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Posted By: jamie

No, you make the pretence of making every effort by employing someone who will authenticate anything you put in front of him. You rely on these flimsy pieces of paper when you sell items and refuse refunds when they don't hold their weight. I posted over a dozen links to people who have had issues with game used items you've sold. I can find another 100 if I hit a few more message boards I frequent. That's not an isolated problem- it's an epidemic. Your humble posts are another ploy to maintain what few customers you haven't duped yet.

Take a page out of REA's policy.

"You will never ever see Lou Lampson's name as an authenticator in a Robert Edward Auctions catalog. Lou might be a very nice guy, and I have met him and he has always been very pleasant, but I personally do not have confidence in his abilities as an authenticator. This is just my personal opinion. Lou used to live just a few minutes away from REA. I even ran into him at the deli a couple of times. Very pleasant fellow. The last time I saw him I think he ordered a cinnamon-and-raisin bagel with cream cheese. I respect his opinion about bagels. I ordered the same and was very happy. But I'm not as enthusiastic about his opinions on jerseys. Even living so close, literally five minutes away, it would have never dawned on me to consider having Lou Lampson do our uniform authentication. I'd rather have my grandmother do it. This is just my opinion and I know that some auction houses, and presumably some collectors (though I do not know them) have great confidence in Mr. Lampson's abilities. If ever a bidder was interested in a jersey at REA and they were not satisfied with the authentication work by MEARS and wanted Lou Lampson (or any one else) to look at it for a second opinion, by all means we would be happy to cooperate in any reasonable manner. This hasn't happened yet. To me it is very interesting that so many of the auction houses that use Lou Lampson's services own the items that Lou Lampson is authenticating for them and that they are offering. I don't know the significance of this, but it is interesting. I'm not saying Lou Lampson is wrong all the time. I'm sure he's been right many times. But when there is an issue with a Lou Lampson authentication, well, he's not exactly the easiest guy to reach. I don't even know if it's possible to contact him. In contrast, when there's an issue with a MEARS authentication, the communication and options that are available to collectors is tremendous. I do understand that Lou Lampson's authentication rates are extremely reasonable, but there's an old saying: you get what you pay for. The modest cost, the quality of his authentication services, and his inaccessibility may serve the purposes of some auction houses well but I don't think it's very good for collectors. "