Article on 3rd Party Authenticators
 

Article published today on 3rd party authenticators. As a novice to the autograph world I found it very interesting. Hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Signature business: Behind the lucrative autograph industry

http://www.citypages.com/2014-03-26/...raph-industry/

Really enjoyed the article, thanks for sharing.

Very interesting, thanks.

This quote from the article pretty much sums up the autograph business and TPAs.

"It doesn't have to be authentic," Gonzales says. "It just has to be authenticated."

Just like that Ty Cobb autographed insert card mentioned in another thread...pure garbage..... but authenticated.

Great article. So many people running and working for those companies have no credentials whatsoever.....but they think they're impressive when they use terms like "exemplars." :rolleyes:

Go ahead....keep sending your stuff to them for their "expert" opinions.

I have the same opinion about those authenticators. Unfortunately, you can't sell your expensive stuff in auction houses unless they have one of those letters.

Great article btw, I especially liked the part about JSA and the famous Cheetah authentication. Funniest part is that Spence doesn't remember "the particulars of that". How could you forget authenticating an ape's signature?.....That speaks volumes about the authenticating business.

Not exactly true. You don't have to send your item to a TPA. The auction house will do it, at its expense. It really has nothing to do with you.

Aren't they kind of in cahoots, though, to both make more money? i.e. I'll pay you some money so if can make some more money. I'm sorry.....if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

That's not the point. The point is, even if you want to consign an item to a major auction house, you don't have to send it to a TPA.

TPA's and auction houses in cahoots,,, hard to believe.
Let us ask Ed Delehanty.

Not a chance. They are the best of the best you can trust them with your life and your money.:rolleyes:

And if you consign your autograph to Lelands, they won't send it in, and I respect their knowledge regarding autographs, at least as much as any of the other 'major auction houses.'

I don't understand why collectors even send autographed items to auction houses - if it already has an LOA, or has great provenance, or you know what you are selling and are certain it is real, or if one of the autograph experts on this forum has given it the 'thumbs up'...then you can sell it to a collector here on Net54 and avoid paying consignor's fees or losing the juice. Just saying.

Wow, that article covered a lot of ground and familiar names. Very well-written and sourced. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks for sharing the article. I will have to look up the cheetah situation. It sounds funny.

For some of the newer members, some of this stuff has been discussed before, including the monkey autograph. Here are a few links for some light reading.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=176306

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=175674

There are other threads I can't find now, including one that highlights the Sayers fiasco.

Little lost...are you advising the information in the article and the highlighted facts found through court documents in it have been covered or that I shouldn't have posted this as all the information on 3rd party authenticators has already been posted in other threads? Please clue me in. I lurk here and this is my first thread. My thread wasn't meant to cover old ground nor cause members here to read what had been covered in other threads.

I meant nothing like that at all. It's a very good article. I brings to the general public, issues that those in the autograph collecting world have been discussing. I was merely linking to some threads where some of the examples he cited have been discussed in more detail for those who might want more information about the specifics.
I'm glad you posted it.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I think he was just responding to my mention of the Cheetah signature.

I knew that thing was fake when he spelled his name "Cheetuh"

Here is a spinoff of that same article-Looks like they shared stories and quotes, still a good read-more in depth than article in OP

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2014...ve-business/6/