Editorial: An Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob

[Danny899]

Re: Editorial: An Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob

How about a 14-day moratorium on any mention of L.L. in any post and whoever breaks the peace will have to send all of their game used items to the man himself for authentication.

Now THAT was funny. Be careful with the humor though, some here don't take too kindly to it.

[Danny899]

Re: Editorial: An Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob

I personally have no problem with it and find a lot of it amusing.

I have one question. Is he the only authenticator for hire that is known to the public by name? I can't recall any others names coming up in forum discussions.

Dave Miedema is one the original authenticators that comes to mind. You don't see or hear much of him lately but he was (is) extremely knowledgable. He got that way by studying common player jerseys and realizing that slight variations and deviations from jersey to jersey didn't mean that a shirt wasn't good. His handwritten, often sloppy in appearance COA's carried a lot more weight than any top flight company.

[R. C. Walker]

Re: Editorial: An Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob

Has anyone posting on this thread actually read the "Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob"?

[mvandor]

Re: Editorial: An Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob

Has anyone posting on this thread actually read the "Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob"?

Yes, it essentially challenges LL to stop bottom feeding, raise his fees, and take more time on each item. The suggestion is that LL's errors are due less to knowledge and resources than the pace he allows himself to be pushed to in doing high volumes of work at low fees.

Thoughtful piece and given LL's share of the auction house market, clearly a practical solution to improve his batting average. There's likely plenty of room for him to bump fees, reduce his work by pushing some of it to competitors, spend more time per piece for the same compensation.

[aeneas01]

Re: Editorial: An Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob

Has anyone posting on this thread actually read the "Open Letter to Mr. Lou Lampson by Dave Grob"?

i was thinking the same after reading the posts! anyway, i recently had a chance to read dave's "open letter" and thought dave's position made sense...

in short, dave describes the leverage authenticators possess when it comes to working with auction houses; a leverage they've always had but didn't exercise. he also suggests that this leverage has never been stronger given the now disproportionate number of auction houses (and work) versus the relatively few experienced authenticators out there - that, in fact, the number of authenticators has remained relatively unchanged over the years despite the ever increasing number of sports memorabilia auction outlets.

as such dave asks why lampson wouldn't take advantage of this leverage (as does mears) rather than subject himself to the demands of auction houses including modest compensation, pressure to approve large lots in short order, etc.

i think dave is absolutely right as far as the number of sports memorabilia auction outlets far outweighing the number of respected authenticators is concerned and i also think he's absolutely right about the number of respected authenticators having not changed over the years, not having kept up with demand. but i also think dave overestimates the leverage that independent authenticators wield, including mears. as a matter of fact, and as i mentioned in another post, i think all auction houses will eventually move to, or are already moving to, in-house authenticators made up of their own "research teams".

the bottom line imo is that the internet and digital media, not new authenticating models, has changed the landscape of authenticating forever and will allow auction houses to successfully make the transition. and while it's absolutely true that in many cases simply looking at a photo will not provide sufficient info about a lot, it will not take long for volumes of authentic game-used items to pass through the hands of in-house research teams to the point where they will soon be able to put together their own comparative databases.

internet communities such as the game used universe forum will only continue to grow and expand as a tremendous resource providing real time answers to collectors seeking information regarding dealer reputations, auction house reputations, matters of authenticity, etc., etc. - and collectors that form such communities will prove to be such a powerful hobby watchdog that those hoping to make a living at sports memorabilia trading will best be served by running a tight ship.

the leverage that dave discusses in his article is accurate and a very real imo - but i also believe that the window to act on this leverage has all but closed because of the internet and digital media. had mears introduced their model 10-15 years ago i believe that their success applying this leverage would have been absolutely tremendous - so much so that they would have most likely revolutionized the authentication business to the point where they would be THE name in authentication today.

and i don't think any of this is lost on lampson - i'm sure he sees the window closing and is running the table while he can, while auction houses are still interested in his services. nor do i think any of this was lost on dave bushing. anyway, i thought it was a great, timely article that dave put together which brought up some very interesting points. will lampson respond?




.........