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Roger Epperson

What are your opinions about Roger Epperson? Is he a legit authenticator of music autographs?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James on January 13, 2015 at 1:15am

I don't think Roger Epperson would probably be upset by this discussion here. In fact, it looks like about 99% percent of it has been in praise of Roger.

I personally think Roger Epperson is the best music autograph authenticator in the world!! In fact, about two months ago, I started a discussion about Roger's fantastic work that he does in his profession and how he is a thorn in the side of the forgers. KUDOS TO ROGER!!

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Miyagi on January 13, 2015 at 1:17pm

From what I and many others have seen Roger seems to know music signatures. His certs seem to authenticate many of the reputable music items I have seen. So I guess that speaks for itself.

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Permalink Reply by 2t7o4rndea2r0 on January 13, 2015 at 6:12pm

I came across this website about a year ago, after having purchased around 15 items. I found this forum purely accidentally and posted a complete Eagles Hotel California. The group quickly helped me realize it was not even close to right. This is also, if I recall, how I came to know about Roger and his service. I paid Roger to review all of the other items I'd purchased, and he quickly determined that nearly every one was bad (maybe all of them, I can't recall with certainty). I was able to obtain refunds on all but one or two. I still own the Eagles album and keep it as a reminder of my early mistakes. Since then, I've been able to acquire some fantastic pieces. All but maybe one (which came with JSA, sso I assumed Roger reviewed anyway), has been reviewed by Roger and have REAL certificates of authenticity. Of the items I've asked him to look at over the past several months, he has rejected probably 4 times the number of items he has approved. I have not tracked the amount of money he has saved me, first in obtaining refunds and since by preventing me from making bad purchases, but it's surely in the many thousands of dollars by now. I've also purchased three items directly from Roger, two for me and one for a family member for Christmas. He's been fair in every transaction. I have one objective only, to own legitimate stuff (not to resell, which I've only done once). To me, if Roger says its good, its good. Some have mentioned that he's human and can make a mistake. True. But this is what we face in our interactions with service providers of every kind and what we must face about our own professional acumen, in whatever field it may be. I have nothing to say, good or bad, about PSA/JSA, or anyone else. But what I do like about working with Roger is that you know specifically who is looking at your stuff. That's important to me. I'm still new to collecting, read/review this site often but have only posted twice, including this, since the Hotel California debacle. Just thought that sharing my experience might be helpful. Okay.... enough from me.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 13, 2015 at 7:04pm

That was just a great post! Interesting how your collecting has evolved and about how great Roger has been for you. I know from experience how quickly you learn that you must be careful when buying autographs. I remember from several years ago when I first started buying autographs, I got burned on my first purchase - a Michael Jordan signed photo. This was about 1996 and I hadn't even heard of Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA) - Upper Deck, yes, UDA, no. I just went to a local guy at the mall, and said I wanted an MJ signed item. He didn't have one, but said he had guys who get one for me - cost $140 - so I said okay. Turned out to be fake. I didn't even pursue it. Later I was told that for MJ, you should stick to UDA. So I did, and later purchased two signed basketballs and a jersey from UDA. Unfortunately, learning costs you money, and that's not the only time I've been burned.

Fortunately though, TPAs like Roger make the game a lot safer.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on January 13, 2015 at 7:26pm

Great point about knowing who is looking at your item. Send it to PSA or JSA and you have no idea, it could be a different person each time. With Roger, you know who you are getting each and every time.

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Permalink Reply by A.B. on January 14, 2015 at 12:08am

Well said

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Permalink Reply by 2t7o4rndea2r0 on January 14, 2015 at 7:32am

James - good post. You highlight a couple of dynamics that I suspect many of us learn as rookies starting our collecting experience. First, when you know nothing, you're subject to costly mistakes. The reason is that our inclination is to trust all sellers. I simply couldn't believe that there are people in the world who would sell bad items intentionally. Seems naive now, but like you I imagine, I was absolutely stunned to discover the volume of fakes out there. Sort-of diminishes your faith in people. The next stage is learning about the authentication industry, which seems to have it's own problems. If an item is correct, how can the professionals disagree? This was confusing to me initially. Then you learn that they are competing against each other. Then you start to understand the business model of the large authentication companies, the tremendous volume of material they review and realize that the amount of time it would take to thoroughly investigate an item is impractical and unsustainable. So, is some or most cases, a cursory review is all that is performed. And once an opinion is rendered, it is rarely, if ever changed. Then, somewhere along the line, with more experience, you may develop the ability to recognize the good from the bad on your own. This happens gradually and depends on the amount of time you have to study. I have little or no time to become competent myself, though I have developed some, limited ability to recognize fakes. So you choose your authenticator, trust in his/her competency and rely on that in your buying decisions. That's where I am now. It's a tricky business, but fun and rewarding if you can do it right.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Roberts on January 14, 2015 at 7:41am

With Roger and his quick opinion - he turns it around normally with in 24hrs or same day!!

I can not say enough good things about the service that Roger provides the collector and on this forum in general. His knowledge is how he makes his living and A LOT of it is given FREE on this forum.

Mark