According to an email I got, the reason was they never applied...
But this is the long standing issue... are authentication services
worth it or totally a waste of time?. Why send your money to a company
who's had so many problems? It means that obviously you are banking
on whomever will buy your item that has been passed by them will
impress the buyer? You could make up your own letter then in my
opinion stating you researched the item yourself and guarantee it to
be authentic. Most collectors are just impressed with any COA... and
as long as you'll stand by your word, it's almost as good as anyone
elses.
I wonder what it would take to have really GOOD authentication.
Obviously, this is a field where we are lacking and thus a suspect
hobby to get in. Or is it like Art and Antiques where you CAN give an
informed opinon? To me, yes, you can give an opinion but it's very
subjective but you can do some things. When they authenticate say the
guy's baseballs (see link Mr. B posted), the COULD say when the ball
was manufactured and if the timeframe is consistent with the dates the
guy was signing baseballs. They should keep a databank of all
recorded incidents of signings (ie if Willie Mays was on QVC and all
the facts surrounding it, or if he signed at s****ts shows etc and the
dates). Combine with other data like facts "always personalized",
"never used ball point" or any other facts they know and contact the
players, if still living and do thorough interviews with them on the
subject and try to get something going within the field to
"standardize" signings. They should also quiz the person (have them
fill out a questionnaire) submitting the article. For instance, they
need to ask where they got the item from and what information came
along with it (story, photos, receipts or proof). I always ask these
questions. From there you can tell indeed if a story is ridiculous.
If they said Willy Mays signed that ball at this location on such and
such a date and you have in your data bank that Willie Mays was out in
a foreign country doing a promo from something, then obviously, you
have one piece of proof showing he most likely did not sign that ball.
If you have say a COA from a company that was sued in court and lost
for fraudulent COA's. um, that's more proof. If you have a photo of
them signing a photo and your item is a baseball, you can say no proof
was had. It goes on and on.
So what I am saying is, if you are an authenticator and charging
money, grow your operation so that it CAN become a huge, real,
business that people can trust. If I had my own funds, I'd love to
start my own; I see a potential for something much better. But I have
just given you ideas FREE. Why not take them, develop them and do the
world a real service. Or is it because you don't want the hassle?
Too lazy and it's just too easy taking people's money? This should be
a fULL business; not a side job, which is where I think you all are
going wrong. Take the leap and do it RIGHT.
It's also im****tant for collectors to be more serious. Why are you
buying stuff because it's cheap when you have NO FACTS. If every
single collector insisted on provenance and some sort of proof, you'd
have a LOT less forgeries out there.
On Wed, 14 May 2008 19:58:41 +1000, "Mr Black"
<mr_black@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>"barefoot" <barefootmk@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>news:6aced206-fc56-4db4-9c94-ee0c80a57db4@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> probably because a lot of UACC dealers don't pass psa..
>> plus, those guys from autographworld are "consultants" at james
>> spence...so that's probably 2 reasons.
>> m
>>
>
>here is another one for you...
>
>http://www.complaints.com/2006/november/27/Complaint_regarding_PSA_DNA_12521.htm
>
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