My LOUSY card shop experience!

[Shockers]

So I recently moved to Marysville, Washington from Bellingham which is about 50 miles north of where I live now. I have been to Mill Creek Sports Card shop several times for auto signings of local guys and for Jerry Rice, Magic Johnson etc. The other day I was in there and picked up a nice 8x10 auto Johnny Unitas with PSA authentication. The regular guy at the shop (Brent)mentions that PSA is coming Monday (today) and if I wanted to bring some items in, PSA could authenticate them there at a discounted price.

I figure great! I have several items from the big names, but I have a few items in person and with lesser COA's so why not I will give it a try. I go in there and show the owner who I had never met before what I have and I tell him I have an autographed 8x10 of Muhammad Ali with 2 COA's that I bought at a shop in Bellingham. Well apparently this guy is the world's renowned authority on Ali autographs He asks the two guys who are representatives of PSA, how many Ali autographs do I have? The one guy responds, all of them. So he says if you want to get the Ali authenticated it is $100.

Well $100 sounds ridiculous considering I was told that any living player is $15. So I said I would probably pass. He says, let me take a look at it. I can tell you if it is real or not. He looks at it for about a half second and says nope save your money. Then he proceeds to show it to the PSA guys and anyone else in the shop to show how I got taken on it. Then he asks how much did he take you for on this Ali autograph, maybe I should go up there and sell him a bunch of stuff if this is the kind of thing he sells in his shop. He continues to clown me for a few minutes and I talk to Brent for a couple more and show him what I would like to submit and he said I could pick them up tonight or tomorrow.

I leave frustrated because this owner who just treated me like dirt is going to make even more money off of me. I get a few blocks down the road and decide I am going back in the store. I walk through the door and the owner has a big smile on his face and says I thought we might have scared you off. Well you are right, you did. I want my stuff back I am not spending another dollar here. He says what are you so upset about You upset because I saved you money, because you got what you paid for, sometimes you learn the hard way.

I tell him half the stuff I am submitting I got in person in signings that your shop held. Things I paid your shop for. Then I continue to tell him that I have had good luck with PSA in the past (I have had Mantle and Walter Payton authenticated through them), good luck with Brent (the guy who runs his shop), but this is my first time dealing with you and you treated me like garbage. He gets angry and starts at me telling me how I feel. I come back over the top yelling louder not sure what I said. He looks around and sees he has customers in there and begins to mellow out a little, but I tell him it is too late and that I am taking my stuff and he will never see another dollar from me.

Sorry for the long read, but I can't believe this guy. I am still frustrated.

[bearfield]

sounds like he is a stupid thievin jerk and the psa guys are liars.
yep, there are dealers and authenticators like that. damn shame.
don't know which is worse, them or baybaggers.

[theproudestmonkey]

thats too bad man.....read your other thread and you had some nice stuff you were bringing.....ive been collecting for 20+ years and to be honest, most of the shop owners and dealers ive encountered are smug, obnoxious people (im never surprised when i encounter these types of situations anymore).....do you have a pic of your ali?? i always love looking at ali stuff, or any boxing memorabilia if you have a pic you can post or pm to me

[Shockers]

All I have is my scanner and with the matting the Ali is too big. Not sure what to do with it. I am tempted to bring it back to the shop I bought it from and tell him that the PSA guys say it's not real. I have had it for less than a month.

[theproudestmonkey]

mind me asking who the coa's on the ali were from?? i know you are pretty picky with what you buy (rightfully so, especially with the high end stuff), so they have to be from fairly reputable companies, right?

any info on what time period your ali might have been signed?

[Shockers]

Under Grace Sports Memorabilia which is a guy from Bellingham, the town I bought it in (blah coa), the other one is Coach's Corner who have been in business for over 25 years. They have ads in Tuff Stuff and the shop owner really advocated their reputation. I have come to find out that they are along the same lines as Scoreboard where about 10% of their stuff is any good.

[theproudestmonkey]

ughhhh.....dont even get me started with scoreboard and that a hole ken goldin....never heard of GSM, but coaches corner definately rings a bell.

hope you end up getting to the bottom of it, if for nothing else peace of mind

[natureboy1]

I was reading your story and had a thought. Have you considered contacting one of the writers from Beckett or Tuff Stuff? They might be able to put you in touch with reputable people who can certify your items. One who comes to mind is Larry Canale, Editor-In-Chief of Antiques Roadshow Insider and author of Tuff Stuff's Baseball Memorabilia Guide. He can be reached at [email protected]. TJ Schwartz is another that comes to mind. I believe he actually owns a shop in your neck of the woods. Just an idea.