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Permalink Reply by Jason H 6 hours ago

One issue with Grad is he authenticates preprints, and or, the seller could make a reproduction associated with a Grad authentication. I see it as a money grab while he's building a quick opinion business while becket is conveniently under maintenance.. as a buyer, ill never take an item authenticated by him seriously.. but then again, I don't trust any TPA. have to research everything yourself. People who know how to authenticate will know if your item is real or not without authentication but it must be inspected in person to be sure its not a reproduction. Grad can not be relied on for this. But honestly none of them can..

9 years ago I purchased a JSA authenticated Ghostbusters cast photo for $500. Thought I could finally put my ultimate quest to rest. It arrived. JSA sticker looked legit but the photo was a preprint. Had to fight for my money back. It was difficult at first but the seller caved and made it easy in the end. It broke my heart. Hopefully Bill Murray will cooperate with me one of these days but thats another story. 

I honestly don't care if things are authenticated or not but may pay a little extra to have the authenticated one vs an identical non authenticated item because (as of now) it future proofs reselling for my family if something happens to me.. 

I'm probably not the right person to answer this honestly but I know there are others like me.. I also know every TPA has its own fanbase and this includes Grad.. so the value will increase if one of his fanboys are interested in your item. 

Short answer to your question, its basically yes and no. Depends on the item, depends on how its sold.. a lot of items sold the right way I believe will fetch the same price without any authentication at all.

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Permalink Reply by DR Dougherty 3 hours ago

Thanks for the reply.  I understand that someone could make a copy of the letter, but why . The picture of the item is on the letter and it would be almost impossible to duplicate the autograph item who's picture is on the letter. Let say it's a Mantle autographed ball. How would they make an exact copy of the Mantle ball to match the letter. Plus you can look up Grads letter of authenticity online to make sure the item matches the letter. So sure they could make their own copy but it would never match what's loaded on Grads site. Just like your experience with JSA did you check the online JSA site to make sure the item you received matched the picture on the JSA site? Thanks again for your response. 

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Permalink Reply by Jason H 2 hours ago

Baseballs are tough but not exactly impossible. I can give you info on how this can be done over DM. Wont post it on here to give ideas to others.

Also, of course I checked the JSA website. The exact same ghostbusters item was pictured. It was either a very good replica of a sticker, the seller figured out how to peel the sticker clean to place on a reproduction, or JSA made a mistake. Ill never know. 

Photos are easy. Reproductions are always the first thing I check for any item purchased online regardless of authentication. I study fraud heavily over the last few decades especially. My wife is an artist who sells prints of her art and other creations. I run the machines for her in the background. I stay up to date with the newest technology so she can make the best creations. I predicted an autopen that would eventually have different pressures as soon as silhouette and cricut machines came out because pressure on them can be adjusted. The only thing missing is holding a pen on an angle and running the correct software that adjusts aspects on the fly.. and now we have such autopen machines. The question is, who will get their hands on them? Preorder releases can be compared with each other for now but how will TPAs combat the one off signatures created with these machines using perfect templates?  Seriously, this hobby is in trouble and anyone using these machines could potentially kill major aspects of this hobby. 

I have figured out ways to reproduce most items including art cards because of my knowledge with printing and the different types of papers available on the market. I refuse to be a victim again so i think like a criminal but reality is, Im an honest guy. Swore to myself when I was a teen id never forge an autograph in any way because I didn't want some other kid feeling the way I felt when I found out I wasted my money on a forgery.. a B.J.Armstrong rookie card.. haha.. the Bulls meant the world to me back then. I was just starting out. Glad I didn't have the money to spend on Jordan yet. It would have been a waste until I gained enough knowledge. I was conned a few more times. The last being 2008 when I purchased a James Cameron autograph and blanked once it arrived on if it was a reproduction. I set it aside and when I got back to it, the time ran out to contest on ebay. I was so mad at myself.

Im confident I haven't been fooled on ebay purchases since but im always going through my collection to be sure every now and then.

Preorders are a different story and why I try to help fight them as much as possible. Im just swamped these days. Actually thought I was done collecting in general this summer but im not sure how to stay away. This is what I know and I love researching when I can. 

Sorry I went on a bit much but this hobby is what I love and im very passionate about it.

 

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Permalink Reply by DR Dougherty 1 hour ago

I agree,  with the new printers and a little knowledge no letters of authenticity are safe from certain people making copies and cheating people.  For someone to copy a JSA letter along with the the item only proves nothing is truly guaranteed.  Thank you for your imput.  Sincerely Don 

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Permalink Reply by DR Dougherty 1 hour ago

The only thing I know for sure is to stay away from those Facebook groups who charge people money for their opinions on autographs.  Those Facebook guys are constantly making mistakes and have no formal training.  They use AI and sometimes I think they flip a coin when it comes to verifying autographs. 

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