Do you prefer Aftermarket or Certified Topps autos?
 

Do you prefer Aftermarket or Certified Topps autos for your collection? Vote now!

Aftermarket autos: (Autographs that are signed and then authenticated authentic/slabbed by TPAs, like PSA) (Ex: 1985 Topps signed Roger Clemens in a PSA Authentic Auto blue slab)

Pros:

as long as its slabbed, it will sell on ebay!

Cons:

50/50 chance the autograph is real (even if slabbed authentic)

if you like consistent looking slabs, PSA might change its design every few years.

Certified Topps Autographs:
(Autographs that one would get in a pack of cards, autograph is certified on card by Topps (Or Upper Deck, etc)

Pros:

As close to an authentic autograph as you will ever get (unless you get it yourself in person)

Cons:

low resale value as they seem to be in every other pack nowadays!

I prefer the aftermarket auto. I think it looks a lot better. The best are the vintage aftermarket autos.

Agree, I feel like the sharpies look better. to me, it looks like the card companied give athletes "cheap" sharpies to use as the topps certified autographs dont look as cool to me as a regular aftermarket signed card.

My preference is after market autos for almost every autographed card I'm interested in, including modern players. Mostly because there are a million certified autos but getting them in person is infinitely harder:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...73d04abf_w.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5fba8014_w.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/1728/2...c385ce0a_w.jpg[

These look awesome!

I like both options. As the OP mention each have pros & cons.

Aftermarket is great for more vintage autos or 90s. Get the autos on the cards that you personally like.

Topps or other companies w/cert. autos are great for modern (~2010-present) because saves time from trying to get IP autos and some cards looks nice and rather cheap. Even those the risk is much lower of fakes certs, the penmanship is awful and much harder get PSA if done IP.

The hobby sadly, whether it's getting TTM or IP access is much different today than even just 5-10 years ago.

If its something for me - Aftermarket Vintage Topps, signed in Ball Point NOT Slabbed

Upper Deck "certified"
 

It must be real, Upper Deck "certified" it

Im not getting it, this a real auto or fake? (not sure if this was a real or funny post)

I recently read that there are some issues lately with topps certified autos. Particularly with Lionel Messi. Anyone else hear this?

I have reported this and others going back years.
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=354817

Hey John,
I do remember this thread. I think the big names like Mays, Mantle Joe D, Jeter, etc I would definitely be extra careful on but I also think guys like dower, feller and Nolan Ryan most likely are not going to be the target of forgers. (Not any money to be made there). Im also starting to think that the chances of topps certified autographs being authentic might be better than an autograph authenticated by a TPA like PSA, Beckett or JSA.

Pre 2000 cards, IP autos all the way

Post 2000 cards, wouldn't touch anything other than certified factory autos

well, if the current TPA Authentication whistle blower confession that is all over the internet and social media right now is true, I am done with TPAs and their autograph authentication. I will only be focused on topps certified autographs from now on as this new revelation could be the biggest fake autograph scandal this hobby has EVER seen. (with all the major TPAs mentioned by the whistle blower as involved)

for those that want to read the allegations of the whistle blower, someone posted a thread about this on the below net54 section:

Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions

yikes! ring the bell....iceberg straight ahead for the hobby! (if this is deemed to be true) it could affect all of our autograph collections.

Not mine.
Never used 'em.
Never will.
I've been calling bullshit on third party TPAs for years--ever since they first showed up.
And for that, I've been badmouthed here--a "grumpy old man," who "needs anger management classes," and who does nothing but deride our wonderful hobby.
:)

In light of recent events, the only autograph I prefer are ones I get in person.

Short of that, even the ones pulled from card packs are suspect.

That seems to be what it has come to.

SMDH

Butch

You sound like the people who complained when cigarettes went to a dollar a pack that you would never buy cigarettes again but are still smoking them today.

All anybody ever needed to know about the opinion sellers is their first card.

Happy if I'm in David's club and considered a "grumpy old man," who "needs anger management classes," and who does nothing but deride our wonderful hobby.

Does it annoy anyone that the new PSA slabs day “trading card” on them instead of what the card actually is? Ex:1978 Topps Eddie Murray