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How do you feel about this? To "sticker" or not to "sticker' ... that is the question............

This signed Paul Newman was once a part of my collection at one point.  As you can see, it had a third party authentication sticker adhered to it when a previous owner had used that particular authentication service.  

How do you feel about the use of stickers like this?  The person who had this done had gone to the trouble to submit the photo and invest in the service.  They had chosen to have the label attached so that information would prominently remain as a part of the history of the piece.  Many items have these kind of stickers on them and many more on the verso of a given photo.

One advantage I can think of is if you lose the accompanying certificate or letter from the TPA, you have the sticker on the item itself to show it passed authentication.  Is this a good practice....perhaps it even increases the desirability of the piece?  oes this take away from the aesthetic of the item?  Or perhaps it makes no difference at all?

I'd be interested to hear thoughts from members......

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Mat it and leave the sticker where it's at would be my suggestion.

fugly put it on the back  or u have to frame it out

The sticker should NEVER be placed on the front of a photo or paper IMO. Submitters have a choice of where the sticker is placed and I recommend it on the back. If someone gets a letter upgrade they can also choose the leave the sticker on the letter and then they can apply it wherever they want or not at all.

I think the sticker on the front degrades the photo and the "visible" sticker does more harm than good.

Here's one that is really leaves me feeling sad as the first thing my eyes focus on is the sticker:

Unfortunate.

Authentication stickers do not bother me.

They do not bother me but the sticker on the front does not enhance the piece. In the Newman photo they should have put it on the lower left side. I have many items I have purchased with stickers on the front. Not my favorite location though.

Why wouldn't companies put it on the back? Crazy. I DO LOVE...the stickers...on the cover of books you get that are signed. Since we're not framing the signature (which is a few pages in), it only adds to the authenticty that you bought a "signed book" on pre-order or whatever.

To paraphrase Milos Forman, "...if it's real, it's real..."

Or Goldhat "...We don't need no stinkin' badges..."

I wouldn't put 100% stock into stickers on the front of books being incontrovertible proof that a signed book is legitimate -- I've seen plenty of "Signed First Edition", "Signed Copy" and "Autographed Copy" stickers associated with EBay and FB Marketplace listings that were probably purchased in rolls off Amazon or another specialty website.

The caveat is signed book stickers that can be definitively tied to a bookstore chain -- by and large, these come from the bookstore chain directly, and are only intended for internal usage. (e.g. Waterstones' "Signed by the Author" black-and-white label with the logo, Indigo's blue-and-white "Signed by Author" sticker, etc.)

I have a signed copy of Lauren Bacall's "Now" that can be traced to Liberties Bookstore in Florida, an independent store that existed up until the mid-to-late 2000s. They had special "Liberties Autographed" stickers that helped me find out where the book was signed, and there was even a Youtube video from the promotion of the signing event on YT. Doubleday Book Stores in the U.S. also had special gold stickers with their logo -- I have a signed copy of the 1st printing of Margaret Atwood's "Alias Grace" that has a "Doubleday" sticker on the front and back of the book, but they are nicely placed (over otherwise-blank space of the book) and add to the design.

A trend I've seen in recent years (as evidenced on this forum) are bookstores selling "Autographed Editions" with different ISBNs to the regular printing, and sometimes having special stickers with the alternate ISBN over the standard barcode.

I hate authentication stickers. They are pure arrogance (or ignorance) when placed on the front, and I have seen them placed on small items directly next to an autograph. They can also possibly damage an item over a long period of time (adhesive, irregular expansion/contraction of the paper due to the sticker, etc.).

I have also seen two different stickers on an item. It seems many companies use these now, so if some obscure grader adds one, some people feel it necessary to have a larger company also authenticate it. 

I own one item with a sticker, and only because that particular item was commonly stickered and it was not expensive. 

Joe W. is correct, put it on the back or let them put it on the LOA. The sticker or letter helps reap the most profit from the high grade autograph, there is no need to advertise the third party up front.. I also agree with Eric with doing the homework yourself, but a lot of collectors today who can't clean their own homes, cut their own grass, or collect their own groceries…..are suckers for the many fakes on the net….In my humble opinion.

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