MLB authentication # question

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: MLB authentication # question

That's what I was trying to say about not being able to TRULY photo match an item until you have it. But as far as that ball being authentic after taking a risk and buying it. Well according to Suicide Squeeze that's impossible ! According to him, if you have an authentic item, you obtained it without taking any risk. Or is it you only take a risk one in 30,000 times? I can't remember ! LOL

In almost any case you could make an example where you would not know with 100% certainty. There will be times when a player hands you an item or you catch a ball and you know its authentic...it might be very difficult in the future to convince other people you know it's authentic because people just flat out lie and make up stories but you would know.

The reason I suggested that he maybe make him a low offer was only due to the fact that it was at the very least an authentic sig. So if it turned out not to be authenticated HR ball it wouldnt be an all or nothing situation. So in my opinion is was less of a gamble if he was getting close to an autographed ball price with the possibility for more...unlike a ball with nothing and no way to prove anything...this one gave a chance to authenticate it at least with some research and help from MLB authenticated.

[tjm5711]

Re: MLB authentication # question

In almost any case you could make an example where you would not know with 100% certainty. There will be times when a player hands you an item or you catch a ball and you know its authentic...it might be very difficult in the future to convince other people you know it's authentic because people just flat out lie and make up stories but you would know.

The reason I suggested that he maybe make him a low offer was only due to the fact that it was at the very least an authentic sig. So if it turned out not to be authenticated HR ball it wouldnt be an all or nothing situation. So in my opinion is was less of a gamble if he was getting close to an autographed ball price with the possibility for more...unlike a ball with nothing and no way to prove anything...this one gave a chance to authenticate it at least with some research and help from MLB authenticated.

That's what I was saying in the beginning of this thread. I mentioned how having a MLB hologram on the ball made this a very safe play. Then people started talking about rolls of holograms being stolen, and holograms being switched and all that. To say it's stupidity to go after an item like this is ridiculous. The bottom line is this:

Even if you Photo Match an item on the internet before you have it, there's a risk of it not being authentic. There is always a risk in buying any game Used item unless you are standing on the sideline and the player hands it to you after the game. The level of this risk varies in degree from who you purchase the item from and their reputation in the hobby.

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: MLB authentication # question

That's what I was saying in the beginning of this thread. I mentioned how having a MLB hologram on the ball made this a very safe play. Then people started talking about rolls of holograms being stolen, and holograms being switched and all that. To say it's stupidity to go after an item like this is ridiculous. The bottom line is this:

Even if you Photo Match an item on the internet before you have it, there's a risk of it not being authentic. There is always a risk in buying any game Used item unless you are standing on the sideline and the player hands it to you after the game. The level of this risk varies in degree from who you purchase the item from and their reputation in the hobby.

The only question I would really be concerned about is what the sticker was pertaining too....is it to verify a hr or to authenticate the signature. The chance that it was from a stolen roll would be less likely than just not being updated in the system....the whole key would be to get the ball at a decent price which was my point to at least try to get the ball for around the price of an authentic autographed MLB ball. The worst that happens then is that it is an autographed ball.

[tjm5711]

Re: MLB authentication # question

The only question I would really be concerned about is what the sticker was pertaining too....is it to verify a hr or to authenticate the signature. The chance that it was from a stolen roll would be less likely than just not being updated in the system....the whole key would be to get the ball at a decent price which was my point to at least try to get the ball for around the price of an authentic autographed MLB ball. The worst that happens then is that it is an autographed ball.

I completely agree with you. And I always put my faith in a MLB Hologram. All this talk of stolen rolls, and switched holograms was merely speculation.

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: MLB authentication # question

Why don't you save yourself some grief and quit proclaiming yourself an "Expert." Just because I'm new to this site doesn't mean I'm going to take that garbage from you ! This thread was going along just fine until you took your,"What the Hell are you talking about" swipe at me. You followed me to this thread after I showed how irrational you were in the Grace All-Star Jersey thread. And when other members agreed with me, I guess that was too much for you and your ego to handle. So do us all a favor and save your advice on how one should conduct themselves. You need to check yourself before you start advising others !!!!!!!!!

tjm5711,

I recently made a promise to the CEO of this site that I wouldn't partake in this kind of unproductive worthless arguing. I fully intend to keep my promise. Additionally, I find no desire in trying to reason with the unreasonable at the expense of the forum.

That said, however, I am interested in talking to you about a few things, and would ask that you enable your private messages so that we can communicate off the board. Or, you could email me directly at suicide_squeeze@roadrunner.com if desired.

Thank you,

Steve

[tjm5711]

Re: MLB authentication # question

I have absolutely no interest in talking to you off of this site. As far as your promise to the CEO; No problem. Consider out debates over !

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: MLB authentication # question

I have absolutely no interest in talking to you off of this site. As far as your promise to the CEO; No problem. Consider out debates over !

OK, I tried.

I wasn't going to post this here, but I will to prove a point.

The ball in question? I am familiar with it.

It is of my opinion that the wrong MLB authentication number was given to NYCrulesU for a reason. That reason was so that he WOULDN'T be able to look it up on the MLB data base.

Because, if he did, he would see it is not listed in any way, shape, or form as a home run baseball. It's simply a game used baseball from that game.

The correct MLB database number is MR 250617.

[NYCrulesU]

Re: MLB authentication # question

OK, I tried.

I wasn't going to post this here, but I will to prove a point.

The ball in question? I am familiar with it.

It is of my opinion that the wrong MLB authentication number was given to NYCrulesU for a reason. That reason was so that he WOULDN'T be able to look it up on the MLB data base.

Because, if he did, he would see it is not listed in any way, shape, or form as a home run baseball. It's simply a game used baseball from that game.

The correct MLB database number is MR 250617.

Great catch Steve, thanks. I had the exact same idea and searched several alternate numbers and prefixes on MLB. Each search was unsuccessful. As I said, my search was random. Seems you had a more proven way to come up with the answer, search by date? Please emailme and let me know how you found the number. Thanks again.

Knowledge wins over speculation and assumptions every time. I don't mind living by common sense and gut instinct either, instead of "Hey, buy it if it's cheap. Even if it'a a fake it still was cheap."

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: MLB authentication # question

OK, I tried.

I wasn't going to post this here, but I will to prove a point.

The ball in question? I am familiar with it.

It is of my opinion that the wrong MLB authentication number was given to NYCrulesU for a reason. That reason was so that he WOULDN'T be able to look it up on the MLB data base.

Because, if he did, he would see it is not listed in any way, shape, or form as a home run baseball. It's simply a game used baseball from that game.

The correct MLB database number is MR 250617.

This is a whole new issue that the seller is lying about the prefix actually on the sticker...I thought it was already determined that the sticker said otherwise. If he is lying about what is on the sticker that is pretty pathetic and a different issue.

[indyred]

Re: MLB authentication # question

Re: Photo matching comment by "SuicideSqueeze."


Of course I know what Photo matching is. (And we are referring to internet purchases? Right?) But you really can't do true Photo matching until you have the item in your hands. And in some(and not just a few) cases you can't do ANY matching until this occurs.(This mainly dependent on the quality of the photos).

So, unless the seller is nice enough to send you the item free of charge and wait until you photo match it,(And I have never heard of that in my life) you take some risk in making the purchase. If you do find a dealer that does this let me know. I'd love to have him send me some jerseys, photo match them, and then decide if i want to pay for them !

So the bottom line is photo matching doesn't eliminate the risk of an items authenticity in many occasions. And I know this from my own experiences. Just because I'm new to this thread,doesn't mean I don't know these things !

I've had zero problem photomatching stuff not in hand. Even with crappy pictures on NFL.com auctions it can be done pretty easily on jerseys that show use. Same goes with jerseys on Meigray site.

[tjm5711]

Re: MLB authentication # question

I was just saying it hard to be absolute until you have the item in hand. STLHAMMER even brought up how he's seen pictures altered and placed on the Net. I wasn't saying it isn't possible to do it. Just that I have had issues in my own experience due to low quality pictures.

[NYCrulesU]

Re: MLB authentication # question

Ok, enough is enough. This is my thread that I started looking for information about MLB authentication numbers. I'm asking both of you politely, please take your pissing match elsewhere. It's to the point of ridiculous. To have the nerve to derail someone else's thread like this is amazing.


Getting back to the point. I received a response from MLB. They agreed that it must be an MR prefix as they have never issued an "MA" prefix. I in turn sent another message to the seller. He's yet to reply and I don't expect him to at all. He now knows he's been busted.

[allstarsplus]

Re: MLB authentication # question

It's all about "preference". I prefer that my Palmeiro signed ball be just that, his signature on a OMLB. Those can be picked up for $50-$70 all day. I prefer not to purchase a ball that is signed/inscribed as being a specific hr ball that I have ZERO chance of proving it to be real or not. I'm very particular. I will pass on 100 items just to get to the one that I'm satisfied with.

I would be embarrassed to have any item in my collection that I was't 100% confident in. Can every item be proven? No. But I would never buy something knowing from the start that there were questions surrounding it's authenticity.

authentication@website.mlb.com Send in your Hologram into that email address. Maybe they can help you. Unfortunately in the early years of the system, there are many holograms that never got entered on items.

Unfortunately i got a few bags of balls that were marked Red Sox/Yankees that MLB never entered too.

I wish you luck!

[allstarsplus]

Re: MLB authentication # question

Tom - If I can go back to your gamble scenario for some background.

The word "Gamble". Some would say life is a gamble.

I am going to go off on a tangent to talk about gambles and authentication.

In the game used collecting, do we really know with 100% certainty that the $20,000 JO Sports jersey of Mark Sanchez was worn for the full game?

Do we know if the $1,999 MLB Authenticated ball that says it was hit by Jimmy Rollins in the 1st inning of Game 2 of the 2009 World Series really was hit by him even though the authentication says it was?

Mistakes happen and we do the best we can do by doing the homework and research and minimizing the risk of the gamble.

If I am buying the $20,000 Mark Sanchez jersey, I am still going to try to photomatch it and do the best I can do to make sure what I am getting is solid. Players do change jerseys at halftimes of games. If I am spending that type of money, I probably want a signed letter from the player stating he wore that jersey the entire game.

If I am buying a $300 authenticated football from NFL.com I probably will spend no time researching it past looking at the COA.

So for me the dollar amount spent will affect how much time and effort I will put into my own research.

As was pointed out at the beginning of this thread, the authentication sticker is on the ball but there is no history and provenance other than what the seller claims. So is the sellers claims worth spending the money and taking the risk.

There lies the problem, every buyer has their own limit to their risk they will justify in a purchase.

[allstarsplus]

Re: MLB authentication # question

Getting back to the point. I received a response from MLB. They agreed that it must be an MR prefix as they have never issued an "MA" prefix. I in turn sent another message to the seller. He's yet to reply and I don't expect him to at all. He now knows he's been busted.

Do you have a link so we can look at the ball you were describing in this thread?

I see you collect Palmeiro and after I was searching around I found this ball on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RAFAEL-PALMEIRO-500-HR-GAME-USED-MLB-BASEBALL-MLB-HOLO_W0QQitemZ220535638160QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3358f2c890