500 HR ball folks have their say

In putting together a column on a ball that many experts and one of the signers, Harmon Killebrew, thought was phony, Da Babe asked lots of questions of the folks from STAT Authentic, At My Auction and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service. Here’s the complete e-mail responses received:

Ted Taylor, co-owner of State Authentic.

As purists Jeff and I did not want to put stickers or anything else on an item - that was 2005 when we founded STAT Authentic LLC. We made it a point to state that. But soon the demand from collectors was such that we offered a second line of certs, less expensive than our preferred pictured/numbered certs - and these were called hologram certs. Once the hologram is affixed to an item it cannot be removed whole - it will shatter. We create a numbered cert that matches the hologram and that's how that works. The item you show, a baseball, is the most common thing that we hologram - with photos running a close second. Since pictured certs generally run to the more expensive side, dealers, collectors, etc., often look for a cheaper alternative. It's called doing business in a recession, I guess.

What constitutes an "expert"? Would 100+ years of experience qualify? That's what my partner and I have. You know it's easy to be critical of someone else - there is never a downside, is there?
The ball in question came out of a warehouse along with dozens of similar balls in early 2007. They were all signed for My Favorite Player and ScoreBoard between 1989 and 1991 according to documents still retained by the owner. The former owner of the company had them warehoused for over a dozen years. We saw the many player contracts and know that they were signed, production-line-style, over that period of time. (Getting 11 guys to sign 5,000 pieces - that was the original count - is no small chore.) It is no wonder that the signatures aren't all carefully signed as if they were done one-at-a-time. The drill when these were signed was to sign as many as possible in a short period of time.
We authenticated 10 dozen of these balls over a 4-day-period in July, 2007 for the original owner. Later they were sold to a distributor, obviously that's what is going on here. The rapid influx of these in to the market has reduced the value considerably. I paid $1,500 for a similar ball in/around 2005. I could get one now for $300 or so.
It's not a "he said, she said" at all. What it is, is that people are expecting to pay $300 and have something worth $1,500...it isn't going to happen. They paid what the item was worth. Period. The signatures are good, though, but not as good as "one-sies".
No one is being gyped here and similar items from the same owner have been previously approved by PSA, JSA and Global over the years. The owner came to us with the bulk authentication because our prices were better. Simple as that.

Correct. We have no control over the auction sites and what images they post. We keep hearing that stuff we did a couple of years ago is now being sold by various outlets. You'd be amazed at how many people are contacting us directly over items they get that weren't as advertised - different photo than they ordered, different ball, etc. That's why we're not in the retail business, like several of our competitors in the authentication field. We feel that authenticating something and then selling it ourselves is a total conflict of interest.
The Killebrew one bothered us too, then when found similar ones on photos we knew to be genuine. The deal was that these were signed in a production line - literally the player was given box after box to sign.
Harmon Killebrew is a long name to sign - I can understand that, in a hurry, he signed less than perfect. I was with Harmon a couple of times with Fleer and I agree when he's signing small numbers of things he takes his time.
We have exemplars, a pretty good collection, of known signatures of the same player that are different as night and day. It's just the way it is.
Jeff and I have officiated at hundreds of autograph signings over the years - check out our website for some pix of us with the celebrities (www.statauthentic.com) and we think our experience matches anyones. Still, I agree, unless you actually saw it signed it is an opinion.
On the item in question we also saw the contract he signed with My Favorite Player to affix his name to these 5,000 baseballs, along with a binder full of similar contracts from the source.

Judd Anstey, public relations manager, Army & Air Force Exchange Service
Thank you so much for taking the time to contact the Army & Air Force Exchange Service regarding the legitimacy of sports memorabilia purchased through the exchanges' auction site.

After further review, it appears that the Exchange Online Mall's auction partner has done its due diligence to ensure the products offered through the military exchange auction site are of the highest possible quality. In fact, all of the sports memorabilia available underwent an independent authentication process before being made available through the site. This, combined with the fact that only two concerns about the merchandise have been registered, lead us to believe that the products being offered on the site are what they claim to be; sports memorabilia that has been granted a certificate of authenticity.
With that said, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service takes its role to serve and support troops, and their families, very seriously. This command's dual enduring mission is to provide quality merchandise and services to its customers at competitively low prices and generate earnings to provide a dividend that supports morale, welfare and recreation programs. Today, more than 450 of AAFES' associates are voluntarily deployed in support of facilities throughout the Middle East. The locations they operate in the war zone literally delivering a taste of home to troops far from the comforts of friends and family.
This commitment to go where the troops go extends to every corner of the globe, including the internet. As such, anyone who has purchased an item through an AAFES operation that believes the product does not measure up to their expectations is encouraged to immediately contact the exchange by calling 1-800-527-6790. Questions specific to Exchange Online Auctions can also be directed to the exchanges' auction partner at 1-800-322-7315. Either way, every effort will be made to ensure any issues are resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Geoff Smith, Always at Market soon to be At Auction
Per our phone conversation today, here is information regarding our company, our commitment to service the customer, and information regarding the authentication process.
At Auction is a full service auction services company that manages the Exchange Auctions website on the AAFES Exchange Mall. We strive to provide consumers with a winning experience with quality products, great value, and with a high level of service satisfaction. If Exchange Auctions customers are unhappy with the product, they may return it for a refund. Our business is built on loyal repeat customers and our customer service policy and process is paramount to this loyal repeat customer success.
The 500 Home Run Club baseball that you have inquired about was authenticated by STAT Authentic, an independent 3rd party authentication company we use to authenticate the sports memorabilia merchandise we offer for auction on Exchange Auctions. More information about STAT Authentic and be found on their Webstite: www.statauthentic.com . According to Jeff Stevens and Ted Taylor, owners of STAT, the process used to authenticate the 500 Home Run Club baseball include:
- During their 100 years of total experience they have been in the presence of the 500 club members and witness to their signatures.
- They use personal autographed examples obtained in person.
- They have volumes of exemplars for comparison.
- Baseballs are digitally photographed, magnified, and evaluated for pen pressure, skips, starts, and, restarts, etc.
- The era of the baseball and pen are evaluated.
- Baseballs are black lighted to determine if the signature has been doctored, erased, moved, etc.
- Note: Authentication is an opinion based on background and experience.
If there is a customer who is unhappy with the 500 Home Run Club baseball they have won on Exchange Auctions, we would be happy to help satisfy that customer directly.
I understand you have also contacted STAT with similar questions. We feel confident that STAT is a reputable firm and that the merchandise that they have authenticated is truly authentic. If the customer that contacted you is still unhappy with the product they won at auction, we are more than happy to have the customer return it and offer a full refund. As I stated before, our business is built on happy, loyal, repeat customers. If the customer is not happy – we will make it right.