Need some help on an authenticator
 

I've been dealing with Pristine Auction for several months now. Usually they have been pretty good about authenticity. Recently they have listed an individual name Todd Mueller as an authenticator. Can anybody give me a yea or a nay or somewhere I can look to form my own opinion. Thanks

If I remember there have been many comments made about him. Some good mostly bad. My question is? If they use Psa and Jimmy why would you go to other people?:confused:

That's the dumbest thing i have ever heard, if they use psa and jimmy that is the biggest reason to go to someone else, and mueller is a stand up guy who knows his stuff, the mueller haters are just people who love the status quo of psa and jsa trying to control the autograph world.

Pristine states global and jsa as their authenticators.

The mueller coa you see is todd's coa that he includes on everything he sells, the items that are listed as authentication: Todd Mueller are items that are consigned that already had a mueller coa because the consignor bought it from Todd, or bought it from soeone who bought it from Todd.

Todd is not a third party authenticator like jsa or global who certs stuff that he doesn't own. that's what is confusing you. but if he ever did that he would be a top notch guy to go to within his specialties. I can vouch for him, he knows what he is doing. He broke the pawn stars al pacino story when psa and jsa';s guy Reznikoff didnt know the difference between al pacino's signature and al ruddy's signature. Todd knew instantly. Todd is 'da man!

Did they list him as an authenticator, or are they selling items with his LOA? I don't think he does outside authentication, at least not anymore.

He stands behind his items, and you can easily reach him on the phone. While he may not be perfect, I think the above two points give him an advantage over some others.

Ken

earlywynn fan

agreed.

they are listing his coa's that he gives out himself. but they list Authentication: todd mueller and that is confusing people. not a third party authenticator, authenticates his own stuff as a dealer.

Yea Travis you win.

I'm going to go with Travis too. Have dealt with Todd for many years and he is a stand up guy who backs everything he sells with his word, and backs that up with action if needed. He was the largest seller of autographs on eBay for many years until he got tired of their bs. I would have no problem buying anything from him, or with his COA.

wrong thread.

Derek Jeter Forgery Todd Mueller Auction
 

This was sold on Todd "Da Man" Mueller's auction site.

Mueller claimed it was given to the consignor by an employee of the NY Yankees.


Attachment 92474

and this was sold by Todd Mueller on his site a couple of years ago. He argues with me ad nauseum about the "providence"...and I have a bridge for you. The only providence attached to this piece is Tony "don't call me Jorge" Podsada.

I agree with Travis that he has done some good things, but when a guy can argue with me for 5 pages why this Mantle is good, I think they have brain damage and I wouldn't buy a piece of Bazooka Bubble gum from him.

I like his idea with a lifetime guarantee and all but unfortunately, the guy has more stories than HG WELLS. What good would a lifetime guarantee do when the guy won't admit a mistake? Truly a douche who hides behind his religion. Guys like this that evoke God in their arguments are prone to lying. Anyone running a business knows his sect is BAD NEWS. In TODD we don't trust.

The Mantle is a total piece of garbage. There is no one that could defend it except Ted Taylor or Morales.:eek:

Mantle autographs don't get any worse than the one on that picture.
It has a suntan from Florida and I am sure it has Florida beach sand on it too.

Here’s my take on Todd. First, a little background. I have known Todd since the mid 90’s. I live just South of Dallas, and Todd used to have his business at The Colony, a community North of Dallas. He and I used to frequent a particular autograph business in Richardson, and that’s where I met him. We would both buy/sell/trade etc, with the owner. Once I became friends with Todd, he would send me his autograph auction lists, which at that time was not really a catalog, just Xeroxed type pages. Eventually, it got to where I was buying and selling a lot (a lot by my standards then was a thousand or so a month) with him. Todd paid a nice price for quality pieces. I could buy/sell/trade with other collectors at shows, through magazines, direct mailing, etc., and Todd would pay a very fair price to where we could both make money as he had some clients that he could move the pieces too. I used to love going up to his warehouse, hanging out, bs-ing, talking graphs, and taking a carload full of stuff for him to consider buying. Most of the times, I’d leave with a nice check, which was always good, and most importantly, would clear  His mailing lists went from typed pages to black and white color catalogs, and business seemed to be going well. Then, ebay turned up, and slowly but surely, competition seemed to kick in. It became a bit harder to move pieces at mark ups. Eventually, his catalog auctions stopped completely I believe, and he came to rely on ebay for moving his product. At some point during that time period and the next couple years, he moved to Colorado I believe. I was disappointed to see him go, cause I had fun going to his warehouse and basically chatting with him. We had some joint friends in the business that we all did deals with. Somewhere along the line, some of his items began to disappear from ebay, because like ALL autograph dealers, some of his stuff was not legit. Sometimes, it really was legit, but ebay has certain opinions that it values more than others, so they would remove it anyway, and sometimes, it really was bogus and should be removed. Don’t forget here that ANY dealer that has been around a decent amount of time and tells you that they’ve never sold a fake, is full of BS. This is not an indictment, just a statement of fact that even the best intentioned people make mistakes occasionally. I think ebay suspended his account once or even twice for continuing to post those items, and it made him upset enough that he began his own website and own auction sales at his own site. It’s at this point too, that I believe that he began to go against the third party authentication aspect that was taking a foothold in the hobby because of good marketing and strategy. I don’t know this to be fact, but I think he aligned with Koschal around this time to create the Autograph Alert site that touted itself to be a watchdog, but that actually character assassinated a lot of former friends and associates. I was disappointed to find out that Todd might be a part of that. Again, I don’t know that to be a fact, but I have heard it from other people I trust. I think a lot of this was out of frustration, because the people on that site, thought they were BIG enough to put a dent into third party authentication since it had hurt their business, and they found out they were not as big as the marketing machine of a publicly held corporation. Thus, a lot of the people aligned through that process, have become the “champion” of bashing third party authentication and grading. You have seen the same or very similar dribble cut and pasted ad nauseum on many websites over the years.
As for Todd these days:
1) I still consider him an honest businessman. Meaning that I wouldn’t hesitate to send him an item first, and wouldn’t have any concerns with him stealing it, or that I wouldn’t get paid. I trust him to take care of those business aspects of transactions
2) I still occasionally buy stuff directly from his online auctions. As whenever I purchase anything, I try to do my research first, as again, he does have some items that IMO are bad, just like EVERY dealer has from time to time. He does occasionally have really nice items, and they go relatively cheap because of who is selling them. I was able to pick up a nice Babe Ruth a few months ago from Todd, that I had vetted on Net54, which I subsequently had slabbed by Spence and that I was able to move for a substantial profit rather quickly once slabbed.
3) If I bought an item from him that was later found to be bogus, I have little doubt that he’d take care of it. Todd is not a thief. I believe he is a little too trusting sometimes of “stories” that go along with graphs and relics, but he is not a thief.
4) Like most people in the business, I believe Todd to be a “niche” authenticator. Meaning he has good skills in some specific areas, but not in all, just like anyone else.
I believe when he alledgedly started the crusade against the TPA’s that it was done probably from a combination of spite, as well as a belief he had that it was the right thing for the industry. However, at some point along the line, I think it spiraled out of control for him, and his effort was joined by many that peddle almost nothing but fakes exclusively. I often wonder if he could go back and change the last few years, if he would. I haven’t asked him, but the Todd I knew back in the day, was a good guy.

Can't speak about this Mantle, but I do question your line "What good would a lifetime guarantee do when the guy won't admit a mistake?" because I vehemently disagree with it. I bought a Ted Wms signed bat from him a couple years ago. Maybe a year later, I posted the bat on this forum, and several called it out as bad, and showed me why. I called Todd, told him many told me it was bad, and the first thing he said was "I'm really sorry, send it back immediately."

Is he perfect? No, but as navarro said, nobody is. I find him, in my conversations and transactions with him, to be very honest.

Ken

I would give the man props in that case...nicely done, but shouldn't the self proclaimed best authenticator in the world know a thing about Mickey Mantle & Ted Williams before he puts his name behind it. Just one mans opinion.

sounds like some great experiences...I certainly respect your opinion Mike

Well, I don't know where that quote came from, he's certainly never said anything like that to me, nor has he even showed that kind of attitude. However, I do agree he should be better at these big names.

Ken

Chuck is absolutely correct. No one has more stories than Todd "Da Man" Mueller.

Below is what Mueller wrote about the below wife-signed Willie Mays sig.

Todd wrote "I got Willie Mays in person at the Portland International Airport on Sept 8, 1988 and Willie signed on my shoulder."

Attachment 92518

This is a red herring that has been corrected many times.

Todd Never said he go the mays signed in person, and Chris knows it, he keeps bringing it up, he is lying.

Todd said that the mays LOOKS like one he had gotten in person at the airport when he met Mays and Dimaggio. at the time todd said this he sent me a scan of the airport sig, here it is.

Chris keeps bringing up this lie about Todd, and Todd never said it in the first place. I agree with Mr. Navarro and big Dave and earlywynnfan, Todd is a good guy. You would know that if you ever took 10 minutes to call him or meet him in person and get to know him rather than to demonize him based on what others say about him who don't know him either.

Another poster said something I take offense to and it's the generalization that people who profess their religion publicly are a certain type of people like Todd is castigated to be. I openly talk about Christianity, and have talked to Todd about it on numerous occasions. It's called evangelization and it is what Christians are called to do and Todd has done many wonderful things through his religion and doesn't deserve to be called names or made fun of because of it because he never forces it on anybody.

I have the exact screen shot when Todd "Da Man" Mueller wrote that claim about the Willie Mays wife-signed sig.

And, Travis, you're the one that first called him "Da Man."

Next, Travis, you'll try to defend Mueller's claim about the Derek Jeter forgery he sold.

My one experience with Mueller was both good and bad. I bought a dual-signed first-day cover in one of his auctions, supposedly signed by both Boris Karloff and Dwight Frye. A few months later, a fellow horror collector showed me the page from an RR Auctions catalog from which the signatures--and inscriptions--were copied. I presented the material to Todd, and he issued a refund.

He than cut the signatures apart, and re-sold them.

I just wanted to save this one for the future, when Travis and I are bashing each other's opinions for our respective differences concerning TPA's. I can look back on this thread as a moment of peaceful harmony between us :)

Mike

Nice,,, :o

No, not Todd "Da Man" Mueller?"

Say it ain't so.....

lol David, classic Todd story.......Let's all pray.:p

Sounds like a true horror story...

I'm lying? Really?

Attachment 93001

agreed.

yes, you are . the one i showed is the one at the airport, with dimaggio, not the one you showed, he never claimed that that was the one he got signed at the airport. i showed the one he got signed at the airport. he only claimed that the one he got at the airport looked like the willie mays you didn't like, that is all.

i never claimed you lied by claiming he said he got an airport signature of mays, just that the one you didnt like was that same airport mays signature. that's where the lie comes in, because it's not, the airport mays signature is a different one that mueller only said LOOKED LIKE the mays you were panning.

This is the mays signature he was talking about, at the airport with dimaggio, when he met them in person. he still has this autograph because it is sentimental.

when he said that willie gave him a wife signature, he was talking about his observation that that signature looked like the other one, so if the other one was a wife signature, then the one he got in person must be a wife signature also. (sarcasm to prove a point). where is dimaggio on the other piece? not there because he wasn't talking about that one when he mentioned getting mays AND dimaggio.

Now that "Todd Mueller" is a member of this site, maybe he can respond.

I'll be waiting....

As an outside observer, I don't read this as he's talking about that Willie Mays auto. Did he come out and say he got the actual disputed auto in the airport?

Ken

no he didn't say that, he compared it to one he got in person at the airport, he thought they looked the same so if the disputed one is a wife signed, then he got a "wife" signed willie at the airport as well. chris doesn't understand that comparison.

But I do know when someone is lying, which seems to be the norm for Mueller.

Maybe Todd Mueller, who joined Net54 three days ago, can give us his usual long-winded explanation of that Willie Mays wife-signed signature he sold.

By the way, I thought you had to be eighteen (18) to be on this site.

How was "Toddler Mueller" allowed to sign up?

I hate to say this but that is good. Toddler.:D
Chris why dont you show them what he wrote about you.? I am sure that will make Travis happy.

All in good time.....

YAY! More games!!

Not games!!!!

Seriously stuff!!!!

Then do it already. Why the drama? Why the "Man behind the curtain" act?

Go for it. People will loose interest very quickly.

It will be posted very soon (in a new thread).

I would hope it's not another.....glass houses episode.....that ended up being such a waste of time and effort for anybody that read it.

Oh but Dave, it's not the Autograph Forum without a little drama is it? :)

Has Glass House been unveiled yet?

JimStinson
 

Is DUELING still illegal ? if not maybe Leon can add it as an event to the open bar and NET54 meet and greet at this year's National...:)
_________________________
jim@stinsonsports.com

If they add that to the Agenda you may be able to make the Net54 Dinner a charge event! :D

exactly, a bunch of nothing.

Nope.

My "Glass Houses" thread was only "Part 1 Of A Ten-Part Series."

JimStinson
 

ABSOLUTELY !!! We could make it a PAY PER VIEW event ! However I just checked and sadly dueling is STILL illegal ....Unless its done with BANJOS
Shucks !
____________________
jim@stinsonsports.com

No, your "Glass Houses" thread was typical internet crap: throw out just a little information, stir the pot, open the rumor floodgates, let people's names twist in the wind. Either say something or shut up. The impression that I get from reading everyone else's responses to your innuendos is that I'm not the only one who has lost a lot of respect for you with these threads.

Do Travis' one-note rants get old? Yep. Does Nash have an agenda? Yep. Did you imagine Koschal typing autographalert while wearing a straitjacket? I did. But you know what? They idenfify who they are aiming at. They present their findings for all to see and judge (and they take their licks.) Just like you used to do with CC.

A while back, I asked you a simple question. You repeatedly have hammered TM about the Willie Mays auto. Fine. You said he told you he got it signed in person, and he admitted it to you. Fine. You were asked to present this proof, you did, and I pointed out that there was much room for interpretation. I am still awaiting your response, since your "smoking gun" was far from damning.



"Did you hear the big news about Chris? It's big big news! Big Big BIG news!! Check back in a week and maybe I'll tell you what it is. Or maybe I won't."

Ken

+1

...and I must say...if the other 9 parts of your "series" is as informative or entertaining as episode one, please spare us and just keep it to yourself.

If the other "person" keeps up his end of his "10 part" series, then so will I.

...and Net54 members be damned!

Chris....it is your 10 part series you allude to.....don't wait on Nash to post something.

This is exactly what Chris is referring to...

http://autographnewslive.com/
Christopher Williams, Be Glad You’re Not Him or Her

This is the type of vile, fabricated slime that not-so-coincidentally appears shortly after anyone crosses Todd Mueller. You know, Travis' patron saint.

Mr. Mueller will obviously deny it, but the pattern and connection is clear and obvious. Ask Steve Cyrkin or Roger Epperson or John Reznikoff. All regular targets of this "anonymous" smear machine.

Ken and Dave, how would you feel if YOU were the feature story of a web page like this? Would Travis and his anonymous pals seem so innocuous?

Travis will scream about PSA and JSA all day long, but he'll never condemn this garbage. Why? Despite his predictable claims that he knows nothing about it, deep down he knows he'd be biting the hand that feeds him.

ANL Travis Roste Todd Mueller
 

I'm curious who wrote that.

Did Travis write it? Did Todd Mueller write it?

I consider that blog a "badge of honor" coming from those guys.

Funny how that "badge of honor" appeared approximately 24 hours after I criticized Todd "Da Man" Mueller.

Travis and Todd, did you think I was going to back off or stop after that "badge of honor" was posted on ANL?

Steve,

Personally, I find the allegations in regard to someone's personal life uncalled for. It distracts from anything factual and discredits the writer. I did not see anywhere on the site about who the owner is, or who wrote that. If you have proof, because nothing about who wrote that is obvious to me, about who wrote that, please post. This was the first time I have read that site so it is new to me.

If you believe Todd Mueller wrote that, please offer your proof.

No way Travis condemns that. He would be ostracized by his friends over there. That's why he defends Mueller so fervently.

This is the first I've ever seen that site. My take?? Chris struck a nerve, good for him!! Perhaps it's Mueller. Perhaps it's Travis. Perhaps it's me!! But if I'm attacked with lies (I assume -- I really only read as far as when the poster called him "Christy"), I just ignore it. What's the point? I work with children all day, and one thing I've learned is: YOU CAN'T WIN!

Now, Zip, let me ask you this: Chris has his panties in a bunch because of this anonymous posting. (Not saying he doesn't have every right to, just stating what appears to be the motive.) But he has been bashing Mueller here for months, years even. Why is that OK?? Should Todd just take it? Now if Todd made this posting, or had someone do it for him, he's in the wrong, and I'd say this is worse than garbage.

MEMO TO CHRIS: whoever did this is scum! But how about you do us all a favor and avoid dragging that scum into our little "pond." Out every single fake you can. Don't let hypocrisy go unnoticed! Shout out when the Emperor has no clothes! But for the forum's sake, keep the juvenile sh*t off the forum!

Ken

David, you've shown remarkable restraint in this thread. This has been, no offense, refreshing. However, this comment was PERFECT.

Ken

have you stopped beating your wife? what a loaded piece of garbage. you dont know who wrote it so you infer i had something to do with it. that's the scummy part. you guys play your little games. i don't have time for it. you have no proof of anything but cast dispersions anyway and i have proof psa and jsa screwup on a regular basis and you say that i am just cherry picking and not being fair.

i have boxing to look at and participate in and like other people said, you like to drag others into this stuff that i have nothing to do with, and you don't know who writes it but it's guilty until proven innocent like usual with you guys, and of course it is net54's problem now.

Richard Jewell was guilty of the olympic park bombings too until we found out he didn't do it. whether his life got ruined by people jumping on the "guilty" train was of no consequence to the "guilty until proven innocent" crowd.

Thanks for indicting me.

Please don't join the close knit boxing collectibles hobby. We haven't seen the likes of people like you two there yet in the 25 years I have been participating and we don't need to start now.

Wow, I'm perturbed that I even clicked on that auto news live site, and I won't go back. What a representation of the worst that the Internet has to offer. Just sad.

We were right, Mr. Zipper.

He can't condemn that article. He'll be ostracized from the ANL community.

I know there are people on this site that know how to trace where something came from.
What ever you think of anyone of one this site this really is just pure hate and being evil. :mad:

Travis stop being a martyr it does not become you.

No worries, Travis. I never accused you of writing it because I know you didn't write it. It is too well constructed to be written by you. I never claimed Mueller "wrote it" either. I just noted how slimy articles "coincidentally" appear smearing those who criticize Mr. Mueller. Time after time after time.

So we can ignore an obvious and repeating pattern or reach a logical conclusion based on that set of recurring circumstances.

Are you so dense or naive to believe he has no involvement or influence over that demented, pathetic site?

I have no problems with anyone criticizing what I do or the manner in which I do it.

I have both the good guys and bad guys hating me. I'm not here to win a popularity contest. I have no issues at all with that. There are only a handful of us (Mr. Zipper, Richard, Shelly, and few others) who are pro-active and deal with the bad guys on almost a daily basis in the mud. It's what we've chosen to do.

But the slime over there at ANL is beyond comprehension. It's a site that supports Chris Morales. I think that says it all.

Steve, it is so disgusting that anyone who even thinks that there is no correlation between what Chris said and 24 hours latter this kind of hate mongering takes place is out of there minds. :(

Travis, for the love of God, end this now:

"I, Travis, think ANL is crap."

Then they all can kiss your hiney.

Ken

This does suck beyond any normal in-fighting that goes on in this business.
The personal attacks like that one have no place in this business and this type of attack is way beyond any other I have ever seen.
Whoever is responsible for this has sunk to a depth that nobody else in the hobby has sunk to before and they really need to stop it now.
Business disagreements are one thing, this crap is totally beyond the norm and should be condemned by all.
Enough is enough.

Ken, I have no idea why your so upset. That piece of garbage didn't mention you.
If he did I would be saying the same thing I said on Chris's behalf. Not only you but anyone one this site. I know you really dont care about what I think but you should care that there is someone out there that is that sick.
Do you not see anything strange what took place in the last 24 hours.
Why in the world if Travis said anything like you suggested would anyone believe it now. He had his chance.:confused:
I agree this should stop but not because someone has to kiss someones a=s. I have had many things said about me but nothing like this.
This is just pure hate. I am just amazed how many of you have said nothing.
I do have one question? I know that we have a new memeber on this site and he has not opened his mouth I just wonder why?

I think my intentions didn't come through clearly. Yes, I'm angry about how this thread has gone: angry about that POS website. I wanted what I clearly posted: Travis to come out and bash that site. Then, yes, all of you would have the opportunity to apologize to him. But if he won't, well, silence is damning.

Just like I gave Chris the opportunity to clear up what he said. You'll notice he has posted multiple times, but has yet to answer EITHER of my posts. He, too, has made assertions that he has yet to back up.

Right now, I feel that BOTH members have lost credibility.

And as for TM, after I get home from work today, I'm going to call him and ask him directly if he's associated with that garbage site. Have you thought of doing the same??

Ken

probably one of the worst and least informative, one way slanted jack asses that run that site. Where 75-90% of what you read on sites like this might be true, there is usually 1-2% truth coming from that bashing, slanderous one way blog. That article is sickening. The fact that Travis doesn't condemn it is also telling about his overall character. Very angry and unhappy individual to not condemn that article on every level.

+1

Chuck, remeber Todd is on this site as well.

I think whomever is behind and writing for ANL is a sleazy piece of sh**. They are cowards of the highest nature. They will get theirs though. In life, Karma is a mo fo.........

you are being ridiculous, i have nothing to do with it, and asking me to condemn it by singling me out is what is sleazy, it implies i am somehow guilty. ask all hundreds of members of net54 then if everyone is equally innocent? by singling me out you are implying i have more to atone for than anyone else, when i have nothing to atone for.

arnold shwarzenegger is innocent and has nothing to atone for but to single him out and insist he specifically condemn nazism because his dad was an austrian police chief and a member of the nazi party is to brand arnold as somehow guilty of other peoples actions. It's sick, ridiculous and shameful and if arnold wanted to tell people where they could go with their sleazy guilt-by-association games that they play that would be alright with me and the same applies here.

you need my condemnation like you need a condemnation from all hundreds of members here on net54 but I don't see hundreds of demands or invitations for EVERYBODY to do so. Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the community party? McCarthy witch hunt! I got boxing to do, I don't need this straw man argument.

If I don't then I am guilty, if I do, then you claim the guilty has confessed. Have you heard of innocence? It's a railroad and a few are at the controls with their hands held tight to a dead mans switch so others get the impact no matter what. play amongst yourselves in your little witch hunt. We don't know who writes it. Insinuating that I know and have a special need to condemn it is very low indeed.

Come on man you are paralleling some of the most controversial moments in history with whether or not you condemn a gross personal attack on an autograph blog. Also that attack isn't even limited to one individual, it is insulting for the terminally ill, people with low incomes, the homeless, and the LGBT community.

there is a trash site out there called Autograph magazine live and every once in a while some jerk will put up a sentence about me or someone, like they did one time. Isn't Travis a forger? When he did that, I did NOT ask the people who were affiliated with that site and blogged there to condemn it. Because I knew they didn't have anything to do with it.

I didn't email Chris Williams, Zipper, Fudd or anyone asking them to condemn that statement because they didn't owe me anything. so if they don't want to give me the same respect and consideration in return then they know where to go and how high to fly that kite.

Like I said, the old time friends from the boxing hobby that I knew 20 years ago, 15 years ago and 10 years ago know who I am , and if others do not, I am not concerned about it. I don't need Johnny come lately friends as the old time friends I got have been through the trenches with me and that's good enough for me.

Ken, I will try to explain it to you as simple as possible.

Over at the old ANL website, Mueller challenged anyone to find one forgery on his auction site.

Within 15 minutes, numerous forgeries, secretarials, etc. were discovered.

Mueller fervently defended all of them as authentic.

One of them was the below Willie Mays wife-signed signature.

Attachment 93467

When Mueller was challenged on it, he (Mueller) posted the below comment:

Attachment 93468


Ken, I have no reason to lie about this.

That's it in a nutshell, Ken.