MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

[Eric]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Eric,

Why would the following auction houses all of a sudden sign up for MEARS when they've never used them for authentication before or cut ties with them long ago:

Grey Flannel
Lelands
American Memorabilia

Another point to note is MEARS did do authenticating for Sotheby's, Hunt, Grey Flannel and others, in some cases just for big ticket items, but were not under contract with MEARS. Now, as I understand it, MEARS will no longer do this piece work unless the auction house signs the MEARS contract.

Eric

[jboosted92]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Another point to note is MEARS did do authenticating for Sotheby's, Hunt, Grey Flannel and others, in some cases just for big ticket items, but were not under contract with MEARS. Now, as I understand it, MEARS will no longer do this piece work unless the auction house signs the MEARS contract.

Eric

correct, but not in 2008. if they change there mind, (from what i get ) it wont be until 2009h

[Eric]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Michael O'Keeffe wrote about this topic on his Daily News blog....

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/iteam/

iTeam Blog
November 12, 2007
Top firm looks to keep memorabilia world honest

Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services, perhaps sports memorabilia's top authentication service, will work for just one auction house in 2009.

Only Robert Edward Auctions of Watchung, N.J., has signed a contract agreeing to several conditions MEARS' policy director Dave Grob says will make the scandal-tainted hobby more transparent and accountable.

Grob had sent contracts to the industry's leading auction houses, including American Memorabilia, Mastro Auctions and Sotheby's/SCP Auctions, that would have required them to ban shill bidding, notify bidders when they have a financial stake in an item and identify repairs and modifications made to improve an item's value and appearance. To keep everyone honest, MEARS reserved the right to audit the companies' books.

Rob Lifson of REA - like Grob, one of the few hobby leaders who seems to understand that the fraud and corruption threatens his industry's long-term health - was the only executive to agree to MEARS' terms.

Meanwhile, hobby insiders tell the Daily News that the Chicago office of the FBI is continuing to interview collectors and dealers about business practices at Mastro Auctions, the hobby's largest auction house.

(Read Grob's latest comments on the state of the hobby)

While there may certainly be many good reasons why auction houses chose not to work with MEARS next year, there are no good reasons to accept the status quo. The hobby's problems, Lifson wrote last year on his Web site, are immense:

"Practically every day we are seeing fake items. Fake printed items. Posters that are actually reproductions of vintage posters. Stand-up cardboard counter displays that are not real. Babe Ruth Candy wrappers that are not real. Fans that picture baseball player portraits that are reproductions. Photographs that appear to be old but are not vintage.

"There is no limit to what can be made with computers, especially with printing equipment available today that is very economical and which years ago did not even exist. These items are being intentionally made to fool people into parting with their money for worthless items. These items are being made to cheat buyers."

[Eric]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

November 13, 2007

Not Many On Board with MEARS' New Terms

As reported earlier, Dave Grob of Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services is taking steps he believes will make the scandal-tainted sports collectibles industry more accountable and transparent. In order to work with MEARS in 2008, auction houses had to agree to several conditions, including a ban on shill bidding and full disclosure when repairs and modifications have been made to improve the value and appearance of an item. Grob gave auction houses until Nov. 10 to sign a contract agreeing to those terms; only Robert Edward Auctions signed and returned the contract.
As I pointed out in the previous post, while there are no good reasons for collectors and industry executives to accept the status quo of their dog-eat-dog hobby, there may be good reasons why auction houses would not want to accept MEARS' terms for 2008.
American Memorabilia president Victor Moreno, for example, says his auction house doesn't use MEARS because of an embarrassing previous experience with MEARS authenticator Dave Bushing.
In December 2004, the Daily News reported that American Memorabilia offered a bat used by Ty Cobb sometime between 1911 and 1916. The bat was accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Bushing that concluded the bat was a "Ty Cobb game-used Louisville Slugger decal bat."
But when pressed by the News, Bushing acknowledged that although the bat matched specifications of bats used by Cobb, there was no conclusive proof the bat was ever actually used in a major league game by the Georgia Peach.
As a result, Moreno no longer offers Bushing-authenticated items in his auction.
"I don't have any personal problems with those guys," Moreno said of MEARS. "I just don't want to use them."
Bushing had also been criticized for writing letters of authenticity for items he owns, which appears to be an inexcusable conflict of interest. But Grob told the News that is old news: Bushing has agreed to take every step asked of him to make MEARS' authentication process as accountable and open as possible. Transparency and accountability have been good for business, Grob said – because MEARS puts a premium on integrity, MEARS-authenticated items go for more money.
Nobody ever said cleaning up the sports collectibles industry would be easy. But as I said yesterday, if the industry doesn't clean up its own act, someone will eventually do it for them. Just last week, agents from the Chicago office of the FBI were in New York to question collectors about Mastro Auctions, the hobby's largest auction house.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/iteam/

[hblakewolf]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

November 13, 2007

Not Many On Board with MEARS' New Terms

As reported earlier, Dave Grob of Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services is taking steps he believes will make the scandal-tainted sports collectibles industry more accountable and transparent. In order to work with MEARS in 2008, auction houses had to agree to several conditions, including a ban on shill bidding and full disclosure when repairs and modifications have been made to improve the value and appearance of an item. Grob gave auction houses until Nov. 10 to sign a contract agreeing to those terms; only Robert Edward Auctions signed and returned the contract.
As I pointed out in the previous post, while there are no good reasons for collectors and industry executives to accept the status quo of their dog-eat-dog hobby, there may be good reasons why auction houses would not want to accept MEARS' terms for 2008.
American Memorabilia president Victor Moreno, for example, says his auction house doesn't use MEARS because of an embarrassing previous experience with MEARS authenticator Dave Bushing.
In December 2004, the Daily News reported that American Memorabilia offered a bat used by Ty Cobb sometime between 1911 and 1916. The bat was accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Bushing that concluded the bat was a "Ty Cobb game-used Louisville Slugger decal bat."
But when pressed by the News, Bushing acknowledged that although the bat matched specifications of bats used by Cobb, there was no conclusive proof the bat was ever actually used in a major league game by the Georgia Peach.
As a result, Moreno no longer offers Bushing-authenticated items in his auction.
"I don't have any personal problems with those guys," Moreno said of MEARS. "I just don't want to use them."
Bushing had also been criticized for writing letters of authenticity for items he owns, which appears to be an inexcusable conflict of interest. But Grob told the News that is old news: Bushing has agreed to take every step asked of him to make MEARS' authentication process as accountable and open as possible. Transparency and accountability have been good for business, Grob said – because MEARS puts a premium on integrity, MEARS-authenticated items go for more money.
Nobody ever said cleaning up the sports collectibles industry would be easy. But as I said yesterday, if the industry doesn't clean up its own act, someone will eventually do it for them. Just last week, agents from the Chicago office of the FBI were in New York to question collectors about Mastro Auctions, the hobby's largest auction house.



http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/iteam/

"Embarrassing previous experience" ????????

If Vic's comments are to be taken seriously, the maybe he can also comment on his continued use of Lou Lampson after countless items he has authenticated for AMI have been questioned by collectors with no proof that they are as described. Vic- can you comment on the green St. Pat's Ripken jersey that the Orioles never used, however, Lampson wrote a LOA indicating it's game worn and was also hanging in the O's spring training clubhouse? Embarrassing? How about criminal?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[kingjammy24]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

"American Memorabilia president Victor Moreno, for example, says his auction house doesn't use MEARS because of an embarrassing previous experience with MEARS authenticator Dave Bushing."

here, lampson embarasses victor by positively authenticating a 1996 orioles jersey of a style that was never even worn by the team:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=5973

the description reads: "Score it a 10+ with A+ provenance" when it should've read "Score it a 0 with a garbage letter". apparently when a jersey can't even be style-matched, it scores a "10+".

here, lampson really embarasses victor by positively authenticating an obviously bogus mcgwire:

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=22278

hint: the jersey has 1 color nob. the A's switched to 2-color nob in 1993. woops!

hang on though, lampson's not done embarassing his client. here, he positively authenticates a 1995 Griffey jersey that's missing a patch. the original description made no mention of any patch:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=10715

AMI happily accepted $2,622 for the jersey. every other 1995 mariners jersey i've seen has had the negro leagues patch.

here lampson sticks it to victor again in a comical way by authenticating yet another orioles ripken jersey that wasn't even a style-match:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_f...ead.php?t=6527

that crazy lou, he loves authenticating jerseys bearing a style that never even saw the light of the day. second time he stuck it to victor with the same error! sweet!.

here lampson really lets a pie loose into victor's face. scroll down to the van slyke jersey. in short, lampson positively authenticates a jersey with a nob when it should not have a nob (woops!), is missing a patch, and fails to notice the "fantasy camp" patch that wasn't even worn until 1999.

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=7781

in every single auction AMI has run, victor has been continuously embarassed by lampson's antics yet now he says the reason he doesn't want to use bushing is because bushing messed up on 1 bat? give me a break. bushing screws up on 1 bat and he's let go. lampson screws up on dozens of items and he's kept. victor tries to explain that it's because bushing screwed up once? i guess it has nothing to do with mears costing significantly more than lampson's dirt cheap rates?

rudy.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

in every single auction AMI has run, victor has been continuously embarassed by lampson's antics yet now he says the reason he doesn't want to use bushing is because bushing messed up on 1 bat? give me a break. bushing screws up on 1 bat and he's let go. lampson screws up on dozens of items and he's kept. victor tries to explain that it's because bushing screwed up once? i guess it has nothing to do with mears costing significantly more than lampson's dirt cheap rates?

Ah, the mysterious Rudy offering more, quality non-fiction. A+

[yankees159]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Guys I think we are missing a huge point here, the leading authenticators for MEARS ,Dave Bushing and Troy Kinunen are also dealers. They sell memorabilia on their website. Why would an auction company open their books to a competitor in the industy. This doesn't make sence to me.

Also, why would you use MEARS when you can get information from this website? Just a suggestion, why would'nt auction companies use the vast knowlege that this website offers to authenticate their items?

Todd

[lund6771]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Rudy..what's the old phrase?...."get what you pay for"

Dirt gets dirt for dirt

[yankees159]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

As a follow up to my previous post, I thought this thread on Network 54 is really interesting:

www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1194844156/last-1194968015/MEARS+effort+to+help+clean+up+the+hobby.++REA+sign s+on

[ahuff]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

As a follow up to my previous post, I thought this thread on Network 54 is really interesting:

www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1194844156/last-1194968015/MEARS+effort+to+help+clean+up+the+hobby.++REA+sign s+on

I really love the discussion that took place. However, I don't really understand why some people are arguing MEARS policy or argue why it wasn't adopted by more companies. MEARS policy is a terrific stand against the corruption that honest collectors have fought for years. Isn't that corruption a major reason that sites like this exist? It wasn't adopted by many companies, just my belief, because Lampson's COA's continue to sell products. Let's face it. . .anytime I have sold an item on ebay, that is the first question I receive. "Does this jersey have a COA?" If it doesn't, I don't get bids. Never mind that it might be from the mid 80's, and from a time where COA's just weren't issued by teams. Or that all tagging is perfect. But if a guy claims to be a ballboy, types up a letter, and offers some sneakers, that is proof enough. Or if a person offer's a photo of a MLB baseball being signed by a player. . .that is proof enough (never mind that MLB baseballs pretty much look identical and the real one is probably still on their shelf).

I personally love Joann's stand.

So in 2008 I'm not going to bid in any auction except REA. It's not like I win a lot or spend a lot in some of these, but I do like a few of the other houses fairly well and have won from them in the past here and there. But only REA, at least for 2008. If MEARS can make a big statement, then I guess I can make a small one.

This is a stand that I believe more of us, as collector's, need to take. I should qualify that statement. This is a stand that needs to be taken if we are truly going to put our money where our mouth is. Remember that in a capitalistic society the spending of money is the way consumers get to vote. I for one am sick and tired of Lampson's worthless COA's and fraudulent people on ebay selling junk. I have refused to purchase ANYTHING that was authenticated by Lampson since I won a Red Sox batting practice jersey that he authenticed. . .turns out it was a t-shirt that was the size my 8 year old son would wear. That occurred over 2 years ago now.

I believe that a stand should go further than just not bidding, though. I believe that each consumer should contact the companies and let them know why they will not be receiving bids or consignments from them. This is a large enough membership/community that I would think it could have a major impact on ending sales prices. I know there are flaws in this ideology. However, I believe that it is the only logical and reasonable response if people feel as strongly as some have stated, on this site. I personally believe most will not take such a stand that Joann took. Reasons I'm sure are varied. They might include that it is too hard not to bid when my favorite player's items are up for auction, or I've done the research and believe it is authentic, etc. Those are all great reasons, but just remember that we are voting with each and every bid.

[kingjammy24]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

here's some random food for thought:

- at a minimum, i think a lot of people appreciate what d. grob is trying to do. i don't think it was anyone's intent though to suggest that, because mears' new policies have noble aims, that anyone who doesn't sign on must therefore automatically be doing so because they're corrupt. in order to judge why an auction house has or hasn't signed on with mears, you have to know their specific reasons. i don't know any of their specific reasons so i can't judge any of them. i do think there are some valid reasons not to use them. unfortunately, i don't see any of the auction house owners coming out and publically announcing their honest reasons for not using them so we'll never know.

however, i do understand why an auction houses' decision to use lampson automatically causes people to regard them with suspicion and disdain. if lampson wasn't in the game and an auction house chose not to use mears, would people still feel the same way? if, for example, an auction house chose meigray's crew over mears, would people still feel the auction house wasn't taking the high road? probably not.

- immediately after mears announced their new policies, mastro announced their new "code of ethics" or whatever. the writing was on the wall. i don't believe the timing was coincidental. mastro apparently had been satisfied with the quality of mears' work and their costs and yet immediately after mears announced their rigorous new policies, mastro decides they can do without them and decides to stick with lampson. speaking of sticking with lampson, any bets on whether mastro's error rate will skyrocket in 2008?

- unfortunately, i believe that eric is correct when he says this will mean more work for lampson. it's incredible that you can be the worst in the industry and yet continue to rack up more business simply because you're the cheapest. one of these days some of the auction houses are going to regret using lampson and see that there's more to it than simply getting the cheapest authenticator. paying for inferior building materials isn't worth it if they cause the building to collapse. those lawsuits are going to cost a lot more than the money saved in cheap materials. the gravy train always stops eventually.

- mears' accepts submissions from auctions houses and private collectors. i'm curious why lampson only services auction houses. clearly the man enjoys making money so why not really open up the revenue stream and service the public? is it because the auction houses provide a shield that would suddenly disappear when forced to deal directly with collectors? afterall, when lampson errs on an auction item, there are no consequences. he still gets paid. the auction house says "sorry all sales final" and lampson goes merrily on his way. he's paid, the auction house is paid, and the buyer is SOL. lampson doesn't even lose the contract. i've seen mears lose two contracts. i haven't seen lampson lose one. if lampson erred on an item with a private collector, the collector would demand a refund. i've seen mears offer refunds. i've seen them buy items back that they've gotten wrong. what's lampson's refund policy? despite this, auction houses stick with lampson and continue to drop mears. 40% fees and their focus is still on hiring the cheapest around. a part of me wonders if i offered to authenticate items for $1 a pop, if i'd suddenly get all of lampson's contracts. it might almost be worth it.

rudy.

[lund6771]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Rudy...what's your e-mail again?
Thanks

[kingjammy24]

Re: MEARS to work with REA only in 2008

Rudy...what's your e-mail again?
Thanks

petrucious2000@yahoo.com


rudy.