Authenticity question

[Billyocean]

Posted this on another forum and wanted to get the same feedback here:

I purchased a lot on ebay for relatively cheap of some cards to complete a set I'm working on.

I'm having some questions on the authenticity of the graphs. I initially asked the seller how they obtained the items, and they said it was in person in games from 2000-2006.

I know players' autographs change throughout the years, but some of these are just ugly. Let me know if you guys have any opinions on them. I'm keeping in mind that players sign quickly during games and don't have the luxury of sitting down and taking time to make their graphs look nice.

I have no reason to believe this seller to lie, and he's really not making any money off of me in this transaction. He has 99.3% positive feedback (two negative out of 400+) on all of his items (most of which are certified autos from the card companies).

Anyways, here are the pics

Olerud - The J looks right, but most Olerud sigs have more neatness of stroke to them and a more defined "O".
Varitek - His trademark "V" is there. The lines are pretty smooth. This one looks pretty authentic to me.
Ramirez - This is one of my two big question marks. This Ramirez signature looks nothing like his certified autos of the time period. In fact, it looks like just a bunch of big scribbles.
Pettitte - Andy's sig is typically all over the place and never consistent, sometimes he even misses complete letters. Still, this one doesn't look too hot.
O'Neil - This O'Neil doesn't look too bad. It seems rather oddly spaced though.
Justice - This one looks like a true beauty. While it doesn't exactly match Dave's, it's really damn close.
Anderson - This one's another big red flag for me. GA usually signed in huge letters, taking up half the card space in the process. This little bundled up number seems off.
Wells - looks pretty authentic. D looks a little off.
Hunter - I know he didn't do the double " i " dot during some points in his career. This sig did match a few other examples I've seen online.

Here are the others


Smoltz - John's "J's" are usually pretty crazy. This one is hard to tell.
Boggs - This looks pretty true to a wade boggs signature. I have a TTM of his that is near identical.
Helton - Todd's signature can get a bit sloppy. Your opinion is as good as mine.
Tejada - I have Miguel's auto on this same card from a trusted source. It doesn't look like this one sizewise. This almost seems too small, but I could see a situation where Miguel wanted to target the whiteness of his pants on a relatively dark card.


I look forward to the opinions of others. Also, if someone knows a site that can help authenticate these, I'd appreciate it.

Again, I'm not too upset if these are forged. I didn't pay anything for them, but there were a few tough TTM guys in here that I needed to help complete my set.

 

[mort]

To me the Olerud, Varitek and Boggs don't look good. The Olerud for reasons you describe. The 'Tek looks bad as I've never seen a little squiggle after the "T". And the signature looks too deliberate.

However, with the Boggs, it's tough to tell with the black sig with the black background. But I don't like the end of the first name and the end of the last name. Here's a Boggs I got TTM a few years ago: http://www.morthas.com/item_details.asp?ItemID=651&SubCatID=71

The others I just don't have enough experience with them to lend advice.

PSA is running a special this month for certifying and slabbing autographs for $15. Real good price.
http://www.psacard.com/Specials/PSADNA/
If you do send the cards in, I'd be very interested to learn the results.

Good luck!
Scott-

 

[CW13]

I'm highly suspicious of most of them..I don't think that Pettitte even looks close.

 

[dan5]

I've gotten pretty much all of these guys in person and none of those look good to me.

 

[CW13]

I've gotten pretty much all of these guys in person and none of those look good to me.

+1

 

[houbb]

My suggestion: run away as quickly as you can. If they don't look good they just simply aren't good.

 

[valediction]

Again, I'm not too upset if these are forged. I didn't pay anything for them, but there were a few tough TTM guys in here that I needed to help complete my set.


^^^^^^
That sentence is what would make me suspect they weren't what they appeared. Collectors KNOW who the tougher guys are, and they aren't going to let a lot like that go for little to nothing without trying hard to outbid everyone. Not that bargains can't be had, but if I had a price I'd pay for Smoltz, and I could get him, and other guys who generally don't do TTM, I'd have all for that price, something seems off.

This part is 100% speculation on my part and I'm not terribly familiar with the ins and outs of IP collecting, but:
Then there is the fact that they are all signed with the same pen. More likely in person, as they described, but with the variety of players it was over multiple games/events most likely, and you would think at some point a blue pen, or a fine point, or something different could have happened. Maybe most IP collectors do stick to just one color, one tip, but if I were doing it, I'd have a variety to cover different scenarios. Blue or black for lighter cards, gold, silver (something that might show up a bit better on some of those darker cards) Fine points for autographs I know look better that way, standard tips for most, etc. Whenever I see a lot like that listed, it's the first think I look for. The same pen always makes me think of some guy in a room cranking out a few hundred Ripkens before lunch.

 

[mort]

The same pen always makes me think of some guy in a room cranking out a few hundred Ripkens before lunch.

This is always in the back of my mind when buying on eBay. I only use it as a complete last-ditch effort. Using eBay, I could have finished off the 83F project awhile back but I am particular about where the autographs originate.

 

[dragonslayer913]

Those were all signed by the same person using the same sharpie one card right after the other.

 

[tglg]

Definitely. The very first thing I noticed was the same sharpie signed every one of those cards. FAKE.

Those were all signed by the same person using the same sharpie one card right after the other.

 

[DaNotoriousNIC]

I dont like any of them at all

 

[Billyocean]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I guess I should have asked you all before I even bid on the item

I had major doubts, but was willing to take a shot because of the difficulty in getting some of these guys. I have contacted the seller for a refund but he has yet to get back to me. I paid less than 10 dollars for these cards, so it's not too much of a burden on my wallet. Some negative feedback will go a long way here, I think. I noticed the guy sold a David Ortiz auto from the same set in a separate auction and it looks very similar to these cards.

The first thing I really noticed was how all the cards did look like they were signed by the same sharpie. Also, something else I picked up on was the odd locations of each graph. It seems like, if you go from card to card, the location of the graph is in a different spot. I don't know if the seller thought this variety would help his cause or whatever, but it looked pretty glaring to me.

Single cards from this set go for relatively cheap, but overall it's a pretty expensive complete set to fill out with the foils. I can imagine he thought little of a "card game" set and decided to get a few extra bucks forging signatures on cards he viewed as potentially valueless.

I'm just happy there are other guys I trust that have taken to getting guys graphed from this set.

 

[dragonslayer913]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I guess I should have asked you all before I even bid on the item

I had major doubts, but was willing to take a shot because of the difficulty in getting some of these guys. I have contacted the seller for a refund but he has yet to get back to me. I paid less than 10 dollars for these cards, so it's not too much of a burden on my wallet. Some negative feedback will go a long way here, I think. I noticed the guy sold a David Ortiz auto from the same set in a separate auction and it looks very similar to these cards.

The first thing I really noticed was how all the cards did look like they were signed by the same sharpie. Also, something else I picked up on was the odd locations of each graph. It seems like, if you go from card to card, the location of the graph is in a different spot. I don't know if the seller thought this variety would help his cause or whatever, but it looked pretty glaring to me.

Single cards from this set go for relatively cheap, but overall it's a pretty expensive complete set to fill out with the foils. I can imagine he thought little of a "card game" set and decided to get a few extra bucks forging signatures on cards he viewed as potentially valueless.

I'm just happy there are other guys I trust that have taken to getting guys graphed from this set.

I would put a claim in through PayPal return the cards and get your money back no reason why you need to pay $10 for something that is fake.

 

[mort]

Not worth it based upon a $10 purchase, but forgery is against the law and punishable with a fine and/or imprisonment.