Trusted COA's???

BigRedMachine

Was searching ebay for something other than cards, and noticed there are a lot of auctions with a lot of different certificats of authenticity.

If I'm looking for photos, balls, bats, jerseys, etc., what COA's should I be feel relatively comfortable I'm getting the real thing??

It's all new to me so I don't have a clue.

Thanks for any help.

shawn

BigRedMachine

You all are no help.

thenavarro

In my opinion,

Upper Deck Authenticated, PSA/DNA, JSA/BGS, Bob Eaton's R&R Enterprises, Kevin Keating's Quality Autographs of Virginia, John Reznikoff's University Archives, Bill Panagopulos' Alexander Autographs. Richard Simon, and myself's, ebay id thenavarro .


Mike

tennesseebanker

Psa/Dna
James Spence
Most Gai stuff
Steiner
There are a few other raw auto sellers that are good, But they are few and far between.
Just stick to the first four and you'll be fine.

BigRedMachine

So when you see stuff like this...........rose jersey

it's buyer beware??????????????????

shawn

nightcrawler

Sometimes folks that have their own inhouse signings, also make their own certs.

They're the only ones I trust, if they document it right.

goraiders

aau is supposed to be a good one right?

thenavarro

<< <i>So when you see stuff like this...........rose jersey

it's buyer beware??????????????????

shawn >>



It is always buyer beware even when buying items certified by the big boys. Upper Deck, PSA/DNA, James Spence, etc. They all make mistakes as no one is perfect. You should ALWAYS be wary and do your own homework.

However, that Rose jersey that you linked to is an authentic Pete Rose signature.

Mike

BigRedMachine

Thanks for the advice guys.

Just bought my first auto not on a card on ebay tonight.

Pic from ebay:

zep33

cool looking helmet

johnny1976

Hi there. If you are buying off ebay make sure you stick with the big ones like psa, jsa, or gai. The jersey in the link was authentic. If you are looking off ebay look for somebody thats done this for a long time. I go to radtkesports.com he does in house signings and has a great price point on merch. And if you are a fan of the big red machine you can find autographs from Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan there. Also hollywoodcollectibles.com is another good choice to go to. Rich Altman has been in business for years and has exclusive deals with people. He also did a lot of in house stuff also. He just had Johnny Bench there a year ago.

JeremyDie1

Nice helmet. I wanted to add alot of people are suggesting PSA,and JSA or even GAI. Remember these companies were not present during the players signatures. Companies like Steiner,Mounted Memories,Shwartz,and Upper Deck are present for signed memorabilia.

bigfische

The best authenticifation company is your eyes.

elsnorto

For what it's worth, here is eBay's list of "Prominent Authentication Companies".

I personally would add Schwartz to that list and I am not familiar with Online Authentics.com personally so I pass on their stuff when I see it.

Most of my collection is GAI, PSA/DNA, and Tristar. Schwartz and especially Steiner tend to go for more than their GAI and PSA/DNA counterparts since they hold the signings and pass that cost along in their prices.

Snorto~

MooseDog

<< <i>Remember these companies were not present during the players signatures. Companies like Steiner,Mounted Memories,Shwartz,and Upper Deck are present for signed memorabilia. >>



I can tell you this statement is not entirely true. Upper Deck, especially, has not been present for a lot of their signature sessions, especially when they first started selling UDA autographs. They would give the stuff to the player's agent and trust that what came back was signed by the player.

fur72

I always check out the charity auctions on ebay usually these are pretty COA tight since they are more than likely given to charity by the athlete.

JeremyDie1

<< <i>

<< <i>Remember these companies were not present during the players signatures. Companies like Steiner,Mounted Memories,Shwartz,and Upper Deck are present for signed memorabilia. >>



I can tell you this statement is not entirely true. Upper Deck, especially, has not been present for a lot of their signature sessions, especially when they first started selling UDA autographs. They would give the stuff to the player's agent and trust that what came back was signed by the player. >>



Upper Deck Memorabilia? I do not think so. The darn players have to use pen cams. Upper Deck doesn't do the five step process they claim to do every time. They are looking at a big lawsuit.

envoy98

They do not use the Pen Cam on every signature. I've seen guys walking out of practice with the UD sheets of stickers and a couple sharpies rubber banded to them. No pencam attached. They do it for the full size pieces that they sell on their site however. ie. balls, lithos etc. Those are usually done at a sit-down signing where it is witnessed by a UD rep as well.

As far as COA's go. Steiner, Mounted Memories are all good. It's important to find out what players have their own "authentication" as well. Guys like David Wright, Ripken (Ironman Authentics), Mays (Mays 24), Bonds (barrybonds.com), Favre (Favre 4) etc. If they carry the cert from the player it's usually a good sign as well. Walter Payton did a lot with Celebrity SIgnings and through the walter payton foundation so those are usually good as well. Tiger and Nolan Ryan both have foundations that they will sign through as does Aikman and a number of others.

Hope that helps.

Personally, I'm 50/50 on GAI stuff. I've seen a lot of stuff that I can't believe they authenticated and I've had stuff signed in front of me that they authenticated as well. I've only ever had one thing rejected by them and I suspected it was not real. Justin is/was pretty good, but not perfect.

I have a lot of confidence in PSA but even then I'm not convinced all the time. With any of the 3rd party authentications, I would feel better if it had it than if it did not. Your eyes will tell you if you agree or not. They've all had their mistakes.

I watched GAI get a couple cases full of signed mini helmets at a show once. They opened the case, looked at the first 5 or 10 and then handed the guy that brought them up a sheet of stickers and together they placed the GAI stickers on the back of every helmet. Were they all legit? No idea but they certainly made the assumption that they were. That scared me a little bit.

jimq112

I would agree with Mike about Richard Simon and also about Kevin Keating. Absolutely 2 of the best, even if they're not as well known as some of the others.

BigRedMachine

Opinions on whether this is legit??

griffey jersey

thanks