Is Fanatics Authentics similar to Tristar? Or does Fanatics Sell Tristar items? Basically...is Fanatics signed merchandise legit? I believe they are. Am I right?
Absolutely legit. They participate in many of the shows and have exclusive agreements with many of today’s top athletes. Probably about five years ago, mlb entered into a long term licensing and merchandising agreement with Fanatics.
But like Steiner & Tristar, if you're buying direct from them (even when they're running "sales"), you're probably overpaying.
There may be an exception here & there, but, for the most part, I haven't seen a signed item being sold by Fanatics directly (even during their "up to 50% off" sales) at anything resembling what I'd consider a good price--even taking the iron clad COA into account.