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Help! AAU Certified Babe Ruth/Ty Cobb Baseball and 14 HOFer Signed Induction Card Kicked Off eBay

I purchased through an auction house a signed Babe Ruth/Ty Cobb baseball and a HOF's signed induction card with 14 signatures. These items came with a COA from AAU, Drew Max, Pawn Stars authenicator. I put these on Ebay, only to be kicked off because their 3rd party authenticators said they were fakes. After some research, I found out that Ebay does not recognize "Forensic Examiners"...why. They are far more educated in this arena than those other so called experts. So I go to a well established auction house, they send those items out to PSA along with some others I know for sure are authentic because I have pics of the individuals signing the items. Not to my surprise, all but one comes back not authenticated. Even the ones I know are for real...so much for PSA. Anyway, I contacted AAU and the president, Marc Goldman emails me to give him a call, I do. He states that all the above forementioned items are real and that he will go to court with me to prove such. He also stated that Ebay had contacted them in 1997-98 to be their 3rd party authenticator, they turned them down...hence the snub on Ebay. He also stated that I should sell these with a clear mind, that I am not frauding anyone. So who do I believe? Oh, and the orginal auction house says that they sold me an authentic items. These items are worth, between 40,000 and 50,000 if real. So any adivice? I'm seriously thinking of hiring a lawyer. It's not about money, but principal.

Disgusted

Tags: PSA, aau, babe ruth, drew max, eBay, hof, induction, psa, ty cobb

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 25, 2012 at 4:18pm

Well written, Harry. Ron bought them cheap and then he was hoping to flip them on Ebay for a nice profit.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 25, 2012 at 4:20pm

Read this article that I wrote, Ron, about your Forensic Examiner:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/drew-max-forensic-...

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on July 25, 2012 at 4:49pm

If you have been around the hobby long enough, and not just looking to make a quick buck, you would have seen large quantities of AAU certified items that were pure crap, kind of like the items you purchased. So based on that we draw our conclusions about the abilities of these "forensic examiners".

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Permalink Reply by DB on July 25, 2012 at 3:49pm

I found out that Ebay does not recognize "Forensic Examiners"...why. is not an accurte statement. There are only a few on the banned list with one being Morales. I don't know who is providing that information from ebay. As far as AAU is concerned I don't see them on any banned list but I don't know if they are being "swept" off listings which is a possibility but a closely held "secret"

Do post the original information that was provided that indicated the original sentence above.

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Permalink Reply by DB on July 25, 2012 at 4:15pm

Ron - it's not all inclusive Forensic Examiners...

One entry says;

Forensic Document Services that if memory serves me correctly is a specific company relating to James Bellino...

The problem of the banned list is that there can be misinterpretation and they could make it alot easier. For example if you look up ACE Authentic you will find a golf company but they don't mean that but rather Autograph Certification Experts (Justin priddy).

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Permalink Reply by Fuddjcal on July 25, 2012 at 4:37pm

oh Ronny boy...live and learn. It only took you 50K to figure it out. No biggie. To quote Howard Sterns's Father.... "I told you not to be stupid you moron. Sit down, shut up!"....lol

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on July 25, 2012 at 7:45pm

LOL

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 25, 2012 at 4:57pm

Please don't beat Ron up because he may have been taken. He willingly posted his autographs, so he sure sounds legit to me. If you want to help collectors who may have been burned, don't scare them away by treating them like the bad guys.

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on July 25, 2012 at 4:58pm

Steve, maybe we were a little harsh on him, but he did cop an attitude when the guys were trying to help. he just didn't get what he wanted out of this.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 25, 2012 at 5:09pm

Harry, you're right, Ron did come with a chip on his shoulder. But there's a lot of disinformation out there, by people who are experts at communicating it. Unless it's unquestionably clear, let's give people a chance to figure out which way is north before laying into them. I think it will pay dividends for the autograph community in the long run.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 25, 2012 at 4:59pm

All I can say, Ron, if you're unhappy with the autographs, get your money back. If you're unable to get a refund, then you may have to take further action.