Lampson AMI Connection?

[Eric]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

If you do your own homework on something and are comfortable buying, then it doesn't matter what the lampson letter says.

[staindsox]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

My point is if they're dishonest with their authenticator, how do you know they're not scamming in another way...like shill bidding, buying back their own items, putting up their own items, etc??? It's crazy to think they area only base dealing in only one area.

Secondly, we all complain about Lampson and the auction houses that hire him. If nobody bid on a Lampson, their sales would slump, and they may actually have to hire a legit authenticator.

My point is, even if you do your homework, you're enabling when you continue to do business with these guys.

[Eric]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Mr. Lampson is again listed as one of AMI's authenticators for 100% Authentic

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/authentication.asp

Lou Lampson 100% Authentic

Lou Lampson is considered by collectors, ex-athletes, and equipment managers, alike as the foremost authority and analyst in the field. He has authenticated for the National Sports Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, The College Football HOF, Texas Sports HOF, Upper Deck Authenticated and the hobby's major auction huoses. Lou has over thirty years' experience in collecting, authenticating and appraising game-used uniforms and related equipment. He owns an extensive "Perfect 10" representations and has an astonishing 8,000 plus uniform-related photos in his reference library.

[sportscentury]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

I am not sure how to pose this question and I mean to do so with respect and as delicately as possible, so...considering the many peculiar circumstances with Lampson and this auction house, why would you want to do business with them anyway? Just a thought.

Chris

Chris,

You read my mind. What item could be worth doing business with them? Even if they had Lefty's 1980 World Series uniform, I would not even think to bid.

Reid

[suave1477]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

I hate to say this anot to throw wood into the fire but just speaking my piece towards this topic of where it has ended up.

Anything that has a Lampson letter including if it was a Strawberry Game Used item I would not touch. As far as I am concerned once it has a Lampson letter it is a tainted item by having his name attached to it.

I am not saying I will never ever buy an item, I am just saying for now I see too many items out there that he passes that are clearly questionable.

[allstarsplus]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Chris,

You read my mind. What item could be worth doing business with them? Even if they had Lefty's 1980 World Series uniform, I would not even think to bid.

Reid

STAINDSOX My point is if they're dishonest with their authenticator, how do you know they're not scamming in another way...like shill bidding, buying back their own items, putting up their own items, etc??? It's crazy to think they area only base dealing in only one area.

Secondly, we all complain about Lampson and the auction houses that hire him. If nobody bid on a Lampson, their sales would slump, and they may actually have to hire a legit authenticator.

My point is, even if you do your homework, you're enabling when you continue to do business with these guys.Today 01:52 AM

Chris and Reid - I said the same thing too in prior posts. Everyone is free to do whatever they want, but unless you boycott these auction houses you are aiding and abetting their patterns of questionable business ethics.

I can just see some of these auction houses laughing that here Eric and other members of this site are critical of items on their auctions then they receive consignments and/or bids from these same critics.

It just wreaks of hyprocrisy in my opinion.

I said it before and I will say it again that nothing short of a full boycott is acceptable until they clean of their act.

Andrew

[ahuff]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Chris and Reid - I said the same thing too in prior posts. Everyone is free to do whatever they want, but unless you boycott these auction houses you are aiding and abetting their patterns of questionable business ethics.

I can just see some of these auction houses laughing that here Eric and other members of this site are critical of items on their auctions then they receive consignments and/or bids from these same critics.

It just wreaks of hyprocrisy in my opinion.

I said it before and I will say it again that nothing short of a full boycott is acceptable until they clean of their act.

Andrew

Andrew,

Nicely put. Now, this is going way back to my economics classes, but I remember your philosophy being discussed. It is known as Dollar Voting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_voting

People are stating their opinions/voting everytime they spend every dollar!!! The most efficient way to end Lou's practices is for each individual collector to make his decision. We need to simplly ask ourselves, "Is this item worth supporting Lou's cause?" Personally, I haven't found an item worth it, yet!!!

[Eric]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

I will respond to the previous comments with some ideas off the top of my head, so I apologize if it seems like I'm all over the place.

I think you guys are correct that it is ridiculous to spend money with certain auction houses. This is a personal decision for everyone.

However, let's say AMI sells an item with NFL Auctions letter, would you buy that? What about if AMI sold an item from Peyton Manning's foundation, would you buy that? if you could photomatch an item they're selling after having done your homework, would you buy that? Let's say it came from a player's personal collection, would you buy that?

Perhaps the answer is no to some of you, but I think I would have to take it on a case by case basis. As far as american memorabilia is concerned, I have always had good luck talking with tony giese about my questions and concerns.

I have just made the personal decision to not depend on lampson's word. I trust that I'm going to have to figure it out myself. That's probably a smart thing, because you can't get your questions answered by him anyway.

As crazy as it's going to sound, I'll say it- Lou Lampson isn't necessarily the bad guy here. It's the places who throw hundreds of jerseys in front of his face in the span of a few hours and act like he has done a thorough job on every one. He can't possibly do a thorough job on all the items given the amount he has to do in the amount of time he has to do it in.

I understand that. The new-to-the-hobby collector who relies on the COA doesn't understand that. There's when we have a problem. And that's why places like the forum can point out questionable items and when there are mistakes ask them to be removed. (Now if questioning certain items is what got Chris, Rob and me banned from AMI, then that raises some very serious issues. Consumers are allowed to ask questions and should not be punished for doing so)

I don't think auction houses are laughing at hearing that any of us would do business with these companies. They're still feeling it. I can't speak for everyone, but I still am voting with my wallet. I do a lot less business with these auction houses than I used to. I still leave myself the option of buying from them if I am comfortable with the item, but it's few and far between at this point.

If I shut off every auction house that 1) used Lou Lampson 2) did not disclose conflicts of interest and 3) did not modify the items in their inventory, I'd be out of the hobby. How many places are left?

Another point- this is a hobby and I am a collector. The hobby includes many one of a kind items- it's not like baseball card collecting where if you didn't like one dealer, you could go somewhere else to by the same item. If an item is at auction, this might be your only chance at it.

If I were in the market for a Manny Ramirez game used piece, which are all over the place, sure, I guess I would pick the dealer I trust the most. BUT when you're looking at what's in an auction house's inventory you have to be comfortable with the item and then decide if it's worth dealing with the company.

In another thread jake33 wrote that he got a Derrick Brooks shirt from the Derrick Brooks Foundation from Historic Auctions. He was fine with taking the leap knowing in his words that they lack customer service. He would choose to do business with them, so his line is in a different place than yours or mine.

I respect those who are willing to take a stand and protest certain places. The stands I take are to try to point out to the auction houses what needs to be done to share the proper information with their customers. Auction houses need to answer questions. They have to be honest about conflicts of interest. They should disclose things like if the authentication service is a company run by the auction house- those kinds of things. And everyone of us has to have a personal line and decide where to draw it.

Just my opinion and I respect all of yours and would love to continue this
Eric

[CollectGU]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Rob ,

Maybe what got you banned from bidding is an irresponsible questioning of 100% authentic on a forum without calling and asking them (especially as a forum administartor). I know that Denny Esken gave Rob a complete history and reason why 100% authentic started which would help clear things up. Rob decided not to offer this valuable info to the forum but was quick in earlier posts to insinuate that they were doing somehting improper. If you are only going to insinuate negativity even in the light of being offered information that may not jive with your original insinuations then why would they want to do business with you?
Regards,
Dave

[kingjammy24]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

"As crazy as it's going to sound, I'll say it- Lou Lampson isn't necessarily the bad guy here. It's the places who throw hundreds of jerseys in front of his face in the span of a few hours and act like he has done a thorough job on every one. He can't possibly do a thorough job on all the items given the amount he has to do in the amount of time he has to do it in."

lampson is a grown man, supposedly with over 30 yrs experience in the field. he signs contracts, of his own free will, knowing full well the number of items and deadlines. noone holds a gun to his head. if he feels he can't do a good job, for whatever reason, then he shouldn't sign the contracts. at a minimum, common sense would dictate that he inform his employers that his accuracy will be jeopardized if he's inundated. at the end of the day, the only person who can give a positive lou lampson authentication is lou lampson. noone can force lou to do anything, including signing off an item. if lou signs off on an item it's because he chose to. if he felt he couldn't be thorough, why would he even accept the contracts or sign off on the items? would you sign off on an item you weren't confident in?
obviously, lou knows he can't do a thorough job. the auction houses know he can't do a thorough job. both of them know this before lou's even begun. the item counts and deadlines bear this obvious truth. if you were going to authenticate for an auction house, wouldn't your first questions be "how many items?" and "by when?" ? if they told you "300 items, 2 days", would you accept those terms? any sane, ethical person wouldn't. do you blame the auction house for placing so many items in front of him and giving such a short turnaround time or do you blame lou for accepting those terms and furthermore signing off on the items? no auction house can force lampson to do anything, including putting his name to something he doesn't feel confident about. he accepts the numbers and the deadlines and he does it knowing it's unrealistic.

eric, we're not even talking about inaccuracies here or doing a "thorough job". the man literally makes up stories. when he said that cano was the only player documented to have worn #14 in 2005, who told him to do that? the auction house? it had nothing to do with being short on time or even being sloppy. the man literally just invents ridiculous little stories in order to have his authencations make sense. are those his fault or the auction house? at the end of the day, lou is responsible for lou. everything's he done has been his decision. he's not sitting there at an auction house, being held captive by armed guards. lou is the bad guy here. why do you suppose he's the only big industry name who's chosen to to make himself completely unreachable?

rudy.

[Eric]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

[QUOTE=kingjammy24;41728]"
lampson is a grown man, supposedly with over 30 yrs experience in the field. he signs contracts, of his own free will, knowing full well the number of items and deadlines. noone holds a gun to his head. if he feels he can't do a good job, for whatever reason, then he shouldn't sign the contracts. at a minimum, common sense would dictate that he inform his employers that his accuracy will be jeopardized if he's inundated. at the end of the day, the only person who can give a positive lou lampson authentication is lou lampson. noone can force lou to do anything, including signing off an item. if lou signs off on an item it's because he chose to. if he felt he couldn't be thorough, why would he even accept the contracts or sign off on the items? would you sign off on an item you weren't confident in?"

Rudy
You're totally right. We all make choices in life. Lou chose to sign a contract to put his name on a certain amount of pieces knowing that because of the volume he has agreed to take on, he will make mistakes.

The auction houses who employ him have chosen to accept the percentages and those mistakes. (For some reason they get angry when people point out the mistakes, but that's another matter)

They have also chosen to do business with a person who has no contact information. How stupid is that. Don't they realize that if Lampson provided the proof of his work, or bothered to make himself available to answer questions, the pieces would sell for even more?

"[I]eric, we're not even talking about inaccuracies here or doing a "thorough job". the man literally makes up stories. when he said that cano was the only player documented to have worn #14 in 2005, who told him to do that? the auction house? it had nothing to do with being short on time or even being sloppy. the man literally just invents ridiculous little stories in order to have his authencations make sense. are those his fault or the auction house? at the end of the day, lou is responsible for lou. lou is the bad guy here. why do you suppose he's the only big industry name who's chosen to to make himself completely unreachable?

rudy.

Yes, you're correct here as well. We should keep a running tally of all of the things he has made up. It is one thing to be wrong, it's another to fabricate a story out of thin air.

You definitely have a point- If a man who is paid for his opinion makes up a fact to add value to the item, that is actually criminal.

(Prediction- somewhere in this thread will be a doctored photo of Lou Lampson sharing a jail cell with Paris Hilton. Gentlemen, start your photoshops)
Eric

[Eric]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Rob ,

Maybe what got you banned from bidding is an irresponsible questioning of 100% authentic on a forum without calling and asking them (especially as a forum administartor). I know that Denny Esken gave Rob a complete history and reason why 100% authentic started which would help clear things up. Rob decided not to offer this valuable info to the forum but was quick in earlier posts to insinuate that they were doing somehting improper. If you are only going to insinuate negativity even in the light of being offered information that may not jive with your original insinuations then why would they want to do business with you?
Regards,
Dave

Dave
I would be very careful about baiting people. It is against the rules and you should know better than that. You clearly have a problem with Rob. You did the same thing in another thread. Please take another look at the rules of the forum and if you choose to follow those rules you can continue to post. Consider this a warning.
Eric

[lund6771]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Dave...

I am now also banned from bidding at AMI...Since you have been dubbed as the Spokesman by AMI to this site, I look forward to your response...

I took a 10 year hiatus from the hobby and reintered the hobby last year...I asked a friend which auction house I should consign some items to..He suggested AMI...I had never heard of them before, but I called them anyways...I consigned 3 items which realized close to $25K...I was told that I would be paid within 30 days of the close of the auction...1 month went by..."the check is going out on Friday"...2 more weeks go by..."your Check is going out on Monday"...a few more weeks go by....same BS...I received payment well over the time frame that was discussed...and guess what?...it was well short!!!...I contacted them immediately and they told me that one of the items hadn't been paid for...they couldn't have told me this 2 months ago?...Furthmore they had already placed the item into their next auction without consulting me!!!...I looked up their site and sure enough it was in the next auction...I felt discomfort that it was being run again so quickly and they told me that many times items have gone for much more the 2nd time around...mine went for 25% less...I guess that was my own risk...I expressed to them my dissatisfaction of their practices...I would have thought that after my experiences, they would at least try to salvage me as a customer by accelerating payment to me the 2nd time around...but it took the same time frame to get paid...

In the REAL world, if you continuosly treat customers this way you get eliminated

That was last summer and I discovered this site last Fall...I have never mentioned any of this until now

A few months ago there was a thread asking opinions of AMI...I posted that they have some nice stuff, but don't hold your breath getting paid, it took me around 6 months...shortly after posting this, I received a letter from AMI's attornies demanding that I retract my post because they had proof that they paid me in a timely fashion...I immediately called their attorny and told him the whole story...I never heard from him again...

was I banned for being lied to?...for telling the truth?

Even though I was disgusted with these experiences, I still held them above VA and Historic because AMI pulled items from their auctions that were shown to be questionable...Now it appears they are banning people the same way that Historic has...It appears that they have sunk that low

It's obvious that AMI reads these posts...why don't they respond themselves?...why do they hide behind you Dave?...To me honest people don't need to hind...

[CollectGU]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Lund6771,

I have no knowledge of this. I do know from experience that it takes 45-65 days to get paid. If you were told somehting else, they were wrong for that. It happens about an item not being paid for and it is common practice that it goes into the next auction. I had an A's Joe Rudi jersey not be paid for in the first auction and it went in the next auction and sold for almost double the first auction results.

Regards,
Dave

[CollectGU]

Re: Lampson AMI Connection?

Dave
I would be very careful about baiting people. It is against the rules and you should know better than that. You clearly have a problem with Rob. You did the same thing in another thread. Please take another look at the rules of the forum and if you choose to follow those rules you can continue to post. Consider this a warning.
Eric

Eric,

Aren't you curoius why the information given to him about 100% Authentic was never posted by him up here? Isn't there some kind of responsibility as a fourm admin. to provide all relevant information received on a topic whre the business practcies of a company are being questioned so at least it gives give the appearance of objectivitiy?

Regards,
Dave