George H.W. Bush Autographs - Cont'd

The George H.W. Bush autograph session seems to continue. Last month I blogged about an email I received from signingshotline.com for this dealer special.

I received emails this week from the guy who originally sent the email via the Signingshotline.com subscriber list. According to him, there are still items for purchase and additional items that were not on their "catalogue." I put that in quotes because his "catalogue" was a 4-page Word Document in bold, italics, all capped.

Again, I asked him for photo proof of the items and of Bush signing the item. And again, he refused saying that it providing that evidence could cause forgery. I don't really understand the forgery issue by providing evidence of Bush signing the item. The reason the autograph collecting community requires this is because of forgery.

There have been some good discussions on the signingshotline bulletin boards about this subject too. Some people have bought the items and say they look great. While others (myself included) are looking for the dealer to prove his dealings are legitimate.

I don't know if he's legit or not, but I know that (personally) I haven't seen enough proof that he is legitimate for me to spend my money on his items. I know, it's unfortunate that our industry needs to prove innocence, but that's where we are.

My recommendation to anyone buying an autograph item from a private signing:

• Get photo proof of your item getting signed.
• Get photo proof of previous items being signed by the guest.
• Review the return policy.
• Can you use a credit card instead of a paying via personal check?
• What is the COA? It should be more than a special certificate.
• Is the item JSA authenticated?

And at what point is "Signingshotline.com" responsible?
They sold their subscriber base to him so he can email the group. So far, signingshotline has not responded to any of my emails or said anything on the message boards. They are hurting the integrity of the industry and their site if they have no opinion, didn't do any due dilligence or wash their hands of the situation.

Boxing Autographs Growing in Popularity?

Are boxing autographs growing in popularity? It appears there is a market for them.

The March CSA Show in Chantilly, VA has more former boxers signing autographs than former baseball players. Buster Douglas and others will be there signing.

The CSA Show follows last year fall's MAB Magic Moniker's show in northern NJ. That show had several former boxers like Jake Lamotta and Hurricane Carter.

2007 SP Authentic Issues - Laloosh

*guest columnist; Laloosh*

I have been collecting the 2007 SP Authentic By the Letters Brian Burres of the AAA Baltimore Orioles. I think they are a cool card. They state there are 75. I am assuming that they mean 75 total not 75 of each letter? However, I have two 34/75. They are two different letters (K&R). There was a question in Beckett Jan. 2008 with Topps doing this but not Upper Deck.

Anyone know if it 75 of each letter? Or is this a screw-up?

Can anyone help Laloosh?

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Over-rated

Remember when the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue was a big deal? It was so big and controversial that it made the national nightly news every year.

Our culture couldn't wait to see if Elle was on the cover again. Not anymore - everyone on the poll question said the SI swimsuit issue is over-rated. Now, it's just a "oh yeah, another guy magazine with a pretty girl on the cover."

Why is that? Is it over-rated now because of other magazines like Maxim and others? Is it over-rated because we now have the internet? Or on a deeper level . . . has our society over the years become so desensitized that the issue isn't a big deal?

Want to be a Sports Card Photographer?

Wax Heaven has a great interview with sports card photograph Paul Gierhart. Definitely check it out, it's a great read.

Thank you Wax Heaven for submitting one of my questions!

NAXCOM Capitalizing on eBay's Complete Nonsense

Maybe eBay/PayPal has some serious competition?! The Sports Collectibiles News blog has a great story on Naxcom taking advantage of eBay's poor customer service.

I hope eBay/PayPal take a hit with the arrogance they've been giving to their core client base. I talked about some of this with my post last month.

I haven't used Naxcom before, but I may now!

Triumph Still Making Promises

The Triumph autograph company is making its return to Edison, NJ this spring. At the junior varsity run Dallas show every Triumph and Prova Authentication employee bragged about how much more professional their NJ shows are than the Dallas show. Hopefully I'll find out from someone how if this is true.

They promoted 50+ Cowboy greats for the Dallas show and barely delivered half of that. Their NJ show promises 30 former greats and even that seems out of reach for them. And what point to reach the "bait and switch" plateau?

I know, I know, ... someone will crack about "their isn't 30 Cowboy greats," but that's not my point. My point is that Triumph and other show companies shouldn't promise a product they can't deliver and as fans, we need to hold them accountable.

Following the Dallas show, I sent numerous emails to Triumph - I'm still waiting on their response.

Why this Hobby is Great

I don't know the culture and people of other hobbies, but I know that this one rocks! You get to meet some great people in this hobby.

I got an email the other day from a someone I met on an autograph replated message board. I corresponded with thim through email and talked to him at the Triumph show in Dallas in December.

And now we correspond about autographs shows and if one us can get an autograph for the other. How cool is that?

At that same autograph show in Dallas, I met some nice people from Vermont. There was a date/time change for someone they had an autograph ticket for. They couldn't make the new time, so I got the autograph for them and mailed it to them when I got home. A few days later i got a nice note and some fresh Vermont Maple Syrup... Very Cool!

Those are just two reasons why this hobby is a lof fun. What stories do you have?