Just when you thought it was safe...

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Posted By: MW

Upon visiting GAI's Global Pack Authentication Website (www.gapack.net), one immediately encounters the following rhetoric:

"Global Authentication is quickly becoming the leader in all segments of grading and authentication."

"We have hired the nation's top names to authenticate all of your unopened material."

"Mark Murphy is a [sic] our Head Pack Authenticator. Along with his team of experienced pack experts, we guarantee the accuracy of our Pack Grading and Authentication service."


I'll tell you what. We sure are fortunate that GAI has already hired the nation's TOP NAMES to accurately grade and authenticate...not to mention properly LABEL each holder, because I'd sure hate to see what sort of scheme a bunch of hobby doofuses would come up with. And it's simply wonderful that Mark Murphy has a crack team of "experienced pack experts" at his disposal or who knows what little-studied loquacity would end up on GAI's splendiferous slabs.

Don't get me wrong -- there's no doubt that the proper grading and authentication of a vintage item adds a degree of value to many types of collectibles, but what good does it do to PURPOSELY mislabel a holder in order to DELIBERATELY create a mistaken perception? Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless GAI is chronicling the career of Dots Miller while he played second base for Pittsburgh (1909-11) or Cy Young while he was with the Cleveland Indians (also 1909-11), how did they (GAI) come up with this distinctive 3-year span? I'll tell you how. They made a totally arbitrary (random) guess that a T206 was inside of the unopened cigarette pack and then turned to page 492 of the 2003 Standard Catalog for further reference.

It is with great humility, then, that I must reluctantly admit the following -- GAI encapsulation really DOES "augment" the value of some collectibles.