Before you sign onto the net and start filling up the game room, here's some straight talk about some pitfalls and collector alerts that experienced collectors know about.
Look, Mom, 7 heavyweight Champs on One Piece!
Have you seen all the signed items, especially multi-signed items, on the web lately? How would one go about getting all those living champs on one item, anyway (often 6-9 living heavyweight champs!)? I mean Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield don't exactly hang together, do they? And they can't exactly be looking for money made from private signings or card shows, so how are they obtained? And if someone is a former fighter, does that make him automatically an insider with all these guys? It seems to me with some of these guys you'd have more access if you were an investment banker. Single signed Ali items have to be similarly questioned. If you think I'm just a nervous Nellie, read on.
I emailed 5 different individuals who were selling similar multi-signed items (6-9 ex-heavyweight champs on one piece) on eBay. I said I was interested in the advertised item but was squeamish when I didn't know exactly how the autographs were obtained. I asked when the item was signed and where and who got the signatures. One guy said he got it as a present and was trying to unload it. One said that she had a great reputation on eBay (just check the feedback) but wouldn't say where she got them. One said the items were obtained by a former fighter (I guessed Chuck Wepner and the seller confirmed it) and two never answered my email. I followed up with my concerns with no results.
What else bothers me is the organized nature of the signatures on these pieces. Evenly spaced, none touching, all with the same pen, letters about the same size. I get signatures every year at the HOF and every guy I hand the glove to wants to sign all the way across it. Can you imagine somebody telling Tyson, "Just make a small signature over here?"
Let me be clear, they may actually ALL be good signatures. This may be a caution that doesn't really mean anything because there may be a simple and believable explanation. I don't know - but why won't they just say what it is? There may truly be some boxing autograph mogul with considerable access and control over these champs, but buyers need to know where, when and by whom each signature was obtained. If a dealer can't or won't share that with you in writing, the "trust me" of a "Certificate of Authentication" isn't, in my opinion, worth the paper it is written on. Dealers with integrity know that dates and times and places of signings can be checked out. Unscrupulous dealers know that, too. You should be thinking when you buy any piece of memorabilia about what folks will ask of you if and when you sell it.
But what if they have a have forensic expert certifying these things? Sounds like a good idea, no? Wait a minute, what exactly would a forensics expert be doing when authenticating a Mike Tyson signature? Think about it. Is he checking the ink to make sure it was no older than last month? Is he saying he has seen hundereds of authentic Tyson signatures and this is a match? Amazing that a scrawl like Tyson's or as tiny as Ali's can be so definitively identified? Maybe I just don't trust "modern science." And then why is the guarantee on the piece often no more than a week or two? Does that mean if you find out it is bogus a couple of weeks down the line and you can't prove the dealer actually knew you were being defrauded, you don't get your money back? Holey Moley. Always ask under what circumstance a dealer will refund your money and get it in writing no matter how long the guarantee is for. If the guarantee is for "life," find out what that means. Is the burden of proof on you or the seller?
And find out exactly what the forensic expert has done. A recent article in another collector magazine, The Sweet Spot, did an interview with a Mr. Frangipani (the most notable forensics "expert" on the web, I'd say). This "expert" says he does NOT give certificates of authenticity, just opinions. He also says some of the letters of "opinion" bearing his signature have been forged. Hey, wonder what he'd charge to give an "opinion" on his own signature? He also says he may do 50 items in a day.
Reprints.
Then there are a few reprinted items boxing items showing up on the web. One is a reprint of a Louis-Schmeling I poster. That is being sold as a reprint about 90% of the time these days. Watch out for the other 10%. A real poster would run you thousands. There are other reprints that really aren't even if you want a reprint. There is a Marciano-Walcott I poster that is cheap but is not an exact duplicate of the actual fight site poster. There's a Liston-Clay I like that.
And as eagle-eyed Tom Scharf points out, that #1 issue of the Ring was reprinted by them some years back and is being hawked as the original on some sites and in some auctions.
And some have noted that the reprint of the first issue of the Ring is being sold on auction sites as vintage. It was reprinted just a few years ago by the Ring as a promotional item.
Watch the Contract!
Las Vegas fight contracts have been circulating through the hobby over the past two years. These contracts are signed by the fighters and/or their managers and have involved some famous fights and fighters (Ali, Pryor, Arguello, Holmes, etc.). Unfortunately at least some of these were obtained illegally from the Nevada State Boxing Commission. The investigation into the alleged theft is still going on. You buy one, you may have to give it back to the commission and your money is gonzo.
Don't Worry, Be Happy!
So there are pitfalls, so what? There is a wealth of good material out there that vastly outnumbers the bad. Dealers listed elsewhere on this website are as good as gold and pretty easy to deal with. They value the integrity of our hobby and I do not hesitate to recommend each and every one. There are more but you're just going to have to find them all in BCN (okay, more shameless self-promotion).