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Authenticity is Everything
Is everything from GAI fake?
I was thinking recently about the amount of fakes that are authenticated by GAI, so I went through my items and located 5 pieces authenticated by them. I looked up the corresponding number on their website (what's left of it anyway) and found that two items aren't even listed. The database shows no item exists. Two of the three items I know are legit as they were from a private Willie Mays signing a few years back and included the Say Hey authentication plus the MLB authentication. The other three I believe are bad. Two are Stan Musial 8x10's and one is Bart Starr 8x10.
What I find interesting is that you would assume that people who have legitimate authentic photo's used the GAI service. There should be a quantity that are real! But, it appears that almost everything I come across is FAKE! Did they authenticate anything real, or did they have a network set up where they had people produce known forgeries and then they authenticated them? It seems to be the latter. I wish I could remember who I bought these three from and contact them. You wouldn't think they would spend their time on Musial and Starr. Any opinions on this?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on
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Here are the facts:
Global Authority is Mike Baker and Damian Warner's card grading company. They do not deal with autographs now that I am aware of.
Global Athentics is the company currently owned by steve Sipe. It's only relation to the defunct GAI is that Steve will remove the defunct GAI certified items on ebay as needed. He will tell customers if a old GAI item is bad. He maintains the old GAI database mainly for ebay and also for former customers ( it has also been used to catch fake GAI coas as well ). Sipe is a top notch / stand-up guy. He shoots you staight and if he makes a mistake, he will do whatever he needs to correct it.
Sipe is majorly concerned about other authentication companies trying to destroy his company ( by stating his items are bad simply because the item has a Global Authentics coa ). I can see how he would see this as another company controlling the market, or attempting to. If these actions were done via ebay and the quick opinion then ebay won't be happy either. I have not heard their response yet. AS AUTHENTICATORS, WE CAN'T BE ACTING IN SUCH A WAY! Remember,, in his 15 years at Upper Deck, Sipe witnessed thousands upon thousands of signatures by the top sports stars. I'm sure he feels like he could take one of his Upper deck items, hide the UD hologram with a Global Authentics COA, put it on ebay, ask for a PSA quick opinion....and watch it get rejected.
I can't blame him for being mad and showing proof to ebay to get these actions stopped. As we all want to know. Quick opinions are a dangerous aspect to the hobby as it is. There needs to be more direct contact between the customer and the expert who is opinionating the autograph. The expert needs to be able to tell WHY the item passed or failed.
The old GAI ( owned by Steve Rocchi and Mike Baker ) is GONE! The company does not exist.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Kasmar-AutographPros.com on
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I know an in-person autograph dealer in NY who submitted strictly to GAI. I never asked him why but assumed they were more convenient or maybe they cut him a slightly better deal. Anyhow, he had 100s of 100% authentic in-person guitars authenticated. Please note, I haven't researched GAI at all, never paid for any submissions, so I'm not trying to say I support them on any level but the question was, are all GAI items fake and I can tell you without question the 100s of guitars this guy had authenticated were 100% real, obtained in person with all the NY in-person guys to witness. I'm sure this dealer isn't alone in choosing GAI. PSA takes forever, their prices are high on some items, and they don't have a NY office as of yet.
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Permalink Reply by Steve on
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Michael,
That is what I was getting at. Although there are probably 1000's of legitimate GAI items out there, we only seem to see those that are bad and I don't understand why.
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Permalink Reply by christine murphy on
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Hey Mike, I want to know how many times myself and many other people sat in Justin's Booth and watched you beg Justin for a job. Don't deny it, becuase you know it is true. I saw Justin cert. many of your items, the ones he felt were good. I bought many of your items based on Justins opinion that they were good, such as Pacquiao. So lets cut through all the garbage and start being honest.
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I won't get into the details, but Justin was the major factor that caused problems for GAI. His "back-door" certifications came in bulk. He was thankfully stopped by Sipe.
All of that was GAI though. Not Global Authentics.
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To my knowledge, Global asked Justin back to work for them also. Where do you guys get your information. Probably directly from Global who is trying to re-establish.
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Mike, come on Mike you know who I am. You know Justin as well as anybody. I watched you sit and have long conversations with him. This website seems to let a lot of people sling a lot of b*******. It amazes me that people don't have better things to do with there time, like working during the day. I have nothing against you Mike, but the information has to be correct when you are posting it. I have many stories I could post and rip people apart, but I have better things to do. I suggest you find something more productive to do with your time, like working. Come see me when you are in town. Peace
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Mike, One last comment before I go to WORK. What's true is true, I have witnessed it. So lets start being truthful or just keep your opinions to yourself. Signing Off
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Sorry Christine...I was there fighting against Justin at GAI when he would foolishly certify NASCAR fakes that I found over and over. Justin knew better. He was warned over and over but he had such a process going with his "bulk deals" that he wouldn't stop.
It wasn't just NASCAR items he was making mistakes on. Many customers were hurt by his back room deals with dealers that had bad items. Gladly, when GAI had real managers brought in who looked at the company as I was ( from outside the inner circle ) and realized the trouble Justin caused.
So, don't bring a praise for Justin here. His past troubles and current issues with ebay are enough to show that he wasn't acting in a way to benefit the hobby, just himself.
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Permalink Reply by Fuddjcal on
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Brandon,
I hear what you are saying and in theory, you make a good point. Let me see if I can help you understand where I'm coming from regarding the GAI debacle. I only see through "My Mickey Mantle Eyes", while you are focused on Nascar. To give you a slight little reality check, there are more Mickey Mantle Autograph listings than ALLof NASCAR combined. The difference in dollar value for Mickey Mantle vs all ofNASCAR is staggering. Basically Nascar is a pimple on Mantle’s Ass.
I feel that if you get to the root of the problem (Mantle) you can solve much of the problem with forgeries. I really only know this signature from countless hours spent looking at deciphering the real from the fake. I don’t consider myself an expert, but someone who probably has spent more time studying Mantle than the youngsters watching the ballgames certing for JSA & PSA on the weekends. So I’d like to think I learned a few things and pass the knowledge down, just so people don’t get hammered in the pooper so darned often… Here’s the thing, I’m a seasoned collector and I STILL CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE FROM WHERE GAI AND GA STOPS, BEGINS, GOOD, BAD, WTF?????? If I can’t figure it out, how do you want the Amateurish collectors who are buying all this fake garbage to figure it out. I have stated that..."GAI, much like Stat (TTA), Birdsack, AAU, and Moral Less....EVERYTHING with their certification should be considered a forgery IMHO. Then and only then can you go back over it with your knowledge of the signature to see if it passes mustard. You will occasionally find the GAI needle in a haystack, if you look hard enough.
Yes, you certainly can find an authentic GAI GA.
Here’s two Genuine Certificates from the 2 groups. The Global Authentics is from my Mickey Mantle in my exemplar files I've posted. The other is from a Whitey Ford baseball, which I believe to be Authentic. The Authenticity isn’t the point of this post.
IT IS THE CERTIFICATES FROM THESE 2 DIFFERENT ENTITIES LOOK IDENTICAL WITH SLIGHT VARIATIONS. EVEN THE NUMBER "GV"START THE SAME. How in the hell is anybody supposed to tell the difference between the 2 companies? Riddle me that Batman? I only criticize Sipe because his role of Security at E-Bay, while 1000’s upon 1000’s of GAI stuff just dominated the market for 2 plus years….. He sat on thumbs.
So my point is simple. If it has GAI, GLOBAL or anything with a “G”, assume it’s a fake and go from there. You may find a real one. As for the others, I am still looking for the 1st Moraless, STAT, TTA, AAU or Birdsick Certed Mantle that didn’t have the stickers from a previous company, torn off for a sting operation.
Respectfully, FUDD - Attachments: No photo uploads here
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GAI CERTS0001.jpg, 479 KB
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This is not about Justin with me it is about a bunch of pots calling the kettle black. I think you actually believe what you are posting, but the people at Frank and Sons all know the truth because we witnessed it.
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