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Marc S.Bushing is an active buyer of bats - which absolutely causes conflicts of interest for someone also serving as a professional authenticator. If you look at baseball cards, in comparison - all of the major grading companies have graders and authenticators that are not (at least outwardly) actively involved in the business of buying and selling baseball cards.
Also - I believe that Messrs. Bushing and Knoll possess extensive database records from many of the major bat manufacturers. Although this serves to give them additional information as it relates to authenticating bats - as this information is not publicly available in any way - it prevents the public scrutiny that often serves as a good balancing mechanism towards temptation.