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Worth it to add autograph grade with PSA?

Hi,

I recently sent off a group Beatles auto to PSA. I was curious if it is worth paying the extra $$ for them to grade the autos? I currently don't have them doing it but wanted to see if there was maybe a consensus on this.

Thanks in advance.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 10, 2016 at 9:09am

Hi,

Well, to reach a consensus you'll need many opinions. With that in mind, for me, it would do nothing. What is the fee for this? I have never submitted anything in my time as a collector of autographs, coins etc. If it's a good piece, a 1-10 number is not going to help "set it apart" as far as I can see. This grade seems a blending of condition, placement, contrast etc...but with each piece essentially being unique to itself, I don't quite see what a 1-10 number that is trying to express multiple variables simultaneously is going to do. Not sure about vintage and recent signatures using the same criterion either. Others?

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on October 10, 2016 at 9:31am

+1 Eric. I don't even understand the process I guess.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 10, 2016 at 9:44am

Hi Adam,

Nor me - probably best. I looked enough to see I did not like what I was reading. I would not spend $75 for a 1-10 number! I see they want $150 to authenticate...panoramic photographs? As a collector of rare vintage panoramic and stereoscopic photographs, that is...insulting. How could I even collect them if I did not know it was genuine...myself? This implies...well. No need here.

How does one crack out a slabbed autograph? Same techniques as a coin? I'd like my David Gilmour to...Breathe :)

I really just want to liberate it.

Eric

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Permalink Reply by KJR on October 10, 2016 at 9:54am

Thanks for the responses.

I have noticed on eBay there are some with grades and some with not. I was just curious more than anything if having the grade made the auto more attractive in the long run.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on October 10, 2016 at 10:56am

Personally I guess I would care for most that the autograph was genuine, I would maybe care about placement and what it was signed on. I guess I just wouldn't care about a numbering system attached to it. However I also don't care much for slabs either.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on October 10, 2016 at 12:48pm

You grade baseball cards not autographs. I dont believe this is important to most music collectors, psa may grade something thats been restored, that would be a concern for me.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 10, 2016 at 1:03pm

Don't get me wrong, I think the condition/"grade"/qualities to be found in an autograph are VERY important, I just don't think they can be expressed simultaneously across the board in any meaningful way with this "shorthand" and I won't pay for something I can determine myself. I care what I think about my graphs (re condition in this context), what you guys think about my graphs...not what anyone thinks PSA/DNA thinks...that's a stretch I'm not making.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on October 10, 2016 at 1:12pm

I agree.
I dont subscribe to psa dna, they make millions of dollars annually as it is. I just think too many collectors are sold on it, they buy an autograph, have it authenticated and the next thing they want to sell for 100 times what they paid for it. Thanks psa dna and jsa for pushing up the prices.

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Permalink Reply by James on October 11, 2016 at 11:06pm

To me, the grading of the autograph is kind of a gimmick really, especially if the autograph is one done on paper. It is really just a gimmick for sellers to try to get more money, and sadly sometimes it works. But more often than not an autograph that has been signed with a felt-tip pen or a marker on paper will remain very bold for decades. So an autograph done on paper with a marker much of the time will get a 9 or 10, and a seller will boast its appeal, rarity, and significance, and charge 50% or more for it. But if you look around you will find the same quality of autograph ungraded for much less. But they're both the same!

Case in point: recently a simple JFK cut with the inscription "USS" for U.S. Senate sold for $4500 by PressPass Collectibles. The cut was graded but PSA as A Gem Mint 10. Some uninformed buyer overpaid by about $3000 just because the capsule said "Gem Mint 10". That piece was worth maybe around $1500-$2000, but the buyer paid 3x the value for nothing but a gimmick. No one should be paying $4500 for a simple cut!