Peyton Manning Signed Mini Helmet?
This Peyton Manning signed mini helmet was actually removed by eBay. If you look at the signature it kind of resembles the old Operation Bullpen Manning signatures. Apparently a Quick Opinion was rendered Likely Not Genuine and eBay pulled the auction.
Peyton Manning is a very expensive signature as everyone wants his autograph. Usually the more in demand the player is the more fakes you see on the market. However, we don't have enough info on this one to make a call either way.
You be the judge.
posted by ALLAuthentic.com @ 9:21 PM
104 comments
104 Comments:
Hi guys,
I think I have the correct address to the updating blog. I would like to start by saying FANTASTIC Blog,and I apologize for going off topic re: the peyton manning helmet.I'm new to this blog however I"m not new to the memorabilia world I live in Toronto Canada and I"ve always purchased right from the start with steiner so I never had an issue re: authenticity however if the readers can go back to Jan 4 2007 blog I submitted some questions and perhaps one statement there after re:my doubts I would greatly appreciate some feedback and I too may contribute to this great info site,once again I apologize for going of topic. Thanks Guys
I discussed your questions in the Reggie Bush post. Thanks!
As far as this Manning helmet is concerned...it is just another example of a bad seller that has resurfaced. If you pay attention, you can detect the same forgery styl being sold by several different users - it may be a ring, or it might be the same person reborn into a new eBay identity. Regardless, this a terrible fake, and anyone who buys or bids on this will learn the hard way...or his kids will when they try to sell it after Dad passes on. Sad but true.
heres another form of fraud on ebay reguarding sports memorabilia
fake or flase limited edtion stat jerseys.theres a seller on ebay called adeledog who only sells stat jerseys.what he does is buy them off of ebay from legit sources then creates a flase edtion.for example this item number 280067821769 is a bo jackson auburn tigers stat jersey.he buys a couple of these sometimes only 1 and makes it in this case #1 of 34 making it the rarest # in the edtion other then #34 but its not worth more because its not a true limited edtion because #ers 2-33 dont exist.funny thing is this guy does it over and over again so much he had to tone down a few of the guys he had but still 75% of his stats are premuim numbers
it gets even better this seller used to sell nothing but fake signatures a couple years back and got busted by ebay about 1 year ago and is only allowed to sell items with psa/steiner/tristar etc
it just goes to show once a con allways a con.going from one scam till the next until your busted again
also i left out about stat jerseys if a athlete is going to create a true stat jersey it should only be done about ever 2 years to really bring a extra vaule to it.you can belive what you want about the made up stories but its up to you to make the right call
Now that you mention the stat jerseys, I have seen some #1 of ?. It was on a McGwire jersey. Good tip.
ATTENTION, I have located a very questionalbe seller today who has up 120 plus fake autos including very poor Pujols, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter signed baseballs. He covers every sport and entertainment genre. He is well aware that he sells forged items. This is not the kind of person who is too stupid to understand the whole COA thing. He knows exactly what will sell and what will get the highest price...thus he has several balls signed by ex-presidents, etc. Check it out, the worst at its best! Here is is eBay iD -
gospurs_50
Now go over there and have a good time making him mad.
First of all, I submitted the "Quick Opinion" report on this forged Peyton Manning autographed helmet from Ebay seller "Savant01." I've been complaining to Ebay about seller "Savant01" for about 16 months and they refuse to take any action against him even though it is well-known that he sells fake autograph items. But what is even more puzzling is that even after Ebay received the "Quick Opinion" result from PSA why didn't they remove the remainder of his fake autograph items? He's sold well over 800 fake autograph items on Ebay. As for Ebay seller "adeledog," the Anonymous writer who states that seller "adeledog" was caught selling forged autographs is absolutely correct. Seller "adeledog" was one of the first sellers of fake autograph items that I investigated on Ebay two years ago. Great catch on that one. Now let's go to so-called "new" seller "gospurs_50." "Gospurs_50" is a old seller seller who was recently booted off Ebay for selling forgeries and is back again. Many of their fake autograph items are very similar to those fakes sold by seller "Fansindastands." As soon as I identify who "gospurs_50" was I will reveal it here on the blog. Many of the old "bad sellers" who were removed off Ebay last year are/have been back on again selling forged autograph items. This proves to me that Ebay does not care about the content of the auctions just that they continue to bring in the profits, even though the majority of the autographs on Ebay are forged. Makes you wonder why Ebay doesn't start cleaning up its auction site. I'll tell you why. Because the majority of those that know it simply do not care. The national audience does not care and what we do here does not receive national attention. But who knows, maybe someday this blog will get national attention and maybe a major network or newspaper will pick up on what we are doing and then maybe Ebay will begin using its profits (the ones they make from forged autograph items) to begin getting rid of the "bad sellers" permanently. Until then we will continue to do what we do here and that is to expose the bad guys.....Chris W.
Hey Chris, adeledog, is James Darr from Arizona. He does the same thing you do with reporting sellers to ebay, but he tries to get everyone kicked off so he can have the full market on his forged/scam items. I would love to get this guy kicked off because I have heard of so many problems he causes. I am suprised mitchell and ness hasnt shut him down for altering jerseys. I have sent emails to them but I think they are to busy with the unsigned jersey sellers. Tell me what you think.
i was the one who wrote about abdelog.your correct his name is james darr.i dont know why mitchell and ness hasnt got a piece of him yet??i noticed after the superbowl last season he was buying those korean sbxl patch and sewning them onto steeler jerseys making them stated.
CHRIS your right on the money with abdelog.hes been in and out of ebays vero program and countless auctions removed.look and see how it all started with him on this link
http://www.finheaven.com/boardvb2/archive/index.php/t-60509.html
another buyer from ebay in 2004 got burned and burned bad by him on a jersey so he started a website designed to bring him down.it caused people to just bid on his auctions to leave bad feedback and caused him to make all of his auctions private so avoid tampering.if you scroll way back through his feedback you can see where the marino thing happened.i think he claimed at mounted memories signing all marinos sig's look different(no mention about either a mounted or marino hologram)
its also funny he smokes a lot,guess he keeps his product in his house.he has over 30-40 plus feedbacks for his memorabilia reaking of cig. smoke...i never heard of a baseball that smelled like smoke/lol
CHRIS
checkout this link....look and see what happened when this guy got ripped off on ebay.he put together a huge group of people to harrass this person.they did anything and everything possiable to make this guys life a living hell,even put his house up for sale on the market
heres the link.i fell out of my chair at least 50 times
http://www.fbody.com/DontMessWithFBody.htm
Wow - it is freezing rain in St. Louis, so I am on lockdown for the next few days. I got through all of adeledog's feedback and aside from the chain smokin' jerseys, he only leaves positive feedback for about 1 in every 25-30 customers. If you leave him a neutral, he reams you with a negative. He never takes any type of repsonsibility and is a complete jerk.
I also got throught to that site about Eric Gasper, the Movado thief from the previous post. I WISH we could do that to some of these sellers, but I would rather do the intellectual thing and destroy his only source of income - his fraudulent activity.
The sad thing is, his items would be really cool if they were legit jerseys - even if the limited number was a hoax. For display purposes at least, not for investment reasons.
I learned from Chris - and actually know this for myself now that all of the bad sellers read this blog after they find thier names in a google search. They know when the heat is on, and many just bail one account and start up a new one. The sellers who have their own holograms made up for thier phony COA's are the ones that really suffer...they have invested time and money into thier scam -
Many of the readers of this blog are new and sometimes don't read the entire blog (although you should), so I'd like to give you a list of sellers that we know are selling fake autograph items on Ebay: Dqbean252, Fenway620, Gospurs_50, 2004senod2004, 6642brianh, ans_autographs, Crackedbat, Fansindastands, Jkmarketplace, Prestigesigs, Savant01, Signaturedream, Streetsigned, Jdaddy05, Rsmizel, Zeke43098, markl6592, and Rupezimystic. Seller "Rupezimystic" is a big seller on Ebay of Albert Pujols forged autograph items. He has anywhere between 10-15 up per week. Ebay for some unknown reason allows him to sell his forgeries on their auction site....Chris W.
I have seen rupezimystic and markl6592 joined by a few transactions. Interesting. Check the feedback of the two and you will see what I mean...
That seller of fake autograph items "Fansindastands" just put up another 91 fake autograph items tonight. This is what he does once a week. They are all 1-day auctions and "Private" auctions. I've complained to Ebay approximately two dozen times and still they allow him to sell is fake autograph items. Maybe he has a contact at Ebay.....Chris W.
I forgot to mention one other thing about seller "Fansindastands." Every week he lists the same forgeries week after week. And still Ebay does nothing about this seller (Fansindastands) of forged autograph items. At this point I think there is a good chance that this seller has a contact at Ebay that allows him to sell his fakes. What else can I think after this seller has sold in excess of 1330 fake autograph items so far.....Chris W.
please explain what kinda of fool buys or pays for somebodys autograph??this is the dumbest thing ive ever heard.are there that many dumb@ss's in this country to actually be spending there hard earned money on paying a million to sign there name on something.
i think im going to have a heart attack now
i guess you don't know what a hobby is, since you thought you needed to post that. what kind of fool anonymously posts on a blog dedicated to a hobby they don't believe in?
I buy them for two reasons. First, autographs are pieces of history. They are heirlooms that can be passed through generations and bring along stories and experiences.
Second, I buy them for investment reasons.
Everyone has a vice - and they piss their money away on things that mean zero to other people.
I choose to buy autographs because I like the anonymous nature of it. There is nothing worse than waving a baseball in an athlete's face - or interrupting him/her while they are with their family.
Also, if you buy an autograph, you are likely to get one that is consistent with others that they have signed. Most people do not sign clearly when they are in a hurry.
You should get the heart condition looked at...
There is no need to address the ignorant statement about "why we collect autographs." Those who do know the enjoyment of owning some of the more special autographs from this great hobby. What we like to focus on here are all of the crooks that ruin the integrity of the collecting hobby by selling cheap, fake autographs and taking advantage of those that hope to own authentic autographs from their favorite athlete. These crooks have literally diluted the industry with the millions upon millions of forged autograph items out there. What puzzles me even more is that the leaders of the industry (and the ones affected by it the most) like Steiner Sports and Upper Deck don't care even though it does affect their bottom line, not to mention the interigty of the hobby. And what's even more shocking is that Ebay allows these crooks to run amok on its auction site. We feed them reports and they act on maybe 1 in 20 reports. In the meantime dozens of bad sellers are selling hundreds of forged autograph items each on a daily basis. We are all aware of seller "Fansindastands" who put up approximately 100 forged items every weekend and Ebay does nothing about him. And the list goes on and on. But also why aren't the buyers doing some research on their own before they bid? Many of the new writers in this blog are ex-buyers of some of that forged stuff who did some research and discovered that the items they purchased are forged. And they wondered the same thing, "How does Ebay allow this to continue?" It's all about the money.....Chris W.
You know, if someone sells fake NIKE shoes or fake ROLEX watches, or a striped guitar that looks like Eddie Van Halen's, and someone advetisies it as genuine...and the purchaser gets it home and the product is garbage - he/she will hit the ceiling. If you pay $100 for a Rolex...chances are it is not genuine. If you pay $35 for a pair of Jordan's, chances are - they are counterfiet. If you pay $50 for a Jeter sig with "buy it now", the chances of it being real are slim.
Regardless of how lame anyone thinks this hobby is, we are fighing for principle in this forum. People are getting ripped off hourly. Chris just told you that eBay basically supports it. I know for a fact that they have recieved at least a hundred complaints about FANSINDASTANDS and they do nothing. It has gotten so bad that FANSINDASTANDS is at the top of a forgery pyramid. People who have purchased items from them are re-selling them now.
The whole thing is BS.
does anybody know if the baseballs being sold by "Jmoak" are legit? i see he has an albert pujols ball that was "signed at spring training" i want to buy his robert andino signed baseball, but do not want to waste the money if it is fake. it looks like andino's signature, but so did the card i bought from "baseballdome" that turned out to be fake. i know i can get a certified autograph of andino for cheaper than what Jmoak wants for the ball, however, i want a baseball signed. thanks
Bigtruck makes a great point about seller "Fansindastands" now being at the top of the pyramid as we are already noticing those buyers of his forged items selling them on Ebay. And Bigtruck, in his previous comment, "sounds" very angry, and he has every right to be, as am I. Ebay is a major part of the problem!!! And the problem is that Ebay is being alerted on a daily basis about these sellers of forged autograph items and yet they fail to react. Ebay is well aware that sellers like "Fansindastands," "Prestigesigs,"Fenway620," "Zeke43098," "Streetsigned," "Savant01," "Gospurs_50," "Pjuice1757," "6642brianh," "Ans_autographs," "2004senod2004," and others are all selling fake autograph items and that to me is shocking. Ebay is making a profit from those sales and that is outrageous and incredible. Here's a simple scenario: A bad seller puts up 100 auctions containing all forged autograph items. We alert Ebay that "this seller" is selling all forged autograph items. We submit one or two of those forged autographs to "Quick Opinion" and they came back as "Likely Not Genuine." PSA relays that information to Ebay and Ebay removes those two auctions. Why doesn't Ebay remove the other 98 fake autograph items? That's a lot of income for Ebay to lose. But here Ebay is made aware of a "bad seller" and yet they take no action. Are they an accomplice to "the sale of a forged autograph item?" Here's another scenario: A seller of fake autograph items is caught last year after selling thousands of forged autograph items. The seller is removed from Ebay. Eight months later that seller of forged autograph items is allowed back on Ebay to sell the same fake items. He sells almost 2,000 more fake autographs before he is removed again. Why was that seller allowed back on again? By the way, both aforementioned scenarios aren't really scenarios, they are FACT! I could mentioned 100 more "scenarios" just like the ones I mentioned. Sellers like "Onlinesportsnmore" and "Prestigesigs" are just two examples of the previously mentioned scenarios. I don't want anyone to think that I write behind Ebay's back. Some of the collectors who write in this blog receive "carbon copies" of the emails I send to Ebay and I don't hold back my thoughts to them......Chris W.
As an attorney, I appreciate your effort to clean up the industry, however, you a skating on thin ice here. Libel cases are won everyday on just what you publish in this blog. I just recently won a cases for $275,000 for my client. He had a Pujols ball that was given to him by Mr. Pujols, He placed it on eBay and the item was question in several emails. It failed in two tests by authenticators. An eBay member posted a comment in a blog similar to this that the ball was fake. My client sued. The judge heard the case and ruled for my client. He ruled that although the authenticators issued an opinion, that was exactly what it was, an opinion. It presented no proof that the ball, in fact ,was a fake. I admire your effort, but I think you are opening yourself up for a financial loss. Your disclaimer at the top of your blog is a nice touch, however, it will not hold up in court. Thank you for allowing me to make these comments. ww1
I appreciate the comments of Mr. WW1. I will reply tonight to his comments. I will write a few quick replies here. First of all, the bad sellers we expose are those that are literally selling hundreds of fakes from every major athlete from every major sport. Most of them sell the sell fake items week after week. Personally, I do not write anything that I am not 200% certain of. I know who these giys are and what they do. I will write more later.....Chris W.
the lawyer guys got a point.you can put any disclaimer you want up but really not gonna be of any help in a courtroom.everyone knows this blog is devoted to fake memorabila with a passion.the sad thing is it all will come back to allauthentic's as fault because they select the items to be trashed on here.what if you made a mistake allready or later down the line could bit somebody in the @ss.
Well, I guess we just have to be certain that the stuff we talk about is fake, which we normally are... And BTW, how is that case worth $275k? Was he a dealer and his rep was trashed?....BC
Like Chris said - we know who the bad sellers are. If someone can prove that their item is real, then let them do it. The people who have been called out in this forum have every opportunity to correct us if we are wrong. If PSA or JSA says something is incorrect and they are industry experts - then we chould be able to post that here as well.
I challenge you to go to eBay and look at the the items listed from the people in Chris's previous post. Would you feel confident representing someone like that? If you would, then you are the kind of lawyer that gives lawyers a bad name.
Why are you even in this blog? What brought you here? Interesting.
Did that guy's client have proof that the ball was real?
I would like your name and number so that I can contact you offline. My email address is
bigtruck260@msn.com
$20 says he's not a real lawyer. probably one of those sellers using a common internet scare tactic. i'd like to know what firm he is with, as well as his name and phone number at the law firm.
Hi. Please check out the seller rogerseth123 on ebay, he currently has a fake autographed Jeter, Pujols, and Mariano Rivera baseball up for sale. Check out item number 180076028794, its a horrible fake. How can we get rid of this guy?
sorry, there seems to be no way to get rid of "rogerseth123". the most that can be done is to submit all 3 of his items for quick opinion, and when they all fail (i've looked- they will) ebay will have to remove them. it seems no action is taken to the seller. by the weekend, he can relist his items if he wants. complaining to ebay isn't worth the time it takes to do so. all they will do is send you a generic email saying "thank you blah blah blah we'll look into it." they won't look into it. they'll leave the seller be, because as long as he is selling his fake signatures, the more money ebay will make. ebay doesn't give a damn about complaints. however, if they feel you are charging too much for shipping, they will remove your auction. if someone complains that you are selling a fake autograph of derek jeter, they do nothing. that's just the way it seems to be. we just need to wait until Operation Bullpen Part 2, in which case the members of this forum have enough documentation to prove that ebay does not give a damn and takes no approach to stop the crime spree. they give sellers like "fansindastands" diplomatic immunity. so therefore, i am sorry, but we cannjot get rid of rogerseth123.
Is there a good/easy way to tell whether an auto buyback card is authentic?
Thanks
Every buyback card I have ever recieved from a pack comes with a seperate baseball card sized COA. If yours did not come with one, and you bought it secondary off of eBay or at a store, I would be skeptical. If you pulled it from a pack...the card company's word is usually pretty good, unless we are talking 2001-2005 cut sigs...but I won't go there again, we have a "lawyer" here now, and we don;t want to make any false claims. HA HA HA. I am checking on Rogerseth....
ww1, can you post the name of that case, I am an attorney too and would like to look it up, thank you
You guys have got to check out the junk on Ebay from seller "baseball4life2006." The worst forged stuff I've seen in awhile.....Chris W.
i like the yankees team signed bat being offered by "baseball4life2006" it was signed over the course of a few years, amazingly with the same silver sharpie marker. now if his merchandise isn't BS i don't know what is. golden find, chris.
I was very excited reading all of the comments following the comment from the lawyer (WW1). I want to "thank" you guys for stepping it up a notch. It really doesn't matter whether it was written by a real lawyer or not because it's a moot point. It's a moot point because the "bad sellers" that we expose are sellers of forged autograph items. And if that was written by someone to try to intimidate us, that won't work either because we simply will not be intimidated. I also want to mention (and I've written this before) that we would rather be writing about collecting in general than writing about the sellers of fake autograph items. In my opinion, the problem of fake autograph items on Ebay has escalated to epidemic proportions. In other words, there's "copy cat" after "copy cat" sellers of forged items on Ebay. To give Ebay some credit they sometimes do take action against some of these sellers, but for the most part they don't do enough and they don't take action fast enough. Here's a prime example: I first complained to Ebay 18 months ago about seller "Americansportscollectibles." It wasn't until recently after he had sold an incredible 2500 fake autographed footballs that he is finally gone from Ebay. Think of that, from one seller, an incredible 2500 fake autographed footballs. I must have easily complained and filed well over 100 reports to Ebay about that seller and it took them 18 months to take action!!! As for Mr. WW1 stating that we are opening ourselves up for a libel suit; well there is nothing more that I would love then for the information in this blog to go national. That would open up a huge can of worms and the last thing these "bad sellers" want is for anything about them to go public. Can you imagine some of this information going national and some guy watching the show in his home (as he glances at his fake autographed football of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning from seller "Americansportscollectibles") and realizing that every autograph item he purchased is a forgery! Can you picture the public reaction to that! But the whole point to all of this is that we just want these "bad sellers" to go away or be removed. I also want to mention to Mr. WW1 that the sellers we expose are those that consistently sell the same fake autograph items week after week. Some of these "bad sellers" have more inventory than Steiner Sports and UDA combined. How does a seller with no contracts with any athletes have the ability to acquire literally thousands of autograph items of every major athlete from every major sport? And if they did have a contract with any of these athletes (in which they have to pay the athlete a hefty fee) how do they sell them for so low a price? Comon sense goes a long way to differentiating between the good sellers and bad sellers. There are the smart "bad sellers" who sell one or two forgeries a week and never get noticed. But the "bad seller" who has gotten away with selling thousands of forged autographed items goes as far as they can before they get stopped. But in the meantime they've made a ton of money. I will use one "bad seller" as an example. This "bad seller" sold exactly 8,185 fake autograph items on Ebay. Let's say the average sale was $50.00. That seller grossed $409,250. And Ebay got a piece of the placement fees and final bid fees. And that's only from one seller. Think about that......Chris W.
Did not mean to open a can of worms here! Just trying to pass on some useful info! You guys are doing a great job! Big truck: I will contact you by email! BTY I found this blog by accident! To anonymous: I dont have a problem giving my name and firm, I just will not have time for the personal calls and you will lose your $200! Also I dont sell anthing sports wise so, keep your comments to yourself and why are you anonymous! Thanks for the kind comments Chris!
I am somewhat new to the sports memorabilia & have read your post about seller 2004senod2004. The items I have bought from him(about 10) items all have passed PSA/DNA-so what do you think of that?
I've been filing reports to Ebay about seller "2004senod2004" for at least a year and they have yet to take any action. Seller "2004senod2004" just submitted more autograph items on Ebay and contained in his auction description he "invites us to use Quick Opinion" on his items. I have submitted his items to Quick Opinion and all have failed, but last night I submitted another one on his Ebay Item Number 300072106020 and it, of course, came back as "Likely Not Genuine." It is a autographed baseball of David Wright from the NY Mets. The one common denominator of this compilation of fake autograph items being sold by all of these sellers is that they put up week after week autograph items from the same athletes. I would like one of the "bad sellers" to tell us (and they read this blog, believe me) how they are able to acquire on a consistent basis autograph items from Jeter, Pujols, The Manning Family (Archie, Peyton and Eli), Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Joe Montana, Alex Rodriguez, Tiki Barber (not that he is retired his fakes are all over the place), etc. I would be interested in a reply from one of you "bad sellers" who read this blog. The truth is they can't reply because they couldn't even make up a good story as to how they acquired them. Although if you read the majority of their auctions they are read the same way "that we acquire many of our autographs either in person and through reputable sources." Of course, these sources never include Steiner Sports, UDA, MM, or Tristar. There are many sellers who state that they acquired their items through Steiner or UDA but yet their auctions never contained Steiner or UDA items. Check out Ebay Item Number 290073521750 from seller "Fenway620." They claim they acquired it in person. It's not even close to Albert's autograph. "Fenway620" is a known seller of fake autograph items. And the situation is only getting worse. By the way, thanks for the observation, J-Man on the fake autographed Yankees team-signed baseball bat from seller "baseball4life2006." By the way, seller "baseball4life2006" is not a "new Ebay seller" even though their history indicates that. They are simply an old bad seller who has resurfaced under a new Ebay ID. We will continue to expose these guys......Chris W.
Why did everyone start to badmouth ww1 when he is a registered blogger and everyone else is anonymous? I think he has a point and all of your chris followers try to attact everyone that has a good point going against what the almighty chris says. Chris is the one that is unregisered on this site and somehow he is god almighty. Chris why dont you talk about this blog going national when you were interviewed by HBO for hours with your so called research and they cut you out of their reports. Something is fishy. I just think that even HBO (like ebay) even thought you were a quack. You guys (bigtruck, etc.) are doing a good job for the market but putting Chris on up on the pedestal is not the answer. When Chris is allowed to register on this site then I will register. All of you Chris Williams followers please attack me now because that is what you are good at instead of reading the point. wwi has some good info you might want to listen.
p.s. I am a sports collector too and I have never sold one thing so dont attack me (like most of you will) thinking I am one of the ebay guys that sells crap.
This is in response to the previous comment. I am registered on this site. The software for this blog was recently updated and there is a bug that doesn't allow myself and a few other users not to log on with my blogger ID. But if you notice I do "sign" my name at the end of each comment I write. As for the HBO Sports special on this topic, I was left out due to time constraints. When that show was beginning to evolve I was the second one HBO producers contacted after Kelly informed them of my work and I was the first one they interviewed (by Armen Katayian). And no one here is putting me on a pedestal nor do I reside on a pedestal. By the way, if you look through some of the previous posts you will see my blogger name. I am simply a collector who is tired of all of the forgeries out there in the market and auction sites. Just because my interview was left on the editing floor didn't make the information I provided HBO Sports any less important. As a matter of fact, the information I provided to HBO Sports assisted them with everything they did following my interview. And on the day of the show one of the producers did apologize to me for leaving my interview out. They were most cordial to me during the entire process. And if anyone wants to think that I am a "quack" for doing this can think what they want, they have the right. But I also have the right to expose the "bad guys" of this hobby. Too many people don't want "to believe that fake autograph memorabilia industry exists." Well it does and it is an epidemic at this point. Copy cat after copy cat are taking root on Ebay. Many of the old bad sellers resurface all the time on Ebay. The millions of people who now own forged autograph items are too embarrased to admit that "I bought a fake." Sadly, it is true. And it really is sad.....Chris W.
Here is my response -
Look - Chris mentioned earlier that he provides carbon copoies of his PSA and EBay emails to some of us here. I get them, and I have seen first hand how eBay ignores his requests and complaints. I do not have the time nor the money to chase after the MANY frauds out there...Chris uses his resources to provide factual information to this blog. I hae seen the proof - and I share his concerns and support what he does.
As far as being registered here, it's no big deal - everyone can remain anonymous...as long as they post valid info. Chris signs his name at the end of his posts - and everyone here knows who he is...he doesn't hide.
As for WW1 - I agree that libel is a bad thing. However, there are sellers out there that rely on the stupidity of new memorabilia and autograph collectors to make a living...they get upset when we call them out here. They read this site - or have heard about it...it is at the top of the Google search for "fake autographs". They have every chance to respond - and when they do, they often disguise themselves as "experts" and make claims about "friends of firends" who get all of the items at spring training...and they never pass PSA or JSA.
I've got news for you...while PSA and JSA (and especially GAI) are not right 100% of the time, they are not wrong 100% of the time either. My guess is that PSA and JSA are probably closer to 90% right. If that is the case, why do all of the items from certain people fail???
It is not just the eBay sellers. There are auction houses out there that sell fakes too, they rely on thier status as an auction house to make people think they are selling legit items.
It's a shame, this hobby has dealt with fakes for a century. How many people have clubhouse signatures or forgeries from the early 1900's? People who thought they had heirlooms have nothing...we are just trying to put a dent in what is a HUGE problem.
As far as WW1...I will give him the benefit of the doubt. When I get his contact info, I will verify it. Only then will I believe that he is a lawyer and not a disgruntled seller.
WW1 IF YOU ARE A REAL ATTORNEY AND WON A CASE LIKE YOU SAY, PLEASE SUBMIT THE NAME OF THE CASE SO WE CAN LOOK IT UP.
I have never had my integrity questioned more than on this blog! I was just trying to pass on some helpful advice. The only person to show any respect was Chris! Thank you Chris! Bigtruck and anonymous: I really dont care if you beleive I am an attorney! Everyone who responds on this blog is not a seller of fake autographs! You guys are way too paranoid for me! I was only trying to be helpful! I will stay in my own world where people are respected when they try to help! Have a nice day and good luck! WW1
Look WW1 -
You came here and stirred the pot. All I have asked for is a credential off line..which you said you were going to send in your last post. You never sent anything, so - I assume that you are just another seller who is upset with this blog. You made an initial post that deserved to be scrutinized...after all, it was basically threatening.
Not sure why you think I was attacking you - since I was very cordial and agreed with you on some points in my last post.
The case sounded interesting and the anonymous guy asked you for the case so that we could look it up - and again, you never responded. Have fun in your "world". Peace.
Just to let you guys know that seller "Gospurs_50" is already "Not A Registered User" on Ebay. Sometimes our reports to Ebay do work. Nice work guys.....Chris W.
Just wanted to point out an excellent Jeter fake, this guy is getting good, would trick almost anyone, but still fake. 300072611022
Without prejedice and to whom it may concern. I've done some legal research here in Canada and even though it applies here,there may be some reference and cross pertanance there in the U.S.Once again (Without Prejedice)When offering a price to purchases the responsibility lies entirely with the buyer unless a recognized body appointed and pre notarized by the governing court let it be at the municipal,provincial or federal level may warrant,investigate and submitt evidence to render foul. Having stated this guys I will venture my own thoughts.Firstly if e-bay uses PSA quick opinion which is not recognized by atleast here in Canada PSA evidence is an opinion and not a thorough investigation with evidence strong enough to be admissable let alone recognized.Secondly,e-bay though pulls the sellers posting based on that so in my opinion it may be e-bay that may or can be liable.Having said that, what this blog provides is a mere discussion based on opinions bias or otherwise.We all have a choice to enter and read these dicussions just as a potential buyer has a choice to read, BUY based on what the seller states.I personally believe this site does offer some insight what to look for when purchasing an item were there is no governance or recognized appointed agency to gather hard evidence in proving forgeries.YES there is the F.B.I and the bullpen operation,however that took many agents , follow-ups, time and gathering of ongoing hard evidence,and unless that is performed forgeries are a reality and this blog provides some TIPS such as asking sellers questions,History,etc.etc.etc.
Yep. And there are sites out there (I refuse to mention names) you can find them yourself...that actually list the usernames of people who have ripped them off on eBay.
Ebay is setting itself up for a class-action suit. All it will take is someone with plenty of money to get burned (like Chris mentioned earlier). They will head to local TV stations...then hit the national media and so on.
This site is an outlet for those who wish to help others to understand the shady practices of unscrupulous sellers of fraudlent autographs. There are many techniques out there, and the bad guys come up with new inventions every day to sucker people. From now on, I am going to post tips for collectors with my statements. Some of you already know this stuff, SO I am posting it for the newbies to the hobby.
TIP: Do not bid on a dutch auction that promises a possibility for high dollar autograph or memorabilia cards - especially if the lot is cheap. This is a way for dealers to get rid of their common cards. They will throw in a common autograph (Jesse Orosco, etc.) so that the buyer feels like they got something. The fact is, the Jesse Orosco card is not going to sell for very much on the secondary market, and nobody I know collects him exclusively...and I doubt they are sweating over missing him in a complete set of anything.
Read feedback from guys like this, and I guarantee that you will find many negatives, plenty of "mutually removed" and even positive feedback that complains about the quality of the cards that were shipped rapid fire.
It is getting cliche around here but if it looks to good to be true, it is.
Bigtruck, great point on those dutch auctions. I would never recommend anyone bidding on those dutch auctions. Many sellers use the lure of the one "big card" being available but it makes you wonder if that "value card" ever makes its way into one of the packages going out. Now I know seller "Fansindastands" reads this blog. I want to ask him, or one of his supporters that reads this blog, to tell all of us here how he is able to acquire and sell the same autograph items week after week? That alone should raise a red flag to bidders. How is the seller able to sell the same autograph items of Derek Jeter, a New Orleans Saints Team-Signed Helmet, etc., week after week? And we can ask the same question of all the other sellers that we have mentioned in this blog. How do you acquire your inventory week after week? I would like an answer......Chris W.
Hey AllAuthentic.com & Others-
5 Days ago I purchased an autograph from ebay (big mistake i'm starting to realize) - I looked at the seller's previous selling products - they were all playing cards & maybe 3 autograph products (seller hockeystaars). I tried asking him questions about the autographs (i.e. when they were signed/etc) - he never answered back. I googled autographs to compare how mine looked - Can you all take a look at the signatures to see if they are legit - to see if the entire product is legit. This was meant for my husband for valentines day, but if it's fake i'd rather not give him false hopes. THANKS I'll look forward to your opinions. *The ebay item# is 250071380095 *
This is in response to the previous comment by Sus. I'd be very suspicious of that autographed photo of Troy Aikman and E. Smith. Although that seller did sell a few Mounted Memories autograph items he also sold an obviously fake Ted Williams autographed baseball. If you have the photo in your possession I would put it up on Ebay, submit it to "Quick Opinion" and then after you get the results take the auction dowwn. Hopefully that will give you peace of mind one way or another. Good luck.....Chris W.
anyone know anything about seller
marines0_6
Fake dutch auction 120075013660
I asked the seller if I could buy all of the lots to get the Pujols card...after all, it is only $1.55 per lot and he had 25 lots. The Pujols card books for $200-250. He said that he vlocks people from buying more than 10 items at a time - and the previous buyer bought 10 lots (after I emailed him, of course). he said my chances of getting the Pujols auto were slim to none because "there is only a 25% chance of me getting the Pujols card". PLEASE stay away from this and anything similar. It is not about fake autographs, but it is connected in a way to the fraudulent material we discuss here.
TIP - If a seller has a high amount of negatives, read every one of them. You will really gain insight into that person's business sense. Would you buy from someone who curses at people? Whould you buy from someone who always blames his customers and retaliates because a customer has an unpleasant experience?
If not, stay away from those that do this in their feedback. Also look at the feedback they have left - it helps. Trust me.
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
In the News
Breaking News:
January 20, 2007
R&R Enterprises Autograph Auctions
A Special Educational Alert!
Most collectors will admit that today, very few professional autograph dealers issue a catalog. More and more transactions in the autograph hobby are done thru auctions. Most autographists who have a problem with an auction house will admit that they failed to read the “Terms of Sale” before bidding and were just concerned what is “buyer’s premium” before placing their bid. It is appropriate to start looking at auctions and their business practices in detail on behalf of hobbyists.
The following information was passed to www.autographalert.com by a concerned person in the autograph community. Our reaction to the information was, someone is playing a joke on us and this could not possibly be true. However, www.autographalert.com followed up on the lead and want to pass on this valuable information.
We were able to obtain a copy of the latest R&R Auction catalog. We quote directly from the page which lists the rules for consignors.
However it is most important that every potential bidder needs to read this paragraph!
Consignors: Consignors are not allowed to bid on or withdraw their own lots.
We will contact all consignors with their tentative final results the day after the auction ends.
R&R may consign items to be sold in auction, and may bid on those lots or any other lots.
Where non-published reserves exist, R&R may make bids in response to others. R&R may extend advances to certain consignors upon request.
The above statement is printed under the section for Consignors and not in a place where bidders would normally read. Basically the way we read it is, you as a consignor cannot bid on your own material but R&R can bid on the items they own and placed in the auction or any other items they choose to. Let’s not forget which ever items R&R chooses to bid or keep bidding on, a whopping 19.5% buyer’s premium is added to the final price of the lucky winner.
R&R advertises that it will be in many US cities on buying trips therefore many collectors believe that a good percentage of material in each auction is owned by R&R. The question many in the collecting community did ask is : “why if they own the material, do they still add the19.5% buyers premium?” This is extremely troublesome to many, especially after the auction house advises everyone they can raise the bids on their own items!
Www.autographalert.com would like to hear our readers reactions to this story. This would be this website’s first poll. Email us at www.autographalert@aol.com and tell us if you approve or disapprove of any auction house placing their own items in their auction and then being able to bid on and continue to raise the bids on their own items?
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Breaking News:
January 18, 2007
PSA Receives Better Business Bureau's
Poorest Rating
PSA, Professional Sports Authenticator, a division of Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT) who advertises to be a autograph authenticating company and card grader has received the lowest possible rating by the Better Business Bureau of Southern California. The BBB rates companies with eleven different ratings. The highest rating is “AAA” and the lowest is “F”. The Better Business Bureau has given PSA a rating of “F”.
The BBB website www.labbb.org states what each rating represents. The “F” rating means: “We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices.” At a later date if PSA were to receive the next to last rating, a “D” the BBB recommends “concerns about this company that we recommend caution doing business with it.”
The following is a summary of its reasons on the Better Business Bureau’s website for giving PSA the worst possible rating an “F”.
Some complainants allege the company fails to return items sent in for authentication, and in some cases deny ever receiving the item. Other customers complain that the company fails to provide services as agreed, returning items without explanation as to why they are determined not to be authentic. Some complainants allege items sent are lost, misplaced, or that the company replaces the high quality items sent in, , with lesser valued items before returning to the customer. A few customers complain the company misrepresented the value of the cards they purchased, and found after spending considerable amounts of money, a second opinion determined the item as worthless. Most customers report they experience difficulty contacting the company to resolve problems, claiming calls are not returned, and voice-mail or e-mail messages are not answered.
The company responds to some complaints by offering explanations, or by directing complainants to review their policies which are posted on the website. In cases where items are missing or lost, the company asks for proof of delivery, registered tracking numbers, copies of submission forms, check numbers used, dates checks were posted, and any other documentation that might be associated to the transaction, advising the complainant the information will be taken under review, and resolution will depend on the information provided. The company addresses some complaints regarding purchased items by advising the complainant they do not engage in the sale of sports memorabilia, and they must have confused them with another company. The company disputes most allegations, and refunds or credits are usually not issued.
According to PSA’s website, the following persons are associated with this division:
Joe Orlando, President
Steve Grad, Lead Authenticator
Herman Darvick, Consultant Authenticator
John Reznikoff, Consultant Authenticator
Bob Eaton, Consultant Authenticator
Roger Epperson, Consultant Authenticator
Marshall Fogel, Consultant Authenticator
Mike Gutierrez, Consultant Authenticator
T.J. Kaye, Consultant Authenticator,
Kevin Lowe, Authenticator
Vince Malta, Authenticator
Zach Rullo, Authenticator
Lenny Steren, Consultant Authenticator
John Taube, Consultant Authenticator
Henry Yee, Consultant Authenticator.
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well mr meng, aka FANSINDASTANDS has put up yet another collection. i think signing is what he does all week. i wonder if his family knows what he does. i wonder if they think he is scum too. just how many 2006 bears team signed items can one person come up with???
chris, where may i be able to email you at? i have a question i dont want to ask in public forum. thank you.
Yes, I see seller "Fansindastands" has once again put up a ton of fake autograph items including a bunch of fake team-signed
football helmets. It puzzles me that Ebay has given this guy the go-ahead to sell his fake autograph items week after week. I can only assume that he has a connection at Ebay.....Chris W.
J-Man, if you don't mind putting your email here I would be more than happy to email you.....Chris W.
hey chris if you read that little insert about psa being deamed as worthless why dont you stop paying them for a quick opinion.your smart enough to make your own call on a jeter.you should step up to the plate with ebay and offer them some type of services.f#@k psa.why dont you investgate psa and prsent ebay with your finding.doesnt it make you wonder who is really performing your quick opinion which i guess lasts about all of 20 seconds.
Here is my opinion on that subject..Chris may take a different approach.
Ebay seems to value the opinion of PSA no matter how many complaints have been brought against them, or how many critical errors they have made.
They have been removing auctions that fail quick opinion.
So, it onlymakes sense to use PSA when forming an investigation. That way, when eBay is confronted in court one day, they will not be able to discredit PSA because of the vale they have placed on their services.
I save all of my quick opinions for that very reason...except most of mine were items that someone who didn't know any better bought.
Hey J-man, isn't it amazing that FANSINDASTANDS is allowed to put all of those auctions up? I have sent numerous complaints to them, and nothing ever comes of it...not even a suspension. Some of us think that there is a conspiracy over at eBay. Do you think FANSINDASTANDS knows someone?
TIP -
Ebay has a service in the menu of searched items that allows you to compare thw auctions side by side. WHen buying signatures, use this function against a Steiner or Mounted Memories or Tri-Star item.
Of course I am able to "make my own calls" on Jeter autographs and many other autographs from other athletes but the reason I use "Quick Opinion" is for documentation purposes should Ebay decide to attempt taking action against me for my criticism of them. I don't do it for myself for items I want to bid and buy. And since Ebay has PSA as a Pre-Qualified Authenticator they cannot contradict themselves and not acknowledge the reports that are submitted on all items going through the "Quick Opinion" process. That's one of the major problems with Ebay right now; they already contradict themselves. If a seller that we know is selling 60 forged autograph items, and I submit two of the items to "Quick Opinion" and if both autograph items come back as "Likely Not Genuine" then why doesn't Ebay also remove the other 58 autograph items? Does Ebay not yet assume that the other 58 are also forged? I would think it would be just the opposite, that Ebay would assume the other 58 autograph items are forged. This just proves that Ebay is 100% about fees and commissions and cares little or nothing about the fact that they make huge profits on a daily basis from forged autograph items......Chris W.
jleeee1981.. extremely horrendous fakes.. check it out..
THERE WAS ALLREADY A CLASS ACTION SUIT FILED AGAINST EBAY FROM BUYERS OF FORGERED MEMORABILIA AND JUDGEMENT WAS UPHALD IN EBAYS FAVOR AS THEY CLAIM THERE NOT RESPONABLE FOR THE AUTHENTICITY,GOODS OR SERVICE PROVIDED BY SELLERS ON EBAY.THEY ONLY OFFER A ONLINE AUCTION SITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN SELL AND BUY THINGS.
WISHFUL THINKING SOMEONE CAN BEAT OUT THE ALLMIGHTY EBAY CORPERATION IN COURT.HIGH UNLIKELY WITH THE REVUNE THAT COMPANY BRINGS IN EVEN JOHHNY COCKREN PROBALY COULD EVEN MAKE THERE LEGAL TEAM
Has anyone on here dealt with
"ferks012"? I was interested in a few of his items-mainly Cowboys Tony Romo items.
I cannot stand seeing Coach's Corner Sports auctions continualy list the same auctios every auctions. The fact that they advertise in SCD and Tuff Stuff blows my mind. Pretty much all there items are questionable except for the PSA/DNA', UDA, GAI, Mounted Memories. WTF is STAT Authentic? Get out of here. They have alot of garbage that people continue to purchase and it drives me nuts.
www.myccsa.com
Does any of you have regular jobs or are you all independently wealthy? It seems yo me all you do is surf auction sites and waste money on authentications. Why dont you donate the time and money to a worthwile charity and contribute to something that really matters! With all the trouble in the world, I cant believe you waste so much time and effort on a child's hobby!
I "does" have a regular job - and I comment here regularly. People ask for help, and I help them.
I also contribute to charities, and community services. As far as autograph collecting being a child's hobby - I am a businessman with several college degrees (not that it matters here). I know an investment when I see it, and the sports memorabilia market is a good way to invest money. I am always curious as to how people who knock the hobby get into this forum...they had to be searching for autographed items...
Coach'e corner also has something called "Morales" authetication...whatever that is. I have viewd the CSA site and have determined that I would probably not patronize their auctions...or consign anything to them. I am not a big fan of the auction hoses anyway.
TIP -
Make sure that when buying autographed photos that yu ask the seller if the photo you are buying is a reprint. I have noticed lately that people have been misleading buyers by putting autograh in the TITLE field, and they never mention anywhere in the auction that the item is a reprinted signature (usually these are copied from fake autographs). The way that they get around it is that they list the itme in the cateory "reprints"...monay new bidders do not realize this and end up with a worthless copy of a copyrighted Photofile image.
In response to Mr, Wlg's comments. First of all, many of us care enough about the hobby of collecting that we spend our own time and money trying to help other collectors who might otherwise be duped. We are also here to expose those sellers that intentionally sell forged autograph items in exchange for money. It is called "Fraud." We will not tolerate it and it's something we must continue since Ebay takes a very lackadasical attitude toward the fraud that is ocurring within their own auction site. The irony is that us as good guys are more of a target than the "bad guys" are. And that's because most people are afraid of the "bad guys." Most of my friends within this blog are quite aware of the threats that I have received for my work the last two years into the fake autograph memorabilia industry. And I am still here. We are not going away. Somebody has to have a "voice" in exposing these "bad guys" and for now it is us. Why would anyone in their right mind ignore these "bad guys." Even if we can't stop them they are at least aware that we are always looking at them. And by the way, Mr. Wlg, no matter what hobbies you are interested in, no one here would ridicule you as you have us. Also, if think this hobby is so "childish," what the heck are you doing here?.......Chris W.
I would also like to "thank" Bigtruck for inserting his "Tips on bidding" at the end of his comments. They are of great value to every collector who loves this hobby of ours. Many new collectors (and some veterans) aren't up to the tricks of many sellers on Ebay.....Chris W.
Check out the horrible autograph items from seller "d