SGC Reputation
 

Cross-posted from Postwar Baseball Cards Forum

Hello, I have been working on getting cards from my 1963 Fleer set autographed. I am up to 26 with another 3 in the works. On of the problems is the presence of 19 deceased players in the set. I do have 2 deceased players (Howser and Spahn), but don't expect I will ever come close to getting them all. And, even if I could, I am pretty sure I couldn't afford Clemente.

That said, I did find an autographed '63 Fleer of Smoky Burgess that was authenticated by SGC. However, the B in the last name doesn't look comparable to Burgess autographs authenticated by PSA. I know SGC has a decent reputation as a grading company. Are they similarly well regarded as authenticators?

Here is the card in question:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161046085636...84.m1423.l2649


and here is one that seems more typical of Burgess' signature.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMOKY-BURGES...item4accaf83a7

Thanks in advance.

Added in Edit: You know what, forget I asked. I just read all 18 pages of the SGC Authentication thread and it is pretty clear asking this question isn't going to yield any definitive answer. If anyone wants to opine on the autographed card in question, have at it. If not, move along; nothing to see here.

I think the card in question is fine.

I would trust SGC authenticiation just as much as JSA. If I am not mistaken they use experts for specific/higher end/rare autographs in addition to having some JSA employees who now work for them.

Thank you.

In a way, it is hard to imagine someone forging a signature for a $40 Buy-It-Now. Then again, I have a Paul Blair player collection, and there are a fair number of sketchy "autographed" cards already popping up on EBay, in the wake of his passing, for $10-$20. So, I try not to make too many assumptions about the depths unscrupulous sellers will stoop to.

There are people that will forge anything. Even $10 autographs are not safe. The good news is, the bottom feeders who fake $10 autographs are not very skilled and their work is usually obvious.

My experience with SGC authentications to date has been that they are a bit more conservative than PSA/DNA and JSA. I've had items with auction certs from JSA rejected at SGC and I had an item that came directly from an inside source rejected as well.

Some sellers rely on buyers thinking this way. If you think about it, taking a card that's worth a few bucks or less and making it into a "$40 item" is a pretty profitable proposition, and if that seller is moving a high volume of cheaper signatures, it's easy to see why someone would do it.

Mr. Zipper is absolutely correct!!!

We've exposed Ebay sellers of forgeries who specialize in listing and selling $5.00-$20.00 autographs. At any given time on Ebay, there are probably a few hundred sellers of forgeries selling that crap.

Before these sellers were removed by Ebay, some would make between $500 to $1,000.00 weekly.

And guess what....

Two weeks later they would start all over again on Ebay under a new Ebay ID.

They are successful because there are thousands of wannabe autograph collectors on Ebay.