Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John Carpenter on November 26, 2018 at 7:24am

Here is a better link

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sofindtype=0&_byseller=1&_...

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Permalink Reply by marc e on November 26, 2018 at 9:16am

no clue if there certs are real but theres no way there making money. between ebay fees and cert fees theres no money left,????????????????????????????????

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Permalink Reply by posterguy on November 26, 2018 at 6:29pm

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JACK-NICHOLSON-DENNIS-HOPPER-PETER-FONDA-S...!07458!US!-1&redirect=mobile

At that price it had better be legit if you ask me.........

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Permalink Reply by John Carpenter on November 27, 2018 at 5:06am

Yes, not all this sellers stuff is cheap.  I think there is a lot of volume here, and maybe he just wants to move inventory on some less than desirable pieces whether he makes money on them or not.  As for the certs, can they be bogus if they are found in the database?  The few I looked at are in the database of the TPA.  Im not much on certs and know little about them or how they can be fake.

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Permalink Reply by Michael on December 3, 2018 at 8:42am

I believe I read somewhere on here someplace that this particular seller was removed from the RACC for stealing and using other sellers’ “proof” photos. 

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Permalink Reply by John Carpenter on December 3, 2018 at 11:27am

Thanks.  Apparently many of the photos he posts are from book signings, and I agree this is wrong, but Im more interested in if the stuff is real or not.  So far, the few certs I checked out are in the databases.

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Steffman on December 7, 2018 at 10:06am

This seller is known widely as a reputable long-time IP collector who later on purchased from a variety of sources. Some of those purchases looked very off, and have been seen in the store. The most notable of them was a Paul McCartney with full BAS LOA which anyone with even basic awareness of Macca's signature would see right away was bad.

Nonetheless, a very large portion of the premium items listed here appear fully legitimate and, in many cases, some of the better pieces I have seen enter the memorabilia market in the last few years.

My advice would be to review and compare each signature independently and disregard whether they have a BAS LOA or not.

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Permalink Reply by Michael on December 7, 2018 at 11:11am

I’m honestly starting to really be turned off to this hobby and think it’s a waste of money and time. It can get very discouraging. What’s the point of even using authentication then if we are being told to disregard LOAs?  What are we supposed to compare to? We aren’t the ones with databases or exemplars like authenticators have.  What proof is there when the whole concept is based on opinion anyway?  Seems to me there’s almost no point to the hobby unless one gets an item in person themselves.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on December 7, 2018 at 11:22am

The hobby is, and always has been, based on opinions. TPA services do the best they can although try to cover too much territory. If you are looking for absolutes I suggest you only collect in person autographs.

I believe that TPA certs currently give more security to sellers and, as long as they maintain market confidence, the collector as well. 

No one can predict the future but I do know there will never be a perfect solution. The more I learn about this hobby the more conservative I'm becoming. I'd rather pass on a borderline autograph than take the risk.

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Permalink Reply by Michael on December 7, 2018 at 11:29am

You’re right in all you say but it’s just becoming too overwhelming and discouraging to me.  TPAs are supposed to provide a sense of security as you said - the most well known being PSA, JSA, and Beckett at the moment.  Yet at the same time I hear some praise PSA or Beckett while others slam them - all on this same forum. It becomes well who do you believe? It can make one’s head spin.  And it’s even worse when different TPAs disagree on the same piece

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Steffman on December 7, 2018 at 11:55am

Two questions to ponder:

* What percentage of unauthenticated autographs for sale online are actually fake?

* What percentage of authenticated autographs for sale online are actually fake?

Regardless of people's general complaints about authentication services, I think anyone of reasonable mind would agree that the answer to question number one is very large and the answer to question number two is small. That is where the value is.

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Steffman on December 7, 2018 at 11:41am

Expert opinions are supposed to be informed by facts. Facts should be every aspect of the signature relative to the same factor amongst each sample in an authentic pool. Each factor should be broken down and it's individual likelihood of occurrence then becomes factually evident. "This happens set % of the time" for instance.

When a signature appears on the market with a TPA LOA and the signature shows factors that have an extremely low to non-existent occurrence rates relative to a properly sourced authentic sample pool, then this tells us 1 or 2 things:

1) The TPA's pool may contain bad samples.

2) The authenticator did not do his job.

For me, personally, because this happens often enough, I do not consider authentication stickers as a factor that is relevant when I am concluding whether an item appears to be authentic or not. However, items that do not have any authentication do have a much greater likelihood of being a forgery. Maybe then, my advice is not meant so much for the general collector, as it is for those who are prepping for a proper signature study.

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