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Question on reputable dealers and what I should pay

Hello,

I came across this site while looking for reviews on Verified Autograph. I read one of the forum discussions and was hoping that someone could be so kind as to lend a hand.

I will admit that I know nothing about autographs so here is my predicament.

I am looking to buy a Christmas gift for a very good friend of mine who loves the Patriots and Tom Brady. I have called around my local memorabilia stores for something with Tom Brady's signature and only one store had something in stock and it was a signed football for $999 but they were willing to sell it to me for $750 which is still so incredibly out of my price range that I turned to the internet. A friend of mine suggested ebay but after five minutes of searching I came to the conclusion that I really couldn't trust ebay due to the high number of absolutely identical items from one or two sellers.

After looking around a little more I came across Verified Autographs. The price seemed reasonable for a Tom Brady Signed Mini NFL Helmet at $124.95. However given what I was told the price of a football at a local store was I'm wondering why their prices are so low.

Has anyone heard of them and whether or not they are reputable. If they aren't could you please give me an idea of where to look for a trusted seller. Also I was wondering how much I really should expect to pay for something like this and whether I should try and find something else. I have no idea whether I'm looking at fakes or not. The friend I'm buying this for is an incredble friend and I would hate to get him anything that isn't genuine but I am also not flush with enough cash to afford to spend more than $250. I considered emailing the man himself but I've heard he is......prickly at best. I don't know if this is the right forum for this post but any help would be incredibly appreciated.

Thank you,

Brooke

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on December 15, 2011 at 7:03am

the one on the helmet, on the right, does look comparable ot many that I have seen from tristar. the comedy here is that if they priced it up where it should be, a lot less people would be questioning it, which is a story within itself. The pschycology of Autograph collecting! the one thing that seems to have been consistent is the Tom. and the little upward stroke starting the B.

Permalink Reply by DB on December 15, 2011 at 11:38am

Deion Branch (MVP of SB) comes to mind. I have a FS helmet with he and only brady on it. Brady is Tri-Star & Branch was inperson at a private/public signing.

Branch is still very reasonable and I agree now is a good time to get a welker even if not connected to a SB, yet anyways.

Permalink Reply by DB on December 15, 2011 at 12:37pm

Good point Mike. Many were sad to see Vrabel go as he may have lost a step but I'll bet he'd do well in the 4-3 of tday. A very embracing individual. I have 2 16x20's of the 4 td players from SB38 (vrable, given, branch, and smith) from an in-person signing some years back. I think some of these "non"SuperStars are estatic to hear from the fans when they show up to see them. Vrabel was very much liked, ala Kevin Faulk and Tedi Bruschi, and was part of the defense that kept them in all the SBs along with Adam Vinateri (whose prices are also really reasonable).

but, as you know, everyone remembers the QB

Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on December 15, 2011 at 6:59am

I think part of the problem is that there are not enough examples of what are truly legit, out there for people to compare to. as good as JSA and PSA are with many items, I dont think Brady is one of their strengths, so I would not use something they authenticated as a true examplar. This one is really tough.

Permalink Reply by kevin conway on December 15, 2011 at 8:28am

Speaking of Harrison Ford, look what sold on eBay this morning..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2609...

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on December 15, 2011 at 9:16am

That is really cool. Had to capture that for posterity:

Permalink Reply by kevin conway on December 15, 2011 at 9:22am

I'm not a Ford collector , but nevertheless placed a bid of $400 for it. Obviously I didn't even get in the ballpark. Not even the parking lot for that matter...;}

Permalink Reply by Brooke S on December 15, 2011 at 8:19am

To me the VA ones seem to be more stylized. I' not sure if that's the correct term I'm looking for but they seem to have more loops in the final character and the B seems to be more defined, the T also seems to be longer than in the authenticated examples. Or I could be completely wrong...still new at this lol.

Permalink Reply by Brooke S on December 15, 2011 at 7:12am

If the signatures are comparable enough to possibly be legit and the price is the only thing that is of question would anyone here risk buying said item? Or should I definitely hold off and save up money to get one that I know is absolutely legit with psa/dna or jsa certification or something recognised from a personal signing?

Permalink Reply by DB on December 15, 2011 at 7:25am

safer bet is one with a "tri-star".

it's not so much the comparable signatures but rather the inscriptions that would trouble me. especially the MVP.

it's your money though. you can also get some "unsigned" items directly from the Pat's pro shops and perhaps that will stem the tide while you save for the big purchase.

Permalink Reply by Brooke S on December 15, 2011 at 7:59am

The one I saw on the website didn't have the 'MVP' part written under it. it was just a plain signature.

http://verifiedautographs.com/sports-collectibles.html?page=shop.pr...

Permalink Reply by Brooke S on December 15, 2011 at 7:57am

By the way gentlemen I also want to thank you, I'm learning so much from this discussion. I never knew that the industry was so rife with forgeries and people who are more than comfortable to palm off fakes. I remember receiving a signed movie poster of an actor that I loved as a teen and I now feel bad for selling it as I got older to some unsuspecting person as looking back I doubt it was real.