GAI - CTD????

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Posted By: HE WHO KNOWS!

hey midget...put your name by your post or quit posting...nothing personal....(moderator)

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Posted By: dan mckee

I ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer but a move would not constitute not sending a few bozos to these shows to accept submissions. The main players could stay back at the Ranch. GIZMO, I take it you work or have worked at GAI?? Dan.

Thanks Leon, now my post makes me look even dumber than I really am, your killing me.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

What surprises me is the amount of concern about this. I figured GAI was a way distant third when it came to grading companies preferred by this board.

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Posted By: leon

I just can't let anonymous people slam anyone or any company...Doesn't matter if they are right or not...Just can't happen.....or won't happen, on this watch.....BTW, I pretty much agreed with what he said but that's beside the point....

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Posted By: Matt

Dan B - while you're probably correct that the overwhelming majority of the board prefers PSA/SGC to GAI, I would imagine that the bulk of us, somewhere in our collections, have some GAI slabbed stuff, so we're affected. Unfortunately, when a grading company goes under, their slabbed material takes a hit on the market, even though the grade is no less valid then it was when the company was around. I suppose with SGC's guarantee, this would make sense since there is no longer a company backing the cards. In any event, GAI going under would affect a number of us.

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Posted By: dan mckee

I hear ya bro, makes sense. Good point Dan B. I guess my interest stems on seeing a once major and respected grading company go under. As a completely "raw" collector, my interest lies in seeing how the grading changes the hobby for better or for worse. It is the first major downfall in the grading industry I believe? The real grading industry, not counting the garbage companies that none of us respect.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Well, reading along in the thread it sounds like they just moved and are not going under so I guess that's good news. Does seem a very odd way to handle a move though - especially one that is only a couple of hundred feet away.

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Posted By: Bob

The whole thing seems odd to me. I echo the sentiments expressed earlier by several posters that the guys at GAI are very personable, intelligent and cooperative. The problem is their customer service needs real work and when you start ticking off customers by not returning calls or following through on promises, no matter how nice you are, you lose business.

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Posted By: Bottom of the Ninth

I hope it is just a move. They are good guys.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Amazing how you can take what most veterans consider the best grader in the business, two people largely responsible for the success of PSA in the early years, guys with a world of personality that are well liked by both dealers and collectors and credible financial backers and still struggle.

I agree with Bob's points but I would add to it. I think they have been perceived by many (until recently) as being too lenient on their grading and on being too close to some of the dealers. They also have not gotten up a credible registry or message board despite many promises they would.
The last I heard(about a year ago) was opening an east coast office.....and as Bob points out some of their customer service issues have not only been bad they have been unbelievably bad.

I thought they would make it to be one of the "big three" grading companies of the future and I got into some heated discussions with my friends on LTS about this. So far I have been wrong.

Will they make it--I hope so--but they may have cheapened the brand enough that becoming one of the "big three" looks increasingly unlikely.

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Posted By: peter chao

Jim,

BGS has always done a great job grading and is probably financially stronger. My guess is they will be part of the Big 3 first.

Peter C.

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Posted By: Bob

The one other thing I wanted to mention is that it seems some collectors steer away from cards in GAI holders, for whatever reason. This is good news to the rest of us (collectors) because there are some really nice cards encapsulated in GAI holders and maybe the prices will be lower and more affordable.

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Posted By: dan mckee

Hey Bob, didn't you rip off some poor sap in Cleveland that had a nice Red Sun in a GAI holder that you bought and immediately crossed to an SGC??

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Posted By: Kevin Saucier

The Beckett post "hit the nail on the head."



Kevin

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Posted By: Bob

Hi Dan Nope, actually SGC wouldn't cross the Red Sun at the same grade they would only go the next lower grade. I thought it was dumb because the card was a killer, and yes, thanks for selling it to me. I ended up selling it and making a little money and plowing it back in to E94s, cards I know something more about.

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Posted By: dan mckee

Hey my pleasure Bob, glad you did well with it.

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Posted By: RICK GIDDINGS

WELL,THIS IS A PRETTY HARD POSTING FOR A GUY HAS REPRESENTED GLOBAL AUTHENTICATION FOR ABOUT 1 1/2 YEARS AS THE MIDWESTS SUBMISSION CENTER,BUT I AM POSTING THIS IN CAPS,SORRY,THATS HOW I ROLL?FIRST THIS IS AN OPINION,AND ONLY AN OPINION FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN TAKE PLACE, THE LAST 18 MONTHS!QUESTION #1,WHY LET ONE OF THE BEST AUTHENTICATORS IN THE COUNTRY LEAVE?MR.JUSTIN PRIDDY,AND WHY WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND,TRY TO SAVE HIM,WHEN HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 65% OF YOUR INCOME?2ND QUESTION,WHY WOULD YOU PART WAYS WITH KEITH SMITH,PROBABLY THE BEST PACK AUTHENTICATOR IN THE COUNTRY?BY THE WAY,KEITH IS NOW WITH A VERY STABLE ,DAVE&ADAMS CARD WORLD?IN MY OPINION LOOSING THESE TWO GUYS HAS HURT GAI,AND NOW WITH THE LOSS OF MIKE FLYNN,HEAD ENCAPSALATOR,THERE ARE SOME REAL ISSUES!MY COMPANY ALONE HAS FIELDED TONS OF PHONE CALLS FROM MY CUSTOMERS WONDERING WHEN THEY WILL BE REINBURSED FOR THER LOST ITEMS FROM GAI AND UPS?ALTHOUGH WE THINK VERY STRONGLY THAT MR MIKE BAKER IS THE BEST GRADER IN THE COUNTRY,AND A CLOSE FRIEND,IT MIGHT BE TIME FOR MIKE TO MOVE ON,AN OPINION,AND GO TO SGC OR PSA!THE SAME WITH STEVE ROCCHI,THE MAN WHO BUILT PSA,VERY INTELLIGENT,AND COULD GO ANYWHERE?AS FOR THE NEW MMBERS OF GAI,WELL,LETS JUST STATE THIS AS OPINION,KEVIN HAMMOND,RELEASED GLOBAL PASSPORT,AND IT FELL ON ITS FACE?STEVE SIPE,GREAT GUY,ALSO MY OPINION TO MOVE ON!
AS FOR ME,AND THIS BEING AN OPINION AND OPTION,WE WILL AWAIT OUR MONEY DUE TO US FOR OUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS WHO WE BROUGHT TO GLOBAL!AND THE NEXT QUESTION IS WHY WOULD YOU THREATEN TO SUE MR PRIDDY?ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS YOU HAVE TRIED THAT TACTIC?THE WEBSITE IS DOWN?THE PHONES ARE NOT BEING ANSWERED?MAYBE,AND THIS IS ALSO AN OPINION,TRY LESS CHIEFS AND MORE INDIANS?I WILL AWAIT THE MONEYS DUE TO MY CUSTOMERS,AND WILL NOT TAKE ANY OTHER SUBMISSIONS IN BEHALF OF GLOBAL AUTHENTICATION?THE NAME OF MY COMPANY IS GIZMO'S SPORTSCARDS,AND MY NAME IS RICK GIDDINGS.IF WE ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE TIME RESTRAINT FOR REIMBURSING MY CUSTOMERS,WELL LETS PUT IT THIS WAY,WE WILL DEAL WITH IT AS A TEAM,TO GET OUR MONEYS BACK FROM GLOBAL FOR LOST MERCHANDISE THAT WAS UNDER-INSURED,AND PACKAGED LIKE MY 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WOULD?THIS WAS REALLY HARD TO WRITE,BUT I FELT THAT MY OPINION HAD TO BE HEARD BY THE REST OF THE SPORTS INDUSTRY WORLD!I GOT A CALL THIS WEEK ALSO,SAYING THAT THERE WERE PODS OUTSIDE THE SAN CLEMENTE OFFICE,LOADING UP WHAT WAS INSIDE,AND ALSO HEARD THE RUMOUR THAT THE LANDLORD WAS NOT PAID?IS THIS THE SAME AS THE DIRECT EMPLOYEES WHO CALLED ME AND SAID THEY COULDNT CASH THERE CHECKS?AND,WHAT ABOUT TWO OF YOUR EX EMPLOYEES CALLING ME AND TELLING ME THAT CUSTOMERS WERE GIVEN THERE OWN CERTS?NOW,AS A BUSINESS DECISION,WE WILL CUT ALL TIES TO GLOBAL AUTHENTICATION,AND ONLY EXPECT WHAT IS DO TO YOUR CUSTOMERS $1,100.00!!!!!AND WHY NO SHOW AT HOFSTRA,AND NO SHOW IN READING?---ANYBODY WITH CONCERNS CALL ME FOR AN OPINION ONLY!--THANKS FOR YOUR TIME RICK GIDDINGS--GIZMO'S SPORTSCARDS 815-645-8282

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Posted By: Matt

leon - any chance you can edit that post and change it all to lower case?

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Posted By: barrysloate

Rick- I like your stream of consciousness posting technique. James Joyce wrote like that.

Nevertheless, even if GAI is going out of business, and those things happen, wouldn't they return all the ungraded material that they are currently holding? They certainly wouldn't steal it from the people who submitted it. So what is all this about customers being out money? You lost me there.

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Posted By: Mark

"AND NOW WITH THE LOSS OF MIKE FLYNN,HEAD ENCAPSALATOR,THERE ARE SOME REAL ISSUES!"

Was Mike the one who graded Ted Williams' head?

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Posted By: Richard Masson

sounded like Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

Thank you, Mr. Gizmo, for bringing great literature back to the hobby. That was easily as dense a read as "Finnegan's Wake" or "Gravity's Rainbow."

Truly appreciated.

By the way, I'm planning on walking across my office to get a cup of coffee. Therefore, in the interest of customer satisfaction, I am advising you all ahead of time that I will not be communicating with the outside world in any way, shape, or form. That includes telephone, internet, verbal communication including whispering, body language, eye contact, or writing in crayon. I would also expect that, in the process of filling my coffee cup, I will put all sorts of things into oversized containers and lose most of what's in my office. Everything's okay though. I'm just thirsty.

-Al

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Posted By: peter chao

Perhaps GAI is just downsizing?

Peter C.

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Posted By: RICK GIDDINGS

THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR TIME,AND AGAIN,SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS LOCK!WE HOPE THAT GAI WILL THRIVE AGAIN,AND WISH MIKE AND BOTH STEVE'S THE BEST OF LUCK!

AND NO,I DONT THINK THEY DID TED WILLIAMS' HEAD!

THANKS FOR ASKING THOUGH?---GIZ

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Posted By: leon

I think Rick is a good guy after our conversation but all caps does give me a little bit of a headache ...and there is no way for me to go make it all lower caps unless I personally retype the whole thing. If I do that I will have to raise my ad rates so it won't be happening....I too think this looks very bad for GAI......regards

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Posted By: RICK GIDDINGS

WHY WAS JUSTIN PRIDDYS NAME LEFT ON THE CERTS,BEINGS HE OFFICIALLY LEFT ON JULY 10TH 2007?

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Posted By: Rob Scales

paste Rick's post in Word => select/highlight all text => click "Format" => click "change case"

This will throw the entire post in lower case

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Posted By: Joe D.

edit: never mind.

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Posted By: Jim VB

well,this is a pretty hard posting for a guy has represented global authentication for about 1 1/2 years as the midwests submission center,but i am posting this in caps,sorry,thats how i roll?first this is an opinion,and only an opinion from what i have seen take place, the last 18 months!question #1,why let one of the best authenticators in the country leave?mr.justin priddy,and why would anyone in their right mind,try to save him,when he was responsible for 65% of your income?2nd question,why would you part ways with keith smith,probably the best pack authenticator in the country?by the way,keith is now with a very stable ,dave&adams card world?in my opinion loosing these two guys has hurt gai,and now with the loss of mike flynn,head encapsalator,there are some real issues!my company alone has fielded tons of phone calls from my customers wondering when they will be reinbursed for ther lost items from gai and ups?although we think very strongly that mr mike baker is the best grader in the country,and a close friend,it might be time for mike to move on,an opinion,and go to sgc or psa!the same with steve rocchi,the man who built psa,very intelligent,and could go anywhere?as for the new mmbers of gai,well,lets just state this as opinion,kevin hammond,released global passport,and it fell on its face?steve sipe,great guy,also my opinion to move on!
as for me,and this being an opinion and option,we will await our money due to us for our loyal customers who we brought to global!and the next question is why would you threaten to sue mr priddy?on a number of occasions you have tried that tactic?the website is down?the phones are not being answered?maybe,and this is also an opinion,try less chiefs and more indians?i will await the moneys due to my customers,and will not take any other submissions in behalf of global authentication?the name of my company is gizmo's sportscards,and my name is rick giddings.if we are not satisfied with the time restraint for reimbursing my customers,well lets put it this way,we will deal with it as a team,to get our moneys back from global for lost merchandise that was under-insured,and packaged like my 9 year old daughter would?this was really hard to write,but i felt that my opinion had to be heard by the rest of the sports industry world!i got a call this week also,saying that there were pods outside the san clemente office,loading up what was inside,and also heard the rumour that the landlord was not paid?is this the same as the direct employees who called me and said they couldnt cash there checks?and,what about two of your ex employees calling me and telling me that customers were given there own certs?now,as a business decision,we will cut all ties to global authentication,and only expect what is do to your customers $1,100.00!!!!!and why no show at hofstra,and no show in reading?---anybody with concerns call me for an opinion only!--thanks for your time rick giddings--gizmo's sportscards 815-645-8282

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Posted By: RICK GIDDINGS

appreciate the guy who did that letter in low caps,now everyone can read!----giz

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Posted By: Rick McQuillan

I'm happy to see that experts are now grading Ted Williams head. I bought one on ebay the other day and it was a fake. I was really pissed!

Rick

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Posted By: Ed Ivey

I JUST TOOK TWO EXCEDRIN! EXACTLY WHAT IS THE PLURAL? EXCEDRI?

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

A simple move down the hall is not that simple! When they were in Irvine, I was lucky to be in "The Vault". It was a big room with thousands of items waiting to be graded. Things were in certain places throughout the vault to keep things in order. The vault had many security requirements, and that's why it's difficult to move to other locations. I'm sure that GAI is moving the stuff themselves so that things don't get messed up. It will be a big job and will take a long time. A week doesn't surprise me. I'm sure the new vault is 3 times bigger than Irvine's vault. I spoke to Steve Rochi yesterday, and was assured that they'll be back up as soon as possible. The server is probally the last thing they will get going.

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Posted By: Matt

How much would it have cost to put a message on the phone saying, "GAI is in the process of relocating. Please bear with us during this time?"

No one can convince me it is reasonable in a customer service industry to not let your customers know if you are even open for business anymore for a whole day, let alone a period of weeks.

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

If I was in charge of thousands or even tens of thousands of items, my major concern would be the safe handling of those items. Things can be stolen or lost if not careful. I agree their customer service could improve, but their #1 concern should be for the safe moving of those items.

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Posted By: Matt

Richard - no one suggested your #1 concern shouldn't be for the merchandise, but honestly, how much attention would it have taken to put a message on the phone? 30 seconds? They didn't have 30 seconds?

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

Phone companies are famous for taking their time to install new phone service. If they were forced to move unexpectantly, I'm sure the local phone company won't have their number working for more than a week. I agree, I don't understand why they didn't leave the other phone working with a message, while they were waiting for the new service.

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Posted By: Kevin Saucier

"I'm sure the new vault is 3 times bigger than Irvine's vault"


It's a little more than 3x what they previously had, plus it's got a great view.

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Posted By: RICK GIDDINGS

WHAT VAULT,EVERYTHING TO BE AUTHENTICATED WAS IN BASKETS IN THE BACK ROOM?HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THERE OFFICE IN SAN CLEMENTE?AND NO,THEY SET THERE OWN PHONE MESSAGES,AND DIDNT FOLLOW UP!HECK MY VAULT IS BIGGER THEN THERES IF THEY HAVE ONE I DIDNT SEE!

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Posted By: MikeU

"It's a little more than 3x what they previously had, plus it's got a great view."

Kevin,

Did you land a gig with them?

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

"The Vault" is a big room. Not a bank type vault. GAI had shelves, desks, cubicles, etc in the vault in Irvine.

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Posted By: Frank Evanov

GAI - CTD???? November 5 2007, 10:11 PM


They're moving within the same building. They'll be back up and going within the week. Like a said earlier, there should be a press release tomorrow. Nothing to worry about.

Did I miss the press release today??


Frank

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Posted By: Kevin Saucier

"Kevin,

Did you land a gig with them?"


No, I still have my day job. Mike and I have become good friends and talk frequently. When I go to their HQ he teaches me the subtleties of grading and the biz. In turn, I show him advanced alterations and discuss the proceedures for each...and what to look for.

I consider "the vault" their entire working space and grading area, minus the offices. Their new place is much larger but farther away from Los Angeles county.


Kevin

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Posted By: MikeU

"Did I miss the press release today??"

Yes, the press release was on Beckett's Website. That seems awfully strange to me. Maybe I am thinking too hard.

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Posted By: RICK GIDDINGS

AND MR.DWYER,WHAT DREAM WORLD ARE YOU IN?JUST CURIOUS?

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

AND MR.DWYER,WHAT DREAM WORLD ARE YOU IN?JUST CURIOUS?

Your shouting and insulting comments are not welcome on this board. I put up the information because I stand behind GAI, and got tired of reading the speculation and wild ideas that were posted. What do you mean by "WHAT DREAM WORLD ARE YOU IN"?

Turn your caps lock off! I'm tired of reading it.

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Posted By: leon

While Ricks delivery is less than perfect I think he does make some good points. I have met some of the GAI folks, inlcuding Baker, and all seem like good folk. With that being said it is absolutely unconscionable that a company their size would do a move in this manner and not have a more public notice of what they are doing. To not have a voice mail stating they are moving, a website with a static page mentioning it, or coming on this board with an explanation, isn't very good, to say the least. Whoever is in charge of their move really needs to brush up on public perception...which has always been one of their weakest points and obviously still is......Just my opinion....regards

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Posted By: JK

Cap locks are the least of my problems reading gizmo's posts. A few paragraphs would be nice, maybe even sentences that have a beginning and an end.

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Posted By: JK

I agree with Leon. A lot doesnt make sense if this is only a move. Certainly if that were the case, someone with GAI would have been on this board and posted that information. In contrast to GAI, when SGC moved, there was no shutdown, a big message was on their website noting the change in address and, from what I recall, if you called their number, you got a message that forwarded you to voice mail, not a busy signal.

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

It all makes sense if Beckett is buying Global.....