Mr. Zipper

If the point is that TPAs make mistakes, "fakeautographs" is using a misleading example. The seller "fakeautographs" is referring to is a Chinese seller who offers fakes with COUNTERFEIT Beckett stickers. Beckett is not certifying the fakes. Chinese knockoff slabs and stickers are a problem, but usually easily identifiable especially when coming from a Chinese seller with hundreds of items at 1/10th typical FMV.

The stain on the back cover is going to knock it down. Plus, it's evident from the back spine there are a lot of transverse creases that appear to break paper fiber. These may press flat, but the break will always be there. And there are fingerprints in the black that may or may not be able to be fully removed. I'd be surprised if it went higher than 8.0.

Is the glue now fully pulled away? If it is no longer performing any function to hold the cover on, it may be possible it won't get PLOD.

I'm in.

I'm guilty on #1 and #4. That said, I considered Mike a "internet friend" who I had known for 10+ years... and what kind of person does not to give a friend the benefit of the doubt at the beginning? Seeing conspiracies and scams lurking in every shadow isn't a good approach either, although it makes for better message board drama. They trick is finding the right balance... prudent skepticism vs the sky is always falling.

Haha. The Big Lou life insurance ads are the best! ”Smoke? Overweight? Got a touch of sugar diabetes? Call Big Lou… he’s on meds, too!”

It's suspicious superficially until you understand that Flake is Randy and Cantina is his associate. So, one person has two email addresses and a second person has one. I probably should not admit I have four email addresses that sometimes I get mixed up and use interchangeably. But by all means, people should continue mindlessly posting dumb shill memes every time Flake posts... it's super entertaining and has been helpful in resolving the matter at hand.

I think Option D is a giant leap and requires a lot of assumptions. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Whether it was a "gift 9.9" for a high profile submitter, a PR stunt or an honest to goodness 9.9, does it have any affect on 99.99% of the collecting community?

100%. At this point, intentionally or not, the shill drumbeat about flake/cantina is likely doing more harm than good -- that is, potentially disrupting certain efforts to organize victims.

It has been explained numerous times that Flake and Cantina are two people who work together and jointly using the email account. They are not Mike and there is no evidence they are up to anything shady. Sheesh. Enough already... it's an unnecessary distraction.

I'm always astonished when I see gofundme campaigns when an employed middle class person passes. I always ask myself... WTF... didn't they have insurance? I suspect the answer is often "no." Through employer plans it usually costs less than a few Starbucks a month. Crazy not to do it.

This. I lost both my parents in 2022 and had to deal with the full contents of a large house and all of my mom's collectibles (Hummels, Crystal figurines, plates, antique cups and saucers, etc etc.) It was a tremendous amount of work and stressful. I aim not to do the same with my kids. Hopefully that is many years off, but it's not too early to start thinning the herd.

They should print an image of the signature on the back side of the label. It seems crazy to me that one would pay a premium for a signed book and never see the signature. Otherwise you have no idea of the quality of the signature (a nice example vs. shaky or smeared) and you're placing blind trust in the authenticating company on the authenticity of the signature with no ability to vet it yourself. Hard pass.

Who is POTP?

I believe the 6.5 is accurate. The spine edge is very rough for a modern. Especially around the top staple. There also appears to be a spattering of multiple stains and/or foxing on the bottom third of back cover

I don't speak for JSA, but I am very familiar with how pro autograph authentication works. Generally, exact photo proof (a clear photo showing the exact signature) is something that may be considered. Unclear photos, "stories," testimonials, or previous COAs are not considered. That said, even exact photo proof won't save a signature that is suspiciously atypical.

According to the video, the difference is the seal on the side is larger. If this is true, then it squarely falls under the previous announcements, which mentioned "improvements." It's not a new case... just a tweak to how the existing case is sealed and doesn't merit a separate detailed announcement IMO. If you want to cut through the fluff, the content begins at 3:30 and goes to around 5:00.

You forgot counting stacks of hundreds. Thank you for understanding we need Cliff's Notes.

Yep...I have no patience for the stretching for time. Life is too short. It's an annoying tactic to improve their metrics for pay.

Ok. Got ya. I am confident they can reliably authenticate Kirby. Yes, there are a lot of Kirby forgers out there... tonfulle-84, the southern California forger and someone who I believe is a member of these boards to name a few. Signature authentication, like professional grading and restoration detection from credible experts, is highly accurate and significantly decreases your likelihood of being scammed. But of course, they are professional opinions and no one is perfect. There is an element of risk. If a collector isn't comfortable with that, stick to CGC SS Witness only.

Now who is playing semantics? Let me restate my previous statement: "When they “authenticate” something, it passes if it’s DEEMED authentic and it fails if it is DEEMED not." Happy now? Does my wording meet with your strict standards? Did I make it clear enough for you?

Of course. That’s common sense. Who said otherwise?

I don’t understand what you’re saying. I think your definition of “authenticate” is different than mine. When they “authenticate” something, it passes if it’s authentic and it fails if it is not. The fee for authentication is the same whether an item passes or fails. So there’s no monetary incentive to pass items that are not authentic.

Look at the upside... this will give the chat board fodder for a whole new genre of drama. "But, but, but... they failed my Stan Lee deathbed signature I got in-person!!!!"