Quote:
Originally Posted by BobC
Have a few serious questions about this.
I've heard of and am aware of the "Quick Opinion" option, but are there really any actual guarantees or anything to back that type of opinion up? My understanding is that you're basically just forking over some money to have someone put a sticker on a top loader, supposedly sealing it and indicating the auto of the enclosed item is real (or at least I remember seeing something like this with cards to prove authenticity). But the method isn't that secure or safe to be sure the autographed item hasn't been removed or tampered with.
1. So, does anyone really use and rely on this service for more significant/valuable autos?
2. And, what actually happens if you use this service initially and get a positive "Quick Opinion" on an autograph, so you decide to submit the auto for full verification/encapsulation by the same TPG you got the "Quick Opinion" from, except now it comes back no good?
3. Or what happens if you get a positive "Quick Opinion" from one TPG, but then submit it to another TPG for full verification, but now the second TPG says it is no good?
4. And finally, does any of the above make or result in any different outcome if you are the person who originally had the "Quick Opinion" performed on a card you still own, as opposed to you being a subsequent owner of an autographed item you had acquired that still had the positive "Quick Opinion" indication/seal supposedly in place?
|
1. I occasionally use it for high dollar autographs if I am on the fence and just want another opinion without spending a few hundred dollars. If the opinion is "Likely not authentic", I pass on the item for certain. To be clear, most unauthenticated expensive autographs rarely are opined "Likely authentic" because they are not authentic. However, they have passed several Jackie Robinsons for me in the past and they were indeed real.
2. It does not guarantee that a full authentication would yield the same result. However, they generally are pretty careful opining "Likely Authentic" unless they are pretty sure but it could indeed come back "Not authentic."
They charge $300 for Babe Ruth full authentication and $10 for a "Quick Opinion" so you can see the services are not equal.
3. The 3rd parties could indeed disagree if submitted to more than one but probably not likely.
4. The "Quick Opinion" can only be used by the original requester for the $10 credit against the full authentication fee. Granted, it is not the best option in the world for authentication but can weed out really bad forgeries that fool novice collectors.
They do not put anything on the item on the "Quick Opinion" as they do not have the item in hand. That is why they cannot guarantee it would pass full authentication but again it has some value for a low price. Also, you get zero explanation as to the conclusion. You get only the decision likely good or likely bad. It is very unlikely a "Likely Not Authentic" conclusion would ever yield the opposite on full authentication.