Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardSimon
Earlier today I got a phone call from someone who bought some autographs from an auction house that we have already discussed here. (not a real sports auction house, but a fringe auctioneer).
He tells me that after he bought them and before he paid he sent scans to Global who would not render an opinion. He said that, I don't know if that really happened.
The guy, all of a sudden, was worried that he bought bad stuff and asked the auctioneer to let him out of his bids. The auctioneer said that according to state law the buyer was responsible for payment even in the event that bogus material was sold.
He said he bought a Ruth signed ball for $850. Yeah, $850,not eight thousand.
Once he said that I just lost it. I chided him for deciding to check out the stuff AFTER the auction had ended. "Well, my partner called me and told me we could buy some stuff cheaply," was his answer.
"What should I do now?" he asks.
What am I supposed to tell him. That he is a schmuck? I wanted to but I did not.
I told him to speak to a lawyer and he asked me if he paid for them and sent them to me and I rejected them would that be enough to get his money back. How am I supposed to answer that question?
Man, sometimes I just get fed up, you know?
The guy and his partner were apparently not collectors, just fast buck artists, trying to cash in on cheap auction prices, when the entire country is full of smart, on the lookout, people who would never let a legit Ruth ball go for $850. But they thought that they were smarter than everyone else.
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Makes one wonder how hundreds of times a week stuff like that happens.
It's no different than those
people who bought thousands of pieces of horrific crap from
AlwaysAtAuction with their advertising reading
"Compare At $1800.00" for a Mantle signed piece authenticated by Ted Taylor (TTA/Stat Authentic), Nicholas Burczyk, Chris Morales and Drew Max.
Those buyers then took their purchased autographs and planned to flip them on Ebay and make a killing. I'm sure a few people might have made a small profit on that crap, but after it was discovered, the majority of that crap was removed by Ebay, and shortly thereafter, Ebay placed Chris Morales and Nicholas Burczyk on their "Banned COA" list.
How many of those buyers are holding on to that crap thinking they will pay for college tuition, retirement money, etc.
The source of much of this crap is always looking for new outlets to sell his crap. His crap was pushed off Ebay and then he found some new auction houses. Then he found local charities and local auctions. Then his buddy started to consign that crap to auctioneers all over the country. Everyone thought that things would greatly improve following "Operation Bullpen." That didn't last long. What is going on now is well beyond the "Operation Bullpen" numbers because now you have every Dick and Jane doing their kitchen-table forgeries knowing that the worse that will happen to them is that they get kicked off Ebay. And then you have certain sources of forgeries who seem to have been around forever.
Richard has been doing battle with the forgers longer than I have and it's a never-ending battle. We will win some battles, but we will never win the war because the majority of buyers of autographs are not the sharpest tools in the shed. These are people who are on the outer-circle of us. They will never find us because they aren't interested in finding us. They got their Mickey Mantle signed photo for $50.00 and they are happy until the day comes when they list it on Ebay for $400.00 and it gets removed. Then they will ask themselves "Why did it get removed, it came with a COA from a forensic person."
How does a guy like Chris Morales stay in business authenticating autographs? Buyers!!! Wanna-be collectors equate Chris Morales, Forensic Investigator to shows like NCIS.
How does a guy like Ted Taylor continue to authenticate autographs? Buyers!!!! Ted Taylor is a Philadelphia Athletics historian; he used to work for Fleer.
The other day I sent Ted Taylor the below email:
You're some Philadelphia Athletics historian, Ted.
http://www.myccsa.com/Lot.aspx?LotID=325589
How do you sleep at night, Ted? Tell me.
Christopher
All of this continues because of the BUYERS!!!! No one will ever convince me otherwise.