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GFA/Tony Podsada in the news...

Here is an article on ESPN about Muhammad Ali signatures & forgeries.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/17101800/debate-muhammad-ali...

Surprisingly, GFA's Steven Rocchi answered some questions for this article, which I found hilarious. Check out some of his quotes:

"That company is GFA. Stephen Rocchi, who founded and runs the company, says he stands by every signature that GFA authenticates, and if someone claims what they bought was fake, he'll buy it back from them. He's only had to do that once since 2011, he says, with a Mickey Mantle autograph that he still believes was authentic.

Rocchi says his company gets bashed because, unlike the leaders in the industry, he said he doesn't let politics get in the way of authenticating pieces.

"We don't pay attention to how many autographs someone brings to us or who they are," Rocchi said. "We make it only about the autograph. We have exemplars, we match the autograph in front of us to the exemplars and have 15 points of authentication and if it matches, we call it real. We don't have deals with auction companies like the other guys do, and we don't know dealers. It's better that way."

When told that competitor JSA failed a GFA-certified Ali signature at a recent show, a signature that had been bought on eBay after Ali's death, Rocchi said that's because "our competition will fail anything with our sticker."

Check out these quotes from Tony Podsada:

"Podsada's items do not come with a certificate of authenticity. Disenchanted with the authentication business, Podsada said he merely offers buyers the assurance that it's a "decorative item only."

"I believe what I have is real, but I don't guarantee anything because I know too much," Podsada said."

LMAO!

Here are a few other interesting tidbits from the article:

"EBay does not pull auctions itself, as certain legal rulings have established that the marketplace does not have any legal liability if a person buys a fake on the site"

"EBay maintains that less than .025 percent of its listings in 2014 were identified as being "potentially counterfeit,"

"In the past month, 55 GFA-certified items have sold on eBay. Those items have sold for an average of $106.41 Include the GFA price of $25 for authentication, $20 to Podsada and eBay's 10 percent take and a seller's margin on Ali items, before shipping, is less than $46 per autograph.

Rocchi said he's proud of the low cost that is being delivered to the consumer, saying this is the way it's supposed to be."

Tags: GFA, ali, muhammad, rocchi, stephen

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 21, 2016 at 5:06pm

Post them here.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 21, 2016 at 4:21pm

Here's a GFA-certed Mickey Mantle forgery that was sold by Ebay seller Rbisportsinc.

When does an authentic Mantle (with or without a COA) sell for a paltry $23.49?

When it's an obvious forgery.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mickey-Mantle-Signed-8x10-Photo-Autographed...

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Permalink Reply by AC on July 21, 2016 at 5:01pm

Hey mr Ruff if these are not fakes why has eBay removed EVERY Muhammad Ali signed item. They are even removing the sold ones which means the buyers get a email telling them there's a problem with the item and they should return it for a refund. PayPal are about to become busy refunding a lot of people.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Ruff on July 21, 2016 at 5:06pm

just did an ebay search and over 1500 items come up, i dont know what your question means.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on July 21, 2016 at 5:03pm

Mr. Ruff,

For an average collector you seem to be quite knowledgeable about current and past events of the hobby. Then you should be well aware of the problems and issues concerning forgeries. Why defend this so heavily if you have little or no vested interest in this?

This site renders opinions. If you would spend some time here and possibly review past discussions you will find most of the opinions here are accurate and many collectors have saved thousands of dollars avoiding possible loss of investment when it comes time to sell.

This subject can be debated all day long and if someone's mind is made up nothing is going to change it. Take it for what it's worth.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Ruff on July 21, 2016 at 6:30pm

The Internet is a great tool. I don't believe everything I see or read on the Internet, you just can't. I'm not very knowledgeable but I do research. When I first started collecting cards as a kid, as I'm sure most of us did I had fun with it. Once PSA started I was in college and they really ruined the hobby for me because
as a college kid I needed money and was not able to get the $$ that graded cards got at the time. So I put it all In a closet till about a few years ago.

It doesn't take much, just time to sit and read about the issues all these companies have. Personally I find it disturbing That PSA is considered the end all be all here.

I thank you for stating that this site renders opinions, I can respect opinions, I can't respect statements made and presented as facts. My dad would always say opinions are like as@holes, everyone has one. That's what makes this country great.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on July 21, 2016 at 6:45pm

No one on this site has ever stated or implied that PSA was the "end all". If you would read the discussions there are many which questions PSAs judgement. But, the evidence is overwhelming that the GFA outfit has major problems. The proof is in the prices realized in auctions. There are extremely serious collectors who would snap authentic signatures of Ali, Mantle, etc going at bargain basement prices. Even the less experienced collectors should drive those prices up. The hobby itself, not just this site, has rejected this particular company's certifications to the point that even if every autograph they certified was authentic, it doesn't matter. This site, by itself, does not have that much influence. The total membership here is a drop in the collecting community and would be a burp in the ability to impact final prices. This site didn't write the article, just commented on it.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Ruff on July 21, 2016 at 7:20pm

Well spoken Joe. I've been reading this site for about 4 weeks now and admit I have not read it all. It is implied here very heavily that if its not PSA and few others, then it's fake. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this site in some form is connected to PSA.

I disagree that this site doesn't have much influence, how do you think I found it? In today's world with the Internet it only takes a few key words in Google to complete a search. This site above all others comes up all the time, that's because of the nature of this site and the topics being discussed. Unfortunately most people don't take the time to fully look into something before making a decision. Reading more articles, looking deeper into the who's and whys, having conversations like we are now. So, unfortunately to most of the worlds population their minds are up by what others write and post without knowing if something is true or false.

I don't have dog in this fight, I just see that there seems to too much of the same thing coming from one source (this website) about one company in a industry full of competition. I'm not into conspiracies but it all seems very one sided here

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on July 21, 2016 at 7:55pm

In all the time I have been on this site I have not seen one recommendation that someone submits an item to PSA or JSA. We have commented on both those in the past more often than not in a negative way. Roger Epperson is recommended often for music and I use him simply because I think he is the best with that genre. Phil Sears is second to none with Walt Disney autographs. I personally have never submitted any autograph to PSA or JSA. I come here and, from my personal experience, receive the best most accurate opinions I seen anywhere. I don't think anyone is out to get an individual or company in trouble by offering deliberate falsehoods. From what I've seen this is a dedicated group of experienced collectors who take their time and knowledge to share to others. From what I've seen if the shoe fits wear it.

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on July 21, 2016 at 6:54pm

Mr. Ruff, I certainly do not feel that PSA is the "end all",in fact, I have found PSA and JSA have made many obvious errors in their opinions. I have even pointed out some of them on this site over the years. But I will say that when it comes to certain signatures like Mantle, Dimaggio and Williams, they are very solid and I have never found one time when I felt they erred in an opinion on one of those three.

In the case of the GFA forgeries, I agree with Mr. Williams, I have not seen even ONE authentic Mantle or Dimaggio, or Maris, that carries the GFA sticker. Sorry sir, but that is just the way it is. You will also find that if you research some of the Forensic Document Examiners that certify autographs, most, if not all, are butchers. Look up Drew Max at AAU. Christopher Morales. and there are many others.

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Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on July 27, 2016 at 4:49pm

An opinion is worth the reputation of the party rendering it.

The sellers I deal with online have one thing in common. They sell nothing with a GFA cert. They don't have anything against them personally, but they know they have a terrible reputation and it will actually decrease the value of an authentic item.

You don't need to believe anybody here. Go on eBay. Look at Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter or any other major sports star . Look at the prices of items with Steiner, Upper Deck or PSA certificates. Then look at the same items with a GFA certificate. There is a substantial difference in price. There is a reason for that. The market, as a whole, has a very poor opinion of GFA.

That isn't opinion. That is fact.