PSA/DNA Authentification is confusing me

[phrank25]

So i want to get a baseball authenticated and im looking at the submission form and im really confused. Has anyone else went through this? Am i making this out to be more difficult than it really is?

[FlyersFan]

Arent they the ones that charge different prices for different players ? I think that is the biggest crock of crap, it should be a flat fee to have a ball authenticated no matter what the sig is on it.

[magnificent5762]

Arent they the ones that charge different prices for different players ? I think that is the biggest crock of crap, it should be a flat fee to have a ball authenticated no matter what the sig is on it.

Well not so much.
Think about it, it'll be harder for someone to authenticate say a Lou Gehrig or Mickey Mantle as apposed to a Jose Reyes or Bubba Crosby.
You put a lot more work into the first two because not only are they rarer, but also more often faked.

[jyosi]

The biggest crop of crap isn't the fact that they charge different prices. It is that they even exist.

[magnificent5762]

The biggest crop of crap isn't the fact that they charge different prices. It is that they even exist.

explain that?

[phrank25]

explain that?


i second that

[jyosi]

I still boggles my mind how people trust these third party authenticators. I've seen people sign a forgery to an index card as a test, send it to PSA, and get it back authenticated. I also know a person who sent in 6 Mantle balls at the same time to get authenticated. He got all of them signed at a show in the 70s or 80s, and they didn't pass. PSA's reason for not authenticating the balls, no one could have 6 Mantle balls. Unless you know when and where the item got signed anything else is a crock of crap. I'll say that I believe PSA is tying to do a service, but what they give is far short of a guarantee that the items they approve are real. What you get is simply a statement that somebody credible thinks your signature is authentic. I hate when people put PSA in the same category as UDA, Steiner, and even smaller companies like Just Minors.

[xpress34]

The biggest crop of crap isn't the fact that they charge different prices. It is that they even exist.

I'll third that!!!

I use to work for Nike as a Loss Prevention Agent and I got to hang out with the Players when they came to Nike Town Denver to make sure they weren't hassled while they shopped.

In 2002, The Cardinals were one of the 1st teams in. I got to hang with Pujols for about 3-4 hours while he shopped. After he was done, I took lunch, went across the street to the Rockies dugout store and bought a ball and he signed it for me outside the store before he left:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/PujolsROY1.jpg

I sent it along with an A-Rod my buddy had gotten for me ( I had no doubt it was good ) to PSA/DNA. BOTH balls came back 'unable to deterine' for the EXACT SAME REASONS! (Form Letters!) Except the Pujols had an extra note about the ROY inscription basically stating sine THEY had never seen one, they could not talk about whether it was legitimate or not. In other words, if you send them a signature that THEY themselves have never gotten or seen, they will NOT certify it!

They are con artists at best.

My .02

- Chris

[xpress34]

And an FYI for those of you who aren't familiar with Albert's early sig, here is the sig from my GU 2001 Pujols hat:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Caps/Pujols01GUROYCapAU.jpg

You can compare it to my ball.

- Chris

[Vegas]

I would call PSA's customer service number and have them walk you through the submission form. It is a bit confusing the first time, but they have great customer service. I don't get all the PSA hate, they provide a great service for the hobby. If there weren't so many shady people selling fake autos, we wouldn't need an authenticator like PSA or JSA.

[xpress34]

I would call PSA's customer service number and have them walk you through the submission form. It is a bit confusing the first time, but they have great customer service. I don't get all the PSA hate, they provide a great service for the hobby. If there weren't so many shady people selling fake autos, we wouldn't need an authenticator like PSA or JSA.

Vegas -

The hate comes from the fact that they think their $h!* don't stink... they screw up LOTS (as has been verified by many different accts) and unless you work for them or you are a HIGH $$$ acct, they treat you like crap.

When I sent in for my Pujols and ARod, I paid extra for the COA w/ Pic and all - after they failed to certify, they wouldn't even refund my money for the certs which they wouldn't even issue and their Customer Service treated me like a third class citizen because it was my 1st (and now ONLY) deal with them.

A local shop here did a Private Signing with Elway and they photo'd every thing he signed. They took PSA 15 pics (10 real from the signing and 5 fakes). PSA certified all 5 fakes and called all 10 originals fakes... they said no way does Elways signature change like that (they took sigs from early in the signing, the middle and the end) that day he had signed 500 autos!

Their 'guess' is no better than your own if you do your research on exemplars.

Just my .02

- Chris

[jyosi]

I agree PSA is TRYING to do a service for the hobby. The fact is the service they are TRYING to provide and void they are TRYING to fill is impossible to fill. The whole point of sending to them is to know your signature is real. With my past experiences, and now Express34's experiences, it is clear that even once the item comes back the authenticity is still questionable no matter what they say. That is why I don't understand why so many people put all their eggs in PSA's basket. ALL THIRD PARTY AUTHENTICATION IS GARBAGE. Unless the person/company who got the item signed is credible and the authenticator there is always doubt.

[Vegas]

I would hardly call PSA garbage, they are the most respected authenticator in the business (although JSA is on par, IMO). Their opinion is respected by collectors worldwide, all major auction houses, and eBay. You may have had a bad experience with them or might be bitter b/c you had something that didn't pass their authentication, but their services are essential to the hobby.

As for their customer service, I have always been treated with respect and had nothing but good experiences--and I'm hardly a big $$$ customer. In fact, when they made a mistake on one of my orders (sticker placed on back rather than on front as requested), they corrected it right away and shipped it back to me free of charge.

[kehosomn]

Well not so much.
Think about it, it'll be harder for someone to authenticate say a Lou Gehrig or Mickey Mantle as apposed to a Jose Reyes or Bubba Crosby.
You put a lot more work into the first two because not only are they rarer, but also more often faked.

I really do not see why it would be harder to authenticate autographs of Gehrig and Mantle. I would expect that PSA would have legitimate examples of those autographs on file that they use for comparison. Having different prices to authenticate different players is just PSA trying to squeeze more money out of collectors.