JSA Story on Autographalert.com

[pwilk17]

Today, 12:01 AM
botn
Greg Schwartz
Member Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 417



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Article does not come as any shock. Just more of the same which plagues the hobby. Two weeks from now the rest of us will join those who already forgot the article was written. Peter Wilk

Probably not the best news for SGC as Spence beings taking an interest in the company and taking over management duties but collectors have ignored worse.

Wonder why I have the lyrics from Won't Get Fooled Again going through my mind...


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#8 Today, 12:26 AM
Fred
Member Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 316



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I just hope that SGCs new leadership doesn't ruin the "good will" that was built through the years. That would be a total shame....

I've got my own JSA story that isn't very positive but I'll just keep it to myself - I do think Spence is a lousy business person and much of that article doesn't come as a shock to me and it definitely doesn't surprise me.

Again, I just hope that SGC doesn't get dragged down the new ownership.
__________________
doh, doh, doh, doh....

[Leon]

Hopefully there will be a comment coming from SGC. I know some things about the situation but don't know what is public and what is private. As for folks in these threads being private on the board....If you read the rules you will understand that when you make comments about companies you either need to be well known by your user id (as BOTN is) or you need to have your full name out there...same rules for everyone. I would even go as far as to recommend most folks putting their full name in their sig line. That will take care of any issues pertaining to anonymity in the future. I don't care if people say what they want to, but you just have to put your name by it. regards

[mark evans]

It now occurs to me that I may have thrown away money, not only on autographs rejected by third-party authenticators, but on those accepted as well. I'm inclined to agree with David Atkatz of the Memorabilia Forum that the autograph hobby is more appropriate for those who wish to develop their own expertise and that those of us who rely on third-party authenticators do so at our own peril.

[RichardSimon]

Mark -
If you rely on the knowledgable honest dealers, and they are out there, and they are well known, then you don't have to rely on third party authenticators.
Virtually every good dealer that I know of, does not rely on 3rd party authentication and those that do just pass along the cost to the collector, whether or not he wants the 3rd party COA.

[FrankWakefield]

I agree with what Richard just posted... but it works well not when a collector buys something from a reputable dealer and then stashes the item away; but rather the collector studies and learns about the item, discusses it with other collectors and dealers, and develops his own expertise about the item. A bit of that goes on here on Net54. A lot of stuff goes on here. And some of it involves the sharing of knowledge and ideas. So I think relying on reputable dealers is a good first step.

[mark evans]

I believe you, Richard.

EBay and third-party authentication were just too convenient. Happily, there's not much money invested and even that I assume could be largely recouped given the claimed authentication.

Mark

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I'm not a autograph collector anymore. I used to be when HOFs would appear at shows for prices ranging from free to $10 and the promotors used to defend the $10 because he had to fly the guy and his spouse in from out of town and cover their other expenses, etc.

But my whole problem with third party grading is that the graders rarely ever get put to the test. This type of evaluation should have happened the first year these authenticators were open for business.

These types of embarrassing situations have also happened in a less formal way in the card industry where collectors crack-out certain dealers graded cards hoping for a bump-up and they get rejected for evidence of trimming.

It's becoming overtly clear that rigorous self-education and the sharing of information is the most powerful weapon against fraud.