Detroit Pistons 2004-05 Darko Milicic GU Jersey - FAKE??? PLZ LOOK

[Tilter]

I wanted to purchase my first Game Used Jersey, and this one of this promising young star, and was going by cheaply, so I thought why pass on it as the other jerseys I had my eye on had gone out of my price range. Anyhow, after checking Getty Images to see if I could find a photomatch, I noticed something incredibly strange, the nameplate on this jersey stretches beyond his numbers compared to the action photo ones.

Note: the Authentication is done by Lou Lampson. The grade breakdown that he does on all jerseys are:
Jersey Characteristic/Identifiers (out of 4) = 4.0
Aesthetics/Customization (out of 2) = 2.0
Range of Wear (out of 2) = 1.0
Provenance/Rarity (out of 2) = 0.5
for a grade of 7.5/10.0 (which was higher than 80% of the other listings)

Auction Description:

Home white micromesh Reebok Detroit Pistons jersey used by former second overall pick Darko Milicic during his final full season in Motown of 2004-05. The jersey features 2-color sewn identifiers and single color NOB matching known exemplars for size and specs. It is appropriately tagged on outer tail with Reebok label and flagged for size 56, length +4, and 2004-05 year IDs. Overall it exhibits medium game use with tail label and numeral puckering and nice edging wear leading to a final grade of 7.5.

I'll post the auction link later if need be, but here is the photo of the jersey in question:


As you can see, the nameplate stretches over the number 1, and the margins between the letters are wide



Here are some Getty Images (from the 2004-05 season as my evidence).
October 17, 2004 - Image #51490579

October 24, 2004 - Image #51647255

November 27, 2004 - Image #51795954

June 16, 2005 - Image #53089918


Here are various other photos from Darko's time in Detroit showing the nameplate style
June 27, 2003 - Image 2119409; Here is a photo from him directly after the draft, holding his would be jersey

April 6, 2004 - Image #3235724

October 13, 2005 - Image #55974808; We see the M doesn't go over number

October 22, 2005 - Image #55985575


Those are pretty much all the images I've found of Darko in his White Jersey with his name plate showing. Each of them show the same thing, how closely the nameplates are lettered and that their margins are not as wide as this GU Jersey in question. I just won the auction last night, and have yet to pay for it. I don't want to pay for an item that is obviously very questionable.

I think I have a solid case, and will bring it up to customer service. What are your opinions on how I should handle this. I originally had to sign up with a credit card when bidding (unable to change is :S). So they will have my record on file, so avoiding cost is unlikely unless I show them my case.

[both-teams-played-hard]

You did your homework, good job. Don't pay for something you don't want, end of story. Show your evidence and move on.

[topekabob]

Everybody - I don't consider myself a particularly dumb person, but I'm starting to wonder, because this Lou Lampson thing really has me befuddled.
Basically, through the many posts and evidence by posters, it is obvious that Lou Lampson just makes up a lot of things. And he hides behind ridiculous words like "examplars" to make him sound like, well, I have no idea, because I don't know what you're trying to do when you write that like.
Now, some of you out there have relationships with auction houses that use Lampson. They must know that the guy is incompetent at the least, an outright criminal at the worst.
So why do they keep sending stuff to him? I know the answer could be because he'll authenticate a shoe as game worn by Bigfoot in the Sonics-Blazers game of 2004 as typical of other Bigfoot worn examplars as long as he's being paid, and the auction houses could care less whether something is really game worn or not.
If that's true, then I guess that answers my question, that the auction houses could care less whether something is really game used or not, so they use someone who has no idea whether something is game used to write LOA's. If that is the case, that's sad. But it's also criminal, and they're ripping people off to the tunes of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.
If it's not true, and you think that the auction houses that do use him do actually care if something is what they say it is...then why the heck do they employ him?
Anyway, I've got to get back to preparing my jerseys. I have a 1976-1977 blazers jersey with the team name on the back of the jersey I need to send off to Lampson. Although no known photos of this jersey exist, it fits in with known examplars of the blazers that season because they were putting the team name on the front vertically and if they were willing to do that then surely they would put it on the back too.

[allstarsplus]

Note: the Authentication is done by Lou Lampson.

I just won the auction last night, and have yet to pay for it. I don't want to pay for an item that is obviously very questionable.

I think I have a solid case, and will bring it up to customer service. What are your opinions on how I should handle this. I originally had to sign up with a credit card when bidding (unable to change is :S). So they will have my record on file, so avoiding cost is unlikely unless I show them my case.

The name in the bold print above says it all. Add this to the Wall of Shame. Good work on matching nameplates.

If you won it at less than $100, then you might just want to wear it===but seriously, email the seller and give them your evidence and see if they will mutually decide to cancel your winning bid.

Good luck!

Andrew

[Tilter]

It was won from the recent Vintage Authentic auction. I have yet to pay, but they have my info and Credit Card (used to make sure you can bid). They had no contact e-mail or number, so I sent them a message through the FAQ with my findings. It actually came up to less than $200 shipped ($50 to Canada :O)

[Sincityson]

It actually came up to less than $200 shipped ($50 to Canada :O)

I would definitely question this one as well.. By the way, how do they justify the $50 shipping to Canada? Is it some sort of 2 day express service with full insurance? If so, that's understandable. Otherwise, I'd say it's a rip.

SC

[Tilter]

I sent them the info, they asked to give me to give them a call. At the time, they hadn't been able to speak to the authenticator, but otherwise they said usually for this era Getty is pretty up to date and if it matches up, they'll just cancel the order. Would have been good if it was authentic, but I guess it was a good hobby lesson for my first order to make sure its authentic.

Side Note: they can't find Lou either haha