advice Michael Jordan

[dgo71]

I completely understand that witnessing an item being signed is the only 100% way of proving authenticity. So by that same token, how could an authenticated signature ever be "proven" to be fraudulent? Why would "proof" of a fraudulent item be more iron-clad than "proof" of its authenticity? That's kind of my point, these are nothing more than opinions, and I don't see what makes a TPA's opinion worth the fees associated with their service or the mark-up on the re-sale of their authenticated items. If the main pro of a TPA is to offer peace of mind, and that peace of mind is really just an illusion at the end of the day, aren't they selling snake oil?

I mean, I get it from a seller's perspective, I can sell this DVD for $10, or I can put it in a fancy "special edition" tin with a couple knicky-knack bonuses and sell it for $30. But from a buyer's perspective I see TPA's as useless middlemen that only cause me to have to pay more for an item with the exact same assurance of authenticity of a raw item.

Sorry to go off topic OP!

[packs]

People may not like TPA's in their current state, but I believe there is a necessity to have a standard of opinion. Individuals who have been dealing for a long time are trusted resources. But there needs to be some third party standard set for the sake of buyers. A single person can be influenced.

[chaddurbin]

i've heard psa rejecting trouts in the past and bryants recently...but since jordan is a big ticket item (high authentication fees) i don't think they'd just randomly reject good jordans. we do have a jordan expert here maybe post a scan and he'll chime in.

and the "got it ip" line is one of the most abused lines used in this hobby. you just admitted now that it wasn't ip and you bought it 10 years ago...who's to say if your friend didn't use the same line but he really didn't obtain it himself.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by chaddurbin

i've heard psa rejecting trouts in the past and bryants recently...but since jordan is a big ticket item (high authentication fees) i don't think they'd just randomly reject good jordans. we do have a jordan expert here maybe post a scan and he'll chime in.

and the "got it ip" line is one of the most abused lines used in this hobby. you just admitted now that it wasn't ip and you bought it 10 years ago...who's to say if your friend didn't use the same line but he really didn't obtain it himself.

Actually what he said was "It was an IP autograph at Arizona fall league- 100% legit." He did not say that he got it in person. A minor point, but I believe a salient one.

[Bpm0014]

Jordan is a very tough sell without the cert. I have about 20-30 Jordan autographs, all in person, and have tried to sell some here without much success. My uncle does bodyguard work for him once a year for the last 15-20 years at a local charity golf event run by Mario Lemieux. I get 2-3 autographs a year from Jordan. It seems like the demand is great for autograph, but not so much without the cert....

[chaddurbin]

would love to own a signed '91 ud of him in the white sox uniform. remember ripping so many packs looking for that card...

[theshleps]

Those of us who are IP collectors who spend 6 weeks a year between fall league and spring training know each other very well and we see each other daily and help each other on sets etc. I know you guys do not know me tho people like Jim Stinson, Ron Gordon, etc know me well. When you are an IP collector you know which of the collectors there to trust and when my friend left the hobby and I bought all he only got stuff in person, not through trades or TTM or purchases as he NEVER did those. The fact JSA rejected it is meaningless as they have rejected many items many of us have gotten in person. I had them reject 2 Ichiro spring training autographs, only to accept them the 2nd time (same authenticator too), same with a Jeter and a few others. Will post the Jordan once it is returned to me. I don't need the $, just not interested in autographs outside of HOF, Jewish, and Beatles, so want to unload it at a fair price.
I wouldn't mind if a company always erred on the side of being cautious and rejected good ones at times but these guys also slab some pretty laughable vintage signed cards and then folks buy them