GAI Certed Mickey Mantle Forgery

[suave1477]

Hello Chris,

I am a little confused about something you removed my opinion I am not trying to make a big stink about this but why would you do it?

It was an opinion of how I felt since when is that against forum rules.
It was also noted as my opinion!!!

I am just trying to understand the rules, that were not allowed to advertise yet we have a For Sale section, if someone was reprinting photos from Getty and selling them thats illegal yet half the jerseys being sold on here, were brought here by making it out the back door - so that should be illegal too, and now I learned were not allowed to have opinions.

So I am just curious where the line starts and ends??????

[ChrisCavalier]

Hello Chris,

I am a little confused about something you removed my opinion I am not trying to make a big stink about this but why would you do it?

It was an opinion of how I felt since when is that against forum rules.
It was also noted as my opinion!!!

I am just trying to understand the rules, that were not allowed to advertise yet we have a For Sale section, if someone was reprinting photos from Getty and selling them that's illegal yet half the jerseys being sold on here, were brought here by making it out the back door - so that should be illegal too, and now I learned were not allowed to have opinions.

So I am just curious where the line starts and ends??????

Hello Jason,

The part of your comment that was removed involved an unsubstantiated claim regarding someone's ethics. While you are certainly entitled to your opinions, we have made it very clear that this is a not a forum where posts that have the potential to damage one's reputation and livelihood will be allowed without proof. It would be the same if someone accused you of being unethical which could damage your livelihood. Unless the claim could be substantiated, we would not allow that either.

As for your comments about Getty Images, I hope it is a clear that the unauthorized selling of a licensed product is not something we want to be liable for on our site. If you would like to facilitate such transactions and accept the liability please feel free to do so. As for the products being offered, we have no proof of any wrongdoing on the part of the sellers. If someone contacted us with proof that someone was trying to sell stolen merchandise on the site then those items would indeed be removed.

I am hope that answers your question. Please feel free to let me know if it does.

Sincerely,
Chris Cavalier

[sammy]

Hi Chris,

It's been eight days since you stated the jersey was pulled for further research as quoted below and here: "And, once their research is completed, they will be the first to admit if they made a mistake in the authentication."

A week should have been more then sufficient to verify my assertion, as I did it in one day.

Has GAI or Justin Priddy admitted they made a mistake in the certification of that forgery?

I have not received any e-mails concerning this, nor have I seen any mention of it on the forum boards, or on the Premier Auctions website?


As quoted in your reply:

Notably, the item has been removed from the auction. When I spoke to Justin he assured me they have no intention of having collectors purchase suspect merchandise nor are they trying to conceal anything. They just needed an opportunity to evaluate your claims. As a result of the information you provided, they pulled the item to make sure it wasn't sold given the potential issues. And, once their research is completed, they will be the first to admit if they made a mistake in the authentication.

[ChrisCavalier]

Hello Sammy,

I will be attending a show this weekend in San Francisco and I believe Justin will be there representing Global Authentication. If I see him there I will get an update and pass it on via the forum.

Sincerely,
Chris Cavalier

[David]

My opinion is that the jersey was removed from the auction, and that is the main objective of pointing out a fake. Would it be nice for authenticating companies to talk about their mistakes?-- Sure, but many don't do that. PSA, for example, is loathe to publicly talk about their mistakes-- and that may have something to do with what their lawyers and insurers tell them. Also there is an auction company and consignor, GAI may not feel their position is to act as PR director for the auction company that hired them.

Also note that Justin is an employee of GAI, and he may or may not have the power to speak for the company in these matters.

[David]

I wish to add that all people and all authenticating companies make mistakes-- the key is how frequent are the mistakes and how they respond to the mistakes when they are pointed out.

In this case, a problem was pointed out on a chatboard, the authenticator contacted and the lot was removed from auction before there was a sale. This should be seen as a good reflection of the company.

As I said before, would be be nice for the company to talk about their mistakes? Yes. However, very few if any authenticating companies talk about these types issues on a chatboard.

[camarokids]

the bottom line here is the certifying company made a BAD BOOBOO!

THE FIRST step in authenicating an autographed item is to verify what is signed (official MLB, jersey , etc) Bobby Brown ball vs. Coleman, was the player alive when such an item was even produced.

I learned this like WAY back when I was a novice, this is kindergarten level stuff to look out for .

So one wonders how did GAI make such a bad mistake , in too much of a hurry , trying to authenicate too many items at once or just didn't do their homework and follow the rules of authenicating an autograph( the FIRST step)....

Or who know's , only GAI knows what happened and why ......

[ChrisCavalier]

Hello Sammy,

Justin was not at the show in San Francisco this past weekend. I will try to reach him or Steve Rocchi this week to get a clarification. Once again, I will post any update if I receive one.

Sincerely,
Chris

[3arod13]

Hello Sammy,

Justin was not at the show in San Francisco this past weekend. I will try to reach him or Steve Rocchi this week to get a clarification. Once again, I will post any update if I receive one.

Sincerely,
Chris

After reading this entire thread, I'm not sure what more is expected. There's no question a mistake was made. Is it expected to have Justin actually make a reply on this site apologizing for the error? It's obvious, yet unfortunate.

[sammy]

Hi Chris,

I appreciate your attempts to get a reply from GAI and/or Mr. Priddy concerning this forgery that they certified as authentic.

There isn't any need to make any future requests.

Being as neither has taken the time to address this publicly, or privately, their silence speaks loud enough. It is an affirmation that I am correct in my assertion.

Being as this thread and the one on the Autograph Forum have had over 1250+ views and climbing, I believe the word has been spread far and wide.

I'm fairly certain this thread has made quite a few take another look at anything they may have certified by GAI, and will be a little more wary in the future concerning this authenticator and company.

Before this venue became available, there was really no way to inform many others about the garbage in this hobby. Most things were hidden, denied, or swept under the rug.

That is in the past, and myself and others will continue to make it known when any dubious, dishonest, and/or incompetent businesses and/or individuals need to have a light shined on their practices.

Shine on my fellow collectors.