Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Myke Furhman on December 5, 2011 at 1:37pm

I sorted from highest price to lowest, to see what he's got... I have a lot of problems, although I do see some that do appear like they could be real... but overall, I'd stay away.

That being said... the most expensive two items are Tiger Woods signed pieces, which I don't like the look of at all.  First thing is a Tiger Woods signed SI magazine... the mag was "signed" in 2005, which is four years after Tiger signed his exclusivity deal with UDA.  He also has a flag, which Tiger "signed" upside down... first thing's first, Tiger's not going around and signing for fans, he's not going to risk losing millions from Upper Deck to make his fans happy.  And look at the sig... nothing like Tiger.  I have a signed PGA Championship flag in my office, right next to me... and that sig (which is UDA authentic and PSA graded) looks nothing like the one he's selling.

I also don't like the Kobe signed ball (http://www.ebay.com/itm/KOBE-BRYANT-SIGNED-BASKETBALL-SPALDING-LOS-...)... just looks sloppy

The Darrelle Revis helmet looks nothing like any other JSA or PSA signature out there... no way that's real.  (http://www.ebay.com/itm/DARRELLE-REVIS-SIGNED-NEW-YORK-JETS-MINI-HE...)

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on December 5, 2011 at 2:06pm

I thought it was just me.  The thing that made me cautious was the jerome bettis signature.  Bettis puts a lot of effort to make his signature presentable, and always uses his 36 hologram on everything he signs.  Looks putrid in my opinion (http://www.ebay.com/itm/JEROME-BETTIS-SIGNED-AUTOGRAPHED-PHOTO-PITT...)- Thanks for your input Myke much appreciated!

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Permalink Reply by Myke Furhman on December 5, 2011 at 2:22pm

Not a problem... for the most part, any good seller with real autos would send them to PSA and spend a max of $100 to guarantee at least double the profit.... you can't trust ANY autograph unless you have it signed in YOUR presence, and you can't trust ANY seller who says it was signed in their presence... even though it probably was signed in their presence... in their basement, by their own hand!

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Permalink Reply by 029r4yc06b4rr on December 13, 2011 at 3:21pm

Mike, you know ive wondered about that too. I often make it a habit now to check ebay and see what is being sold authenticated by PSA and JSA as far as music goes in the low price range. And i have seen on more than one occasion 11 by 14s signed by Neil Young, Eddie Vedder, etc with starting bids of 9.99.  And normally they dont bring but around 60 bucks at most. I paid about 150 for my neil young from roger and when i saw the neil youngs on ebay going for so low, i was like, geeze did i way overpay. But that is typically what you see his autographed priced at, right at 150 or so. So i just dont know, the PSA cert matches up on the items, but how can they afford to sell for so low? I dont know if theirs something to it all, or if its just someone wanting to get rid of their private collection in a hurry. Any thoughts?

Chris

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Permalink Reply by 029r4yc06b4rr on December 14, 2011 at 12:24am

Thanks for the reply Mike. That sounds logical. To me Neil was worth 150 so i cant complain at all. The sig i was sold was also an especially nice example of his first and last name signed in completion and very legible. A whole lot better than some i have seen with just a squiggle. I wish i would see someone with a couple Dylans up for sale for 9.99, thatd truly make my day, lol.

Chris

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on December 14, 2011 at 7:18pm

An opinion isn't slander, and I am not affecting the business of the individual.  I have several Bettis autographs in my collection and that one seems off in my OPINION (and he does use his hologram all the time even out on the street to prevent forgeries)  Too many people throw the " in person " bs with no photo proof and their own COA, no buyer's reassurance in that.  I agree 100% with what Myke says, you just can't know a signature is real unless you were there to see it signed.  The items in person goes from Tiger Woods (who can't legally sign since he is exclusive to UD) to Ibrahimovic (a soccer player).  Maybe they are real, maybe not, but I set up this post for opinions, and an opinion is what it is- an opinion, not slander.  

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Permalink Reply by Rick Meyer on December 14, 2011 at 8:30pm

Bettis signed 100 jerseys for the US Army to present to Soldiers. He didnt stick holograms on any of them. A few of us got him to sign things the same time he didnt stick holograms on any of it.

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on December 15, 2011 at 10:32am

You seem mad.  I've been collecting football autographs for over 15 years, and while I learn everyday, I am no novice to the hobby.  Appreciate it if you could quit with the "you know nothing" in caps lock, really insufficient for your argument's sake.  Not one place did I say this guy is forging, I am just shaky on his pieces, which is why I posted this discussion.  On another note, the way you define slander is quite odd, took some law classes back in day and slander by definition in the law sense is defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing.  Not one place did I say this guy is a forger, and buyer's choice is my opinion and I will choose to stay away since I just have a fishy hunch in the material up for sale, that's all.  When I see such a variety of autographs, different sports, none authenticated, all "in person"- a red flag automatically goes up.  If you really knew autographs, the same red flag would go off in your head.  Your description of Tiger Woods further strengthens this argument, if Tiger is so "tough," a red flag would be up in my head when I see more than a couple of Tiger autographs with no authentication.  I'm not hear to argue, but to further learn about autographs, and I was trying to buy an autograph outside of my normal field of baseball and football, which is why I asked opinions of this seller.  Did not come here for bashing by you, or anyone else for that matter; if anything it is you who is doing the slandering here Mr. Aring.  I'll give you a signed baseball of your choice from my collection if you manage to find anywhere in this discussion where I berated this seller's business by calling him a "forger."  Thanks.  

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on December 15, 2011 at 10:36am

That's nice of him, a classy man he is.  Recently, he chooses to put the bus "36" holo on all of his items in order to combat forgeries.  Due to the nature of this signing for the ARMY, I guess he chose not to.  When buying Bettis, you have to look for the flow and the sizes of the "J" and "B" are nearly identical in every piece he signs.  I prefer to collect the traditional "sit down" signatures he signs as they are neater, more presentable.  I've seen many that look different than this style, and it doesn't mean they are forgeries.  Thanks for your input.  -Mike.  

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on December 15, 2011 at 11:12am

I see where you are getting at, and I agree.  PSA is used as a crutch for both collectors and dealers, and I lean towards them for pieces that I am interested in the genre that I really don't know much about (at the time I wanted a European football piece, so really had very little knowledge of the athlete's signature).  

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Permalink Reply by Myke Furhman on December 15, 2011 at 12:11pm

Sorry for "suddenly disappearing"... I gave my opinion and didn't see much more value in my participating in this argument.  Perhaps Tiger does sign outside of his UDA deal, but without a cert, I wouldn't go near it... it's just a matter of preference.

Items that I get signed to sell I pay the small fee and have them certed and stickered... items I got signed in person and intend to keep I couldn't care less if they're stickered, since I know I got them personally.  It's moreso a practice I have to cover my bases, and to ensure that conversations like this don't even need to happen around items I'm trying to make a buck on.

All I'm saying is that, not only does it help raise the value of your items, but it also helps to lower concerns surrounding them.  Yes, perhaps I was a bit harsh, but compared to the Tiger sigs I have, I wasn't a fan of what I saw, and again, it's just my opinion.

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