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I NEED HELP! Is Sportsmemorabilia.com Legit?

Thru the years I've slowly tried to build a collection of football memorabilia, I'm a Cowboys fan and thought I had a pretty nice collection. A long time ago I built a nice collection of Wayne Gretzky stuff but I bought it right off his site, WG Authenticity and felt great about every purchase. My Cowboys stuff I've bought off Sportsmemorabilia.com and Prosportsmemorabilia.com and lately reading some reviews I just feel the whole thing is shady. Could someone please tell me if I've been taken for a ride AND what sites are the most reliable for buying the REAL DEAL? Please and thank you.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 24, 2017 at 3:23pm

What they actually do is "borrow" other sellers auctions and list them under their ID.

Then when it sells, they purchase the item from that seller.

Here is a Mantle forgery listed by Sportsmemorabilia.com

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mickey-Mantle-New-York-Yankees-Framed-Signe...

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Zelikoff on January 24, 2017 at 3:25pm

Signature looks authentic to me but I never buy unless it's certified from one of the top authenticators.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 24, 2017 at 3:28pm

Lawrence, the above Mantle is an obvious forgery.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Zelikoff on January 24, 2017 at 3:44pm

How can you tell? Looks like all of his PSA and JSA autos.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 24, 2017 at 3:59pm

Because I know Mantle's autograph as well as anyone.

Any true collector (and there are many on this wonderful site) here will tell you that it is an obvious forgery.

It's a common Mantle forgery that I've seen dozens upon dozens of times.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Zelikoff on January 24, 2017 at 4:03pm

Just asking how you can tell. What about it gives it away?

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Zelikoff on January 24, 2017 at 4:17pm

Do you think is is real or forged?

Attachments: No photo uploads here

IMG_0048.JPG, 3 MB

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 24, 2017 at 4:18pm

Yikes. That's awful.

Permalink Reply by Lawrence Zelikoff on January 24, 2017 at 4:25pm

Still wondering why you say it's a forgery. What detail gives it away?

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 24, 2017 at 4:27pm

Trying to explain it to someone who does not know autographs is very difficult, if not impossible.

It's all in the eye.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Zelikoff on January 24, 2017 at 4:29pm

Try me.

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 24, 2017 at 4:43pm

Lawrence,

You asked a great question:

"Still wondering why you say it's a forgery. What detail gives it away?"

Unless it's, say, a Babe Ruth autograph signed in gold Sharpie or an Abraham Lincoln signed newspaper reporting his assassination, it mostly comes from looking at lots of known genuine autographs of the person you want and known forgeries of their autographs. And learning about signs of forgery and reproduced fakes in general.

It comes from experience and study. Invest your time before you invest your money. Not only will you make fewer mistakes (even the best third-party authenticators make mistakes), you're likely to spend less for an autograph—and buy a better investment when you do.