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In our previous episode, we discussed some of the drawbacks that might be associated with relying on a Quick Opinion from PSA/DNA. The author of a previous discussion was confused about the possible authenticity of a Paul McCartney autograph with inscription when PSA QO returned "Likely Not Genuine", but Roger Epperson said it was authentic.

The consensus said to go with Roger's opinion and not PSA QO. Many people had less than flattering things to say about PSA's QO service. One member (me)even called it worthless, while noting that PSA's full service, on the other hand, had many merits to it. I also wondered how many legitimate sellers had lost potential sales of authentic items because of PSA QO. And I also noted that PSA QO also often shied buyers away from good items.

So here is one of the best (or worst) examples of how PSA QO can really ruin things for a buyer who is looking for a good deal on an authentic John Lennon autograph.

Some time not too long ago, a friend of mine won an auction (can't remember if it was on eBay or in an auction house) for a Beatles Fan Club letter that was signed on the reverse by John and Yoko. He won it for about $1200. The autographs were in good condition. However, the signatures had not been authenticated. So my friend paid for a PSA QO, and it came back, as so often it does, "Likely Not Genuine". So that scared him off, and he used that excuse to back out of the deal.

Well, the next thing he knows is that that same John and Yoko item is now on sale on eBay by PressPass collectibles for $3299, and it comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA!
A piece he could have bought for $1200 is now being offered, fully-authenticated, for over $2000 more, by the same company whose Quick Opinion service rejected it! Yes, PSA's QO really screwed my friend. Here's a link to the current sale:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/John-Lennon-Yoko-Ono-Signed-7x9-5-Beatles-F...

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You could be right big dealers have to pay people to scour e bay all day long looking for buys authenticators are being given great leads to items without having to do the hours of searching its probably not company policy but i bet the odd employee has done it or just clicked on the item and bought it themselves and returned a false likely not genuine to the unsuspecting customer    

Civil conspiracy! 

Psa is a rip off sham stay away

I know a few people who have seen PSA/ DNA Quick Opinion say Likely Not Genuine on items they submit to them only to see the same items sold weeks later with a sticker or full letter from PSA. 

There is collusion between PSA and certain sellers without any doubt but proving it is almost impossible as I've seen sellers in America and here in New Zealand who can get almost anything authenticated even when PSA Quick Opinion has said likely not genuine for others.

I'd love PSA to come clean and to hear how many QO's come back as real or not genuine and just how some sellers get authentication when others are told the item is not real but we all know they'll never say anything!

Unfortunately, I think this situation is getting worse by the day.  This all is very bad for the hobby.  Little by little the TPAs are going to lose their legitimacy, and if and when they lose that, their businesses will implode.  And those of us who possess some items backed by their LOAs will see the value of our items suffer as well.  Hopefully, this won’t come to pass, but the TPAs need to make a course correction soon.

Strangely, the John and Yoko signed item is no longer in the verification database. If you enter AB06377, it says “the certification number provided has been intentionally DEACTIVATED in the database.” I had never seen that before, even when a certification was retracted.

EDIT: I looked up another cert # that had been deactivated and it returned that same message. It must be fairly new, as I recently looked up that cert # and it said “Item not found.”

That’s really interesting.  I wonder what prompted that.  What would cause an item, previously authenticated to become deactivated?  Would this possibly come about perhaps as the result of an auction bringing a questionable item to PSA’s attention?

Regarding the other item I mentioned, I was able to convince PSA that it isn’t authentic, and it was subsequently removed from the verification database.

Kudos to you for helping clean up the hobby!  

Thanks. It took quite a while to get it removed. I tried it a second time with what I believe was equally strong proof, but nothing happened. Based on the response, I doubt that anyone even looked into it. I don’t think I would try again.

Psa is rip off stay away

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