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dylan's picksI do agree with the "Al Rosen" to a point. His so called "advertisments" are annoying and having spoken with him on a few occasions while brokering a couple of deals I realized that I would much rather just see his ads than have to see him or talk to him ever!! Someone stated that he is like an "used car dealer" & that's exactley correct. I broker several deals a month & ran into an excellent collection that contained tons of vintage/pre-war cards, present day rookies, GU, auto'd inserts, 1of1s, figures, some great auto'd items (mantle bat, 500 HR litho, etc..)(& YES they were authentic LOL), and a lot more incredible memorabilia including vintage gloves, Game used items, etc.. and tons of almost never seen items like a Babe Ruth advertisment display among others. ANyways, I would have bought the collection myself & pieced it out, but I had just bought a ton of stuff and had surgery so i was unable to move it quickly. I thought I'd give ROsen a call, which I had done on a few previous occasions a good while back, & he at first couldn't believe the price i was quoting b/c it was a truly great price. He questioned authenticity of the auto's, which prob. made up less than 10% of the value & at the price you could have just thrown them out & made a killing still. Next he began to low-ball me believing I was just some idiot that had inherited the collection or something (He obviously didn't remember me). To sum it up he was such an idiot on the phone by contradicting himself that it made me thankful that "ads" couldn't speak. Maybe the guy is a nice guy, maybe not, but I do know in this business you do have to have some sort of people skills & it sure didn't seem like his were there... Anyways, I partnered with a buyer & purchased the lot about a week later & within a month we sold maybe 20% of the collection & both doubled our investment...That's how "LOWBALL" he can be..
On the other hand though, SCD, like almost any major publication, is in it to make money. They have to place the ads & you can't really discriminate against a guy just b/c he's annoying & obnoxious. I honestly like SCD, but I will agree that the articles have become less & less, but so has Beckett and a number of other publications. If you collect one specific niche in the hobby congrats!! b/c I have never been able to stay on just one area, but that way you can subscribe to an independent publication like the old cardboard & others that truly focus on certain niches in the industry. For me, I get SCD, Beckett, even Tuff Stuff, but I also get a variety of newsletters, publications & most of all I research the Net as much as possible.
As for Coach's Corner AUctions & authenticity of autographs in general it is another subject. I have dealt with auto'd memorabilia as a retailer & wholesale distributor for almost 2 decades. It is unfortunate but true that the authentication industry is one of the most profitable aspects due to many factors including forgeries, but more so the "fear" of buying a "fake" auto that has been instilled in all of us by many of these "authentication companies". I know that I may get "hate mail" over this, but it is my opinion as a collector & dealer. PSA/DNA & Ebay showed their true pictures when they began offering the "Quick Opinion" option. This is nothing but a rip off, as any collector would know an autograph can not be authenticated via a scanned photo unless it is just an awful one where the name is spelled wrong or such... As for PSA if you check the Better BUsiness BUreau in the county (I can't remember it off the top of my head) in California which they are located you will find that they have multiple listings including Collector's Universe-their parent company, PSA, Professional Sports AUthentication, & others that almost if not all have a "D" ranking on an A-F scale with F being worst & a caution by the BBB that strongly urges consumers to NOT do business with them.. I do have more trust in someone with training that would stand up in court and what would be better than someone that the FBI used & trained themselves? I know there are some isolated circumstances that these people get caught up in greed, but in general with proper research you can find a trained, experienced, EXPERT in handwriting analysis & document examination.. I know for a fact that the location the autograph(s) are sent from to PSA/DNA determine the % they pass/fail. As a matter of fact I have seen an individual send in 50 auto'd pictures & get approx 40% back as authentic. Then they turned around & sent in the other 60% from a different state & rec'd almost 40% of those authentic by PSA.. Weird hmmm.. If you have seen the movie "Rainmaker" it makes you wonder.. In the movie this insurance company has a "private" company manual & a "public" company manual, which the "public" version leaves out a chapter but the private has the additional procedures chapter where they decline so many applicants.. Wonder if PSA/DNA has something of sorts, or some type of "Quota" of "likely not authentic's" they have to meet?? That's drastic, but when you think about it to an extent the lower % they "pass" the more appealing & valuable their system is in some sorts.. I know it seems I am singling out PSA, but honestly there are tons of companies like that, it's just PSA takes advantage of consumers daily via Ebay alone & they prove that $$$ & advertising can overcome numerous complaints & a terrible Better Business bureau rating... Best bet is find a dealer that you can trust and learn from him/her, do your own research, know the signatures & you can authenticate just about as effectively...