How reliable is the PSA/DNA "Quick Opinion" service on eBay?

Accord

I have found perhaps the holy grail of autographed baseball memorabilia on eBay, the person selling it made numerous spelling mistakes in both the title of the auction and the description and also listed it in the wrong category so not too many people will see it even if they search for it, so I potentially can get this for very cheap.

I just spent the 7 bucks or however much it costs for the PSA/DNA quick opinion service and no more than 20 minutes later I received an e-mail from PSA/DNA with the result that after inspecting the auction they have found the item to be "Likely Genuine".

I'm prepared to spend big money on this item if I have to, and PSA/DNA considers it to be "Likely Genuine" but I don't want to buy this, send it to PSA/DNA and then have them tell me it's a fake.

So my question is, how reliable is the PSA/DNA Quick Opinion service on eBay? Has anyone ever received a "Likely Genuine" response and then submitted it to PSA/DNA only to find that it was fake and the quick opinion service was wrong?

I think I may call PSA/DNA tomorrow and ask them about this.

Thanks a lot

schr1st

"Quick Opinon" is just that, their opinion about the autograph without being able to handle and inspect it first hand. I'd say that there are probably more instances of a quick opinon coming back as fake on legit autographs than legit opinions being rendered on items that are later proven to be fake, as I think they'd tend to err on the side of caution when offering their opinion. I'd also suggest that if you got the opinion back that quickly, it's probably due to someone else already having submitted the auction to Quick Opinion before you. Good luck!

Knuckles

Sometimes things are too good to be true.

The auction your speaking of wouldn't happen to be this one would it? (I don't think that's a legit Ruth autograph if it is)

smallstocks

Considering the potential value, if it were likely real, I don't know why the guy wouldn't get it authenticated first.

Mike

ajmoeller81

A stay away from any auction that includes a bedtime story about the item.

jrdolan

Well, if you look close there just may be an "e" on the end of that signature, matching the "Ruthe" used by the bizarrely unknowledgeable seller in the title and description. Hard to tell, it's so faded, but I think can make it out. Could be wrong, since PSA/DNA didn't seem to see it.

It is not a rare thing for PSA/DNA to reject an auto they called "Likely Genuine" after seeing it in person.

It also has the red-flag disclaimer that he's not sure if it's genuine or not. Almost always that means he IS sure. Someone with a Ruth ball who's unsure is not going to flog it on eBay for a few bucks saying "what if it's genuine?" They're gonna be VERY sure first, because an authentication multiplies their profit by a factor of 20. No, almost certainly he knows whether it's genuine, all right.

On the plus side, you or whoever wins probably won't lose that much money. So take a shot, maybe you'll win the lottery. But after PSA/DNA rejects it, don't put it back out on eBay with a homespun tale and the disclaimer "I don't know if it's real."

Gemmy10

First of all the scan is blurry. Why no go for a sharp scan? With that being said the "E" in Babe doesn't look right.

RipublicaninMass

To me, it look slike it is in "bic medium" ball point pen, the "be" in looks like it was traced or drawn over. Why would someone put a fake auto, and not sign on the sweet spot??

ajmoeller81

Son: Hey Dad, check out what I got! A Babe Ruth autographed baseball!

Dad: Wow Son, that's incredible!

Son: What do you think we should do with it?

Dad: Well, that is a valuable and rare item so we should take very special care of it. I think we should hide it in the door of our truck.

Son: Yeah, that's a great idea Dad! I don't want to display it or keep it in good condition or anything. Let's hide it there so no one can find it and whenever I hear it rattle around I'll be reminded of my most prized possession!

<Years pass, Son and Dad forget about hidden ball in truck door, truck is sold>

Seller purchases truck. Unknown amount of time passes until Seller discovers ball, but when he does realizes that "this just might be the chance in a lifetime to have a piece of history" but decides to pawn it off on ebay without discovering if it is authentic.



Last but not least.

How does he plan on restoring the 1949 Chevy truck when he just sold the fuel tank and oil filter?

Accord

Guys, that Babe Ruth auction is NOT the auction I am talking about.

ajmoeller81

<< <i>Guys, that Babe Ruth auction is NOT the auction I am talking about. >>



LoL. Oops.

Knuckles

I requested a better picture and he just sent me the original picture which is the same picture in the auction but much larger. The e on the end of Babe and the R in Ruth are not consistent with the PSA/DNA stuff I've looked at in comparison.

Anyway.. That's not the auction Accord was talking about.. hmm what else could be 'the holy grail' of autographed baseball memorabilia..


I picked up a great find yesterday. This stick It wasn't listed in the best category and the auction title was pretty vague. The Plante autograph alone makes this a steal.. Signed stuff of his is very rare and usually commands $200+. Signatures of Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur etc.. are a bonus. (hope they're all real) I'll be keeping it if the auto's are nice.