Could they have chosen a better condition card to have signed?
Horrifically fake, that pikachu sketch is the biggest giveaway.
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How the heck does stuff like this get through PSA?
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because it’s impossible to cert autos unless you literally watch the person auto it on sight and slab it immediately after, on camera. The people signing have good and bad days - they could be hungover, tired, sick of signing their 400th auto of the day, etc. That will cause their autos and glyphs, and cartoons to vary. This isn’t meant to be a stern comeback to your post, i’m just trying to show that’s there such variability with autos for so many reasons… autos are always suspicious to me unless caught on camera and slabbed on site.
Edit: anyone here calling BS on any autos for any reason can’t really do so unless the auto includes “gilroy was here” or some such patently fake BS. Autos are slippery and very, very hard to authenticate. That PSA even tries in the first place is ballsy.
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Maybe. Or maybe this was their favorite card that was opened as a kid. Who knows. I have a Ken Griffey JR rookie card, that is in worse condition. If I could get it signed, I’d get it graded as well.
BS can be called immediately on this signature for multiple reasons. The biggest being the Kanji. If you have no knowledge or understanding of how to write in a particular language, then it’ll be very obvious to determine a forgery purely based on the fact that the person forging it will write and base it off their natural language style. I don’t want to go too into this to aid any potential scams out there, but this should be the very first step done to assess and legitimize a Japanese signed card that could stop a card at the door from being Mis-slabbed.
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Auto authentication is almost as bad as wine tasting.
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“Please excuse my handwriting, I busted whichever hand it is I write with. Signed, Ken Sugimori.”
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So these are all totally valid points … but when you’ve made it your entire business to charge people (mind you, a non-trival amount of money) for your authentication and grading services, it feels a little obscene to have examples like this slip through, no?
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I know cgc is bad, yada yada but when they begin to do yellow label signature series (witnessed signatures only) it should jumpstart the auto market in earnest. Hopefully they’ll be able to set some events up after covid
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Oh I totally agree! I don’t think there should be any auto authentication at all, unless it meets rigorous standards - i.e, a PSA rep watching the autographing, and encapsulating it right there and then, without breaking custody. Problem is, that’s not going to apply to 99% of autographs. I don’t think PSA should be certifying them at all; it’s kind of like the death penalty: until you have a way to make sure that 100% of the people you’re killing deserve it, don’t do it.
The advent of cheap, accessible autopens kind of scares me… I think we’re just a few years before near 1:1 forgeries run rampant (or maybe we’re already there)?
I like the idea of live/witnessed authentication services, but meh, I suppose there’s no way PSA ever shifts to a model like that
They can fake a case lol.
Heck in the art world, people like Beltracchi took it as a challenge to fool the BEST experts in the world. Otherwise, it was no fun. That’s dangerous.
The best auto Authenticators in the country make mistakes all the time. And the scammers are only getting better and better. It’s really scary.
They can fake a case lol.
Heck in the art world, people like Beltracchi took it as a challenge to fool the BEST experts in the world. Otherwise, it was no fun. That’s dangerous.
The best auto Authenticators in the country make mistakes all the time. And the scammers are only getting better and better. It’s really scary and getting to the point where I’d hesitate buying a Sugi from the man himself.
Pikachu looks like it knows it’s not real… 
I get that I may have a more discerning eye because of QA, combined with my visual art skills, but I wonder how hard it is to simply do a side-by-side or overlay and see the multiple inconsistencies… I mean, it’s slow, BUT for Autos…? C’mon!
Witnessed autos (by me or by trusted 3rd party like this) would be the only thing to make me believe any of it is real. If there are people “expert” enough to authenticate do people not think there are people expert enough to replicate?
Just to chime in considering autographs are my bread & butter… The issue with only witnessed autographs being authenticated is that some signers such a Ken Sugimori haven’t done public signings in 15+ years & very well may never sign again. This means that only pre existing autographs are all we will ever see! With that said I am a firm believer that true experts do exist & that like any other rare collectible, due diligence is especially important. Before purchasing an autograph, research the signing history, study their handwriting, get second opinions, & make purchases from trustworthy sellers (competitors,event attendees, trusted collectors). Nothing is full proof but follow these guidelines & you’ll be solid 
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Sugimori is actually an easier autograph to authenticate, since he doesn’t sign. Just buy from someone trusted.
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I don’t have that many signed cards, but I keep provenance for the ones I have including photos, IG posts, sales records. In general, it doesn’t hurt to ask the seller for photos of provenance if they are the original owner.