Jsa and psa/dna

[hawaiian bam bam]

true, but i think the card manufacturers might be alot more likely to be authenticated right versus TPAs..

THIS is the ONLY reason i dont collect factory certified autographs any more!

Someone please tell me that this is NOT the norm and maybe just someones storing or displaying of this card in sunlight that caused this card to fade so bad (and not the actual sharpie)

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by hawaiian bam bam

true, but i think the card manufacturers might be alot more likely to be authenticated right versus TPAs..

THIS is the ONLY reason i dont collect factory certified autographs any more!



Someone please tell me that this is NOT the norm and maybe just someones storing or displaying of this card in sunlight that caused this card to fade so bad (and not the actual sharpie)

Ugh! That sucks man. Is it your card?

It is not the norm in general or for that set in particular. I happen to have that complete set (2002 Topps Finest Moments) because I was the Editor that chose the photos for it!

I worked at Topps in 2001-2002

[hawaiian bam bam]

no, its not my card, just one i saw while looking for cards on ebay. does topps use cheap sharpies? because i swear that 99.9% of the factory certified autographs i had from topps faded over time, the blue sharpie turned into a grey purplish color. i kept them out of the light and stored in the dark and the ink turned this faded grey/purplish color? what caused that?

[egri]

I have a handful of 2007 Topps Heritage autographs, and they're just as bold as when I pulled them. From looking at the Larsen, my guess is one of its previous owners (LCS, maybe?) stored it under a fluorescent light, or somewhere exposed to direct sunlight.

[hawaiian bam bam]

I agree with you, however mine were stored out of sunlight and still faded! so the issue might be the person who owned the card before me might have stored it under light. i remember the card shows of th 80's and 90's where there were dozens of tables with certified autographs sitting out in the light for hours and hours! or cards shops that had autographs in cases in sunlight for months and months.

after seeing the high percentage of fakes out there, im thinking certified factory autographs(pack pulled) might be as close to being real as we are going to get.

[mighty bombjack]

If memory serves, Topps used and still uses Staedtler pens, which are pretty nice, but I do see some fading, especially on the higher-tech surfaces (Chrome or whatever).

Here is my Larsen from that set, scanned minutes ago. It does seem a bit more faded than I remember.



NOTE: I scanned the Schmidt because I have seen a few copies of that with autographs similar to the Larsen you posted. Mine is still fairly strong. I also wanted to share the story below...


STORY: As I mentioned, I was the editor for this set, which means I chose the photos and approved the sheets of cards before they went to the printer. I made a few errors. See the error there?

One day maybe a month after these were finalized, I got a call from one of the player reps telling me that I screwed up and that Mike Schmidt is pissed off and refuses to sign his cards because of the REVERSE NEGATIVE. Man, he had me for a bit, thinking my multiple managers were gonna let me hear it all day. He only let me sweat it a bit before telling me that Schmidt thought it was funny and actually kind of cool. I agree.

[hawaiian bam bam]

thank you for the info and pics. I swear that for years and years i thought that my sharpie autographs have faded or were beginning to fade, i couldnt prove it or pinpoint exactly the fading, but just new somehow they didnt look like when i either bought them or got them in packs. now that your saying that your noticing fading too, i dont feel like im going crazy and the only one that has this fading problem! wouldnt that be something if lets say 15-20 years the hobby wakes up and realizes all these sharpie autographs fade over time? i dont think its just the cards, i think its the actual blue ink used. what do you think causes this fading?

[Lordstan]

To the OP,
I am one who has been very critical of the TPAs in the autograph world. While I agree that they get the majority of stuff right, many of the mistakes they have made are really big ones that defy logic, IMHO. When taken in the correct way, I think they do serve a purpose for giving an opinion. My problem has always been that people take them as the end all be all on auto because they sell themselves as experts. Plus they charge based on the autograph value and not the difficulty of the authentication. IMO, If it was about quality of work, the time it takes to do an authentication would the price varying factor. Many of the big name autos can be given a "yes" or "no" in seconds, once you know what you are looking for, but I would be willing to bet only a couple people on the totality of this board know what a Clancy Smyres auto looks like. I don't

The best way to ensure the highest likelihood of buying real autos comes in 6 easy steps.

1) Educate yourself on the autos you wish to buy.
2) Educate yourself on the autos you wish to buy.
3) Educate yourself on the autos you wish to buy.

4) Find a select group of well established/reliable dealers. Besides knowledge, perhaps the most important thing to look for is do they stand behind their items. The reality is that every auto collector has, at one time, perhaps more than once, purchased or sold an auto that was not real. Of course, for most of us, it's just a mistake. IMHO, The real test of a good dealer is will they take something back if it is later shown to be fake. Many out there will get something certed by PSA and then issue the no refund deal. I think that someone who is confident in their skills will rely on their own expertise, not a TPA.

5) Find a group of friends/colleague collectors who you trust.. These people should be able to tell you their truthful opinion without you getting pissed at them. Sometimes we all need that slap across the back of the head to reality orient us. Additionally these will be the people who will share their knowledge with you openly. As you can see, many people are tight lipped about specific things they look for in each auto. A lot do this, because scammers read Net54 as well, and no one wants to give them any help

6) Become a skeptic. One of the biggest issues I see is that people want the items to be real so much to feed their obsession that they lose objectivity. If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't.

Autos can be a lot of fun, but they are also a lot of work. Please don't "invest" your hard earned money expecting a big return before you have an idea what you are looking at.

Regarding factory certed autos... I guess you guys haven't heard about the scandals where one of the companies send a player a few hundred cards and he gave some to different family members to sign. LOL

Best,
M@rk V3l@rd3

[Ryan1125]

For the most part I will only buy items that I KNOW are authentic, from my own eye, or with the advice of a few people that I 100% trust with certain signatures.

Honestly, learning the signature is 1/2 the fun for me. I enjoy it it, and it's fun "training" my eyes. There are usually "no-brainers" which I feel 100% comfortable purchasing, and I simply pass on signatures that I deem "on the fence", or "fake". Many times people will ask "IS THIS REAL OR NO" and what they should be asking me is "Would you purchase this or not?" because that is how I look at it when judging. If there is ANY doubt, simply pass.

PSA/DNA and JSA both make mistakes all the time, it should NEVER be about the "COA", you should always pay attention to the signature. If you literally have no clue, then yes, you are more likely to get a real signature if you buy one with PSA/DNA or JSA certification, but by no means should anyone believe those are "proof" of authenticity.

The more I collect, the more I realize that autographs I simply buy on eBay do not mean much to me, so I've tried to weed out my collection to mostly items I've gotten signed myself. This is obviously the safest route, but some people are just impossible to get this way. I have gotten a lot of sigs TTM (just gotta be careful about secretarials, autopens, etc.), and I have purchased plenty of pack-issued autographed cards as well.

[hawaiian bam bam]

Does anyone know why or what makes blue sharpie /stadeler turn from blue to the grayish purpleish color? Thanks

[hawaiian bam bam]

anyone know the answer to my question? thanks