaking for myself, I would not want to purchase any pricey item without such services. Just my two cents. David Bushing