Modern Gai authenticated autos...? slightly OT

[yanksfan09]

A couple of autos on Ebay that don't look good to me.... opinions? Let me state I don't call myself an expert, but I am familiar with some of these guys signatures and some of these seem quite off to me. These are just a few examples. There are Mariano Riveras, Mantles and more that I've seen lately. A lot of Yankees (that's what I look at the most).... They seem to be a large % of GAI authenticated autos of certain players that seem off to me...

I am not necessarily saying all these are fake(99.9% on those 3 anyway), but wanted to hear some opinions on these and on what you feel about GAI's auto authentication in general....

http://cgi.ebay.com/DEREK-JETER-1993...item23066860cf

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alex-Rodriguez-a...item519061d0c2

[3and2]

off is correct! I had a psa quick opinion on a Mantle auto last year and it came back "likely not genuine"

eBay endorses their stuff, and people are getting scammed. THey are total trash. stay away.

[yanksfan09]

Yeah, that's what I thought. The sheer numbers of autos cert'd by them of some athletes is quite alarming. The market is flooded with these. I noticed it with Mariano Rivera, some Jeters, Mantle, A-Rod and I'm sure there's tons of others ( also have seen ugly GAI Lebron James). There must be so many people out there buying this stuff that think they're getting a reputable company and product. What a shame...

That Nolan Ryan card looks like it was done by a third grader I thought... I couldn't believe that one

[3and2]

and another thing, the photos taken of these GAI pieces. They are taken at really strange angles, 1/2 the time they are blurry and they are signed on items I have never seen before in my life.

[canjond]

That Ryan is plain ugly. He has such a consistent signature.

[GrayGhost]

Definitely all bad

[Fuddjcal]

This has been a pet Peavy of mine for months now and I don't mean Jake. I only collect Mantle, Dimaggio & Williams, Koufax for the most part. I can tell you that 99.99% of all GAI or Global or whatever those asses call themselves today are Fake as hell. You have a better chance of winning a game of pick-up sticks with your butt cheeks than finding an original Auto with their cert these days. I'm sure you won't hear any true professional like Richard or anyone bash them like I will, a lowly collector, but I don't care about my reputation. The GAI Mantles are ALL HORRIBLE FAKES. This is more than the casual mistake they all make from time to time. This is as sinister as Operation Bullpen or Operation Coaches Corner. It is the Dirty little secret (Not so secret to real collectors) of E-BAY. At this point, not only should they not be on their approved Authentication list, They should be on their UNACCEPTABLE list. It makes E-bay look like crooks by not doing anything about it. They are complicit in this crime against the hobby. These Fakes typically sell for more than originals with-out certification which I find rather humorous.

Something happened when Global was going through their first financial crisis before folding and opening up another crooked or incompetent operation. Someone must have gotten a hold of rolls of stickers and every fake in the world was certed. I have spoke to a few dealers of this trash and they keep selling it as if they are actually real, even they know they're fake. They seem to have 100's of them. Not just trying to get rid of autos they were beat on. IT IS SICKENING. I did see a Real Mantle GAI) about 3 months ago and it had the sticker on the left for whatever that is worth? It goes deep to all sports I'm told. Tiger Woods Golf Balls, Tomlinson in Football, The Nascar crook that is still lurking over there. It is just a total scam that is not quite as big as Coaches Corner, but just as friggen irritating. I'd welcome someone with knowledge of this crap to step up and state the facts here...Someone like Shelly, who knows a lot about fakes and has not been too shy in the past.

[canjond]

I think quality control took a huge hit after Priddy left. I'm sure there are some that don't like Priddy or wouldn't use him. However, I can say from my personal experiences, about 90-95% of signatures I purchased that Priddy certed have also been certed by JSA or PSA/DNA without issue. This percentage holds true for some PS/DNA signatures I purchased that were then submitted to JSA. So, from my own perspective and experiences, I thought Priddy did well most of the time.

I believe GAI was using GIZMO (remember him) as their authenticator after Priddy left!

[Fuddjcal]

They could have used the great Gazoo instead of Gizmo with the same FAKE results

Snap! just like that a cert!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8aM9LgdKg8

[yanksfan09]

Yeah, I guess it's as worse or worse than I expected. I was thinking of reporting a couple of these GAI's to Ebay, but I doubt it would do anything. It sounds like either they're "in-bed " together or at least turning a serious blind eye. I wouldn't even know where to begin with reporting all these also.

Everytime I go to the Hofstra Shows on Long Island twice a year, it seems as though I'm seeing more GAI junk. Last time I saw some bad Mantle and DiMaggio STAT as well.

They also have had ACE at some recent shows ( I don't know anything about them, but I think I've heard they weren't any good as well) Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

[3and2]

I agree I have seen a lot of these things at shows too. It is disappointing to see all that fake stuff. For me, if I see those things in a dealers case, I simply won't do business w/ him. just move on and find those few people that are honest to the hobby and the collector.

[Vintagedegu]

-

[yanksfan09]

While watching my Yanks lose tonight, I went ahead and reported those ones to ebay for what that's worth. I also reported a couple others. Here they are for your amusement.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I felt I should clarify, I don't know any of these sellers. I'm also not accusing any of these sellers of any wrong doing as they may be unaware these aren't authentic.... I felt I should make that clear. I'm merely trying to point out bad autos being cert'd by GAI

[3and2]

the Mantle/Dimaggio sold for $115. If it were for real it would get $500 - 750. What a shame, that person just threw that money down the toilet.

[RichardSimon]

And that seller of the Dimaggio-Mantle picture only gives the buyer a 7 day return policy. How does a buyer find out that the autograph is bogus in 7 days?
I have seen numerous Mantle-Dimaggio-Williams pictures on ebay with a COA from GAI. In my opinion I have rarely agreed with GAI on those pictures.
BTW - The autograph dealers I know and trust all give lifetime guarantees of authenticity and do NOT use or need any third party authenticators.
I am talking about Jim Stinson, Rich Albersheim, Ron Gordon, Bill Corcoran, Kevin Keating and for auction houses Lelands knows good autographs from bad (I think Lelands guarantee is 3 years).
--

[drc]

At the beginning, Mike Gutierrez was head of authentication. During this time his name appears on the LOAs. They were also conservative, some said too conservative, in what they'd call authentic. So in the initial years, a GAI LOA was top notch.

[tinkereversandme]

I don't really understand what Global has done, or is doing. They have always had a revolving door of authenticators who the hobby is unaware of, nor have the experience and who knows at what phase did any one authenticator make a decision on? And they (as well as former authenticator Priddy) sit at shows and do nothing more than sit and observe JSA and PSA/DNA lines. If JSA and PSA/DNA get you the most for your dollar, why would you use anyone else...unless they fail it and want to get something in return. If Global fails it, well, then you can go to The Coach Crew, it seems. I went to a show a few months ago and one guy had a binder full of Mantle's with Global certs that weren't right. He wanted $100 a piece for them so something tells me he knew something as he wanted $300 for the ones authenticated by PSA/DNA.

Larry

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

And that seller of the Dimaggio-Mantle picture only gives the buyer a 7 day return policy. How does a buyer find out that the autograph is bogus in 7 days?
I have seen numerous Mantle-Dimaggio-Williams pictures on ebay with a COA from GAI. In my opinion I have rarely agreed with GAI on those pictures.
BTW - The autograph dealers I know and trust all give lifetime guarantees of authenticity and do NOT use or need any third party authenticators.
I am talking about Jim Stinson, Rich Albersheim, Ron Gordon, Bill Corcoran, Kevin Keating and for auction houses Lelands knows good autographs from bad (I think Lelands guarantee is 3 years).
--

And you are one of the most respected other than JSA/PSA, they are only bigger than you and not necessarily better. That works to their disadvantage and they probably make more common mistakes, because its your a on the line. I'd like to see just 1 current Mantle photo with a GAI global that you would consider legitimate, because I have found 1 in 6 months, albeit I am only a "practicing collector". Thanks for chiming in Richard on this we appreciate it.

[yanksfan09]

Thanks to everyone who's chimed in so far. I wish something could be done about all this but I don't have any ideas.