Has anyone noticed that there are a lot of NFL auctions jerseys being resold as game used? I am a big collector and was looking at American Memorabilia. I saw a whole page of jerseys that were game cut and signed, sold by NFL Auctions, and are now posted as game used. If you look at:
http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auctions.asp?RecsPerPage=10&auclisttype=&ListStyle=&ubperiod=&auccat=Football&aucsearch=&anyallexact=&tfm_orderby=&tfm_order=&offset=180

All of the jerseys Alexander, Moulds, Smith, Arrington, Brooking, Coles, etc., were sold on ebay a month or two ago. If you look at the jersey you can see that they are brand new. I was wondering if anyone else noticed anything like this, and if this is common on American Memorabilia's site.

Good catch. I haven't noticed that before.
The few that I clicked on all had ASI holograms on it. What the heck is that about?
Eric

Just did a little more checking and saw a #26 Perry from Cin, a Vick with no use, a Bettis size 46-I doubt that would fit him, a Hines Ward size 40-maybe from when he was 10 years old. It seems like people are just buying these and putting up in auctions. Hopefully the auction houses are not in on it, and it is just a few bad sellers, because if they are endorsing this type of behavior, all collectors are in trouble.

You should post this on the VBC forum. "Nickinvegas" works for American Memoribilia and is their "liason" to Network 54. I'd love to see his reaction to this.

Not sure you should post that on VBC. They delete the threads that are not about vintage baseball, and they'd prefer posts about game used not go on that board. I'll email nick and see if he'll come post something here.

Eric

Fellas, don't even waste your time. "Eric Anderson" is actually Steve Misturini trying to put the focus of himself on AMI. I mean, this guy is really desperate......

Was "Authentic Sports Investments" once known as "California Sports Investments"?

No, California Sports and ASI are not related. Does anyone know if ASI (now known as Elite Sports Marketing) is the same as www.elitememorabilia.com?

ASI and elitememorabilia.com are different entities. ASI's (or Elite's) new website is under construction at www.elite-sports-marketing.com.



Marcus Sevier
gamebatstore@houston.rr.com

www.GameBatStore.com

Did anyone notice the Flutie USFL jersey on American Memorabilia? I know they haven't written their descriptions yet, so it's not officially up, but I remember seeing that one on ebay. I remember the seller clearly stating that it wasn't a game used jersey. The name plate is blue- wrong color for a gamer. The seller had mentioned it was for a promotional event, and here it's listed on AMI as a game used jersey.

Greetings,
I would like to address a few of the questions that have come up on the forum.

I want to preface my answers by thanking Eric for e-mailing me about the issues. There is not always enough hours in the day to check this great forum Eric has established.

While I do work closely with Victor at AMI, I am by no means an expert on Game Used Jerseys (especially football). I can speak to the manner in which business is conducted at American Memorabilia.

We are fortunate to have an expert in house staff that takes a preliminary look at all items when they arrive. At that point, a percentage is sent back for one reason or another. The most common reason is Authentication Issues.

Next, Victor Moreno examines the items. Victor has a high degree of knowledge regarding game used uniforms.

Many houses would stop right there. However, we seek the opinion of the consensus expert authenticator to offer a final opinion of the item. After an opinion is offered by, for example Lou Lampson. Questions are asked of Lou, to validate his claim of authenticity.

Lastly, we offer a complete money back guarantee. And we back it up by accepting credit cards. No other major auction house offers that!

I believe that AMI is doing things the right way.

Regards,
Nick Martinez
American Memorabilia

PS: The Flutie jersey was sent back in the first stage of authentication, it will not be part of our auction. I am glad to see that there is a great level of anticipation for our next auction!


Please register for a free auction catalog: http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Default.asp

Although this doesn't specifically deal with the issue at hand, perhaps it's time that the NFL went a step toward combating this problem.

My suggestion is to sew a tag into the inside hem of the game-issued jerseys that clearly says "NFL Game-Issued" or something like that....slap a hologram and a serial number connected to a database in there as well. That was, if the tag is removed it'd be obvious, and if it's there, then it wasn't game-used.

http://community.webshots.com/user/rockytopreb/

I think we should try to throw your tagging idea by the NFL does anyone know any contacts at the NFL?
Dan

Actually, I'd like to clarify the tagging idea for the NFL jerseys....maybe this'd be worth a shot.

Each jersey made up for game use is tagged with an NFL Game Jersey tag. Like I said, it could have a serial number and/or hologram on it. Sew the tag into the jersey on the inside hem and make sure it can't come out. Make sure each serial number is entered into a database beforehand. After the season, those that aren't actually used in a game are tagged with the NFL Auctions Game-Issued jersey....and ONLY the game-issued ones that have been properly tagged can be autographed and be auctioned by the NFL. Make that tag sizeable and put it next to the NFL Game Jersey tag. Also, secure it so well that if it's removed, it would be so obvious that no one would be fooled by it.

I love the NFL Auctions program; I think it's great to raise that amount of cash for all the charities that they do, but they need to recognize that it is being corrupted by an unscrupulous few and that it needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

http://community.webshots.com/user/rockytopreb/