We are an eBay affiliate and may be compensated for clicks on links that result in purchases.

What has happened to PSA/DNA Authentication??

This 1967 Red Sox Team signed baseball is being advertised as "the finest example on earth". If I were making a statement like that, I would want it to be associated with an item that contained authentic signatures. That is not the case here, despite the fact that PSA/DNA has deemed this ball "authentic".

You have to look no than the two keys, Yaz and Tony C., to realize this ball has several "clubhouse" signatures.

Here is the laughable Yaz:

Now look at the Tony Conigliaro:

Here is the PSA cert:

For comparison, here are authentic Yaz and Tony C signatures from the same time period:

I realize that all the TPA's make mistakes, but there is no excuse for this ridiculous opinion. In addition to the two keys, there are other clubhouse signatures on the ball that are not identified as such.

This ball is currently being listed on Ebay for almost 10K, and on Steiner Sports for over 15K.

It is entirely possible that someone with cash to spare, and who is a huge Red Sox fan, could splurge and go for this because of the PSA cert, and the Steiner name and reputation.

My message to not just PSA/DNA but all legitimate TPA's. You are doing no one a favor by putting your name on something that you are not certain, based on years of education and studying, is authentic. You all need to get better!

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on December 7, 2019 at 4:41pm

The problem is also us, as collectors, put so much faith and emphasis in these companies to give us a strong and educated "expert" opinion. We are actually shooting ourselves in the foot by giving them power in what is no longer a hobby, but an industry. It is a hobby when we collect for fun, do our research, get opinions from other collectors that have studied habits and are willing to spread the wealth of their knowledge to new collectors.

It is an industry when we feed these corporations based on the perspective value that a sticker may grant us and our items based on which TPA service has the greater following on any given day. I am not saying there isn't a place for these services, but yes, it is only a matter of time that reputations start to flounder with bad judgement calls and it is the collector left holding the ball.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 7, 2019 at 4:46pm

+1 Agree.

I just carefully removed a JSA or BAS sticker from the back of my new Lillian Gish. Quite sticky in the middle, but doable if you have skills with a blade. I simply did not like what it said or suggested about me and my collection. OMMV

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike on December 8, 2019 at 11:56am

Sadly enough this particular item does not seem to be a 'mistake' authentication by PSA/DNA. This item is being sold by eBay id showpiecessports who is just a mini Press Pass Collectibles. If you see their other items, they have MANY high end items with full PSA/DNA certification that are highly suspect at best, and laughable at worst. Just like on the PSA grading side where many sellers get subpar condition cards graded much higher, someone at PSA/DNA is green-lighting horrible high end forgeries/clubhouse signatures as fully authentic for a select group of sellers. This is a much bigger problem than the abilities of whoever the top secret authenticators are at PSA/DNA at the current time. This appears to be flat out fraud versus lack of ability.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on December 8, 2019 at 2:55pm

Mike, we have noticed the same trend. and it appears not to be limited to just one TPA. By rubber stamping for certain high volume sellers, they are lowering themselves to the cellar along with companies like GFA and GAI. Apparently they don't care, they get paid anyway. The losers are the collectors who will one day realize their certified items have been greatly devalued. In plain English, it sucks.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by James on December 8, 2019 at 5:40pm

I mentioned this in another discussion a few months ago, but it bears repeating. I was going through a large volume seller’s inventory and saw several questionable signed photos that were passed by Beckett.

So I sent the seller a message asking if Beckett ever failed anything he sent in. His response was, “You figure it out!”

I would say his statement speaks volumes.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by James on December 8, 2019 at 5:47pm

I will also repeat that I want the “legitimate” TPAs to succeed. If things are done properly, they aid in the buying and selling of autographs by acting as a referee in the hobby. Buyers should be able to look at one of their LOAs and generally have confidence that what they are buying is real.

Without these LOAs, it makes buying and selling autographs more challenging particularly for less experienced collectors.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dan Morris on December 9, 2019 at 4:32pm

Great point. You only need to look at certain eBay sellers who have thousands of items each week with PSA, JSA or Beckett authentication and this site and others have shown many examples of obvious fakes being certed but they keep doing it. I'd love to one day see an authenticator explain their reasons but as it's an opinion they will keep getting away with it

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jason Strecker on December 8, 2019 at 2:11pm

I really hope the better business bureau investigates PSA and JSA sometime. Not just for a mistake of this type but for their many other mistakes which can be viewed on the "hauls of shame" website.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on December 8, 2019 at 2:31pm

Seems like this is a somewhat low risk business when it comes to declining quality. They can always play the "everyone makes mistakes" card whenever convenient, and they likely don't even have to nearly as much as they should. Also, how many other businesses are there out there who can charge what they do for literally doing nothing in so many instances?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on December 11, 2019 at 2:19pm

The TPA issue just drives me nuts. Personally, I don't care about TPAs. I know how to research an autograph and the vast majority in my and my son's collection were obtained in person. However, they are important in the current market. And I have to assume they might be years or decades from now if my son ever wants to sell any given item.

Just Saturday my son and I went to a public signing. PSA was there charging $10 for witnessed authentication. I don't care about the $10. What got me was they refused to put the sticker in an inconspicuous location. They insisted it must be on the jersey number with the autograph. Supposedly to assure I don't remove the number and place a forged autographed number in it's place. Which is absurd given than it is a game used Spring Training jersey which is substantially more valuable than the autograph. But that's neither here nor there. I had about 30 seconds to decide if I wanted to decline the sticker. If PSA loses it's reputation in the future, I doubt I will be able to remove it without leaving a mark. But if I decline, I will not have the "witnessed" authentication. Which, at least currently, substantially increases the value.

That's where I am at with TPAs. I want no part of them. But the market, at least now, pays a huge premium. We're kind of stuck with whatever they are now and hope PSA doesn't become the next GAI/GA. I still HATE having that damn sticker on there.