authentication blues

[Runscott]

Perhaps this might sound like a violation of my own personal hypocrisy rules, but I do not throw away LOA's from the 'big 2' that arrive with autographs I purchase. I used to not even mention them when selling more expensive autographs, and only provide them if asked. As far as I could tell, it didn't affect my business and few non-tire-kickers ever asked for a LOA. I probably should go back to that policy, mentioning that I personally guarantee authenticity of the autograph, despite errors that TPA's will sometimes make.

This is one of the reasons that I really liked buying my higher-end autographs from Leland's, with only Josh's word on them - I paid non-LOA prices and could sell them as such with my guarantee and the auction house's. Same for RR. If I don't like the autograph, I don't buy it, and I shouldn't be buying expensive autographs that I'm not personally able to identify as real.

For lower-value autographs, I think TPA-certification makes sense - they can affordably take a look at a lot of autographs that forgers won't normally bother with, and give a general level of confidence to the purchaser that they aren't being scammed by an ebay seller. But on the large cert'd lots, you'll almost always find a few secretarials, and some will be fairly expensive ones, so at most you are getting protection from actual forgers.

I look at them like the McDonalds of autographs - you wouldn't buy a filet mignon dinner at McDonald's and a Babe Ruth certified at one of these places isn't going to taste any better than a Bob Feller.