Eric
10-28-2007, 03:12 PM
This is from today's edition of the New York Daily News. From Michael O'Keeffe's "The Score" column
Taking the high road
A sports memorabilia executive who hopes to clean up his scandal-stained industry tells The Score it's a lonely battle.
In August, Dave Grob of Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services announced that his company would not provide authentication services to auction houses that did not sign contracts agreeing to several conditions Grob believes will make the hobby more transparent and accountable.
MEARS sent contracts to a dozen auction houses telling them they would need to be signed and delivered by Nov. 10.
So far, however, only one auction house - New Jersey's Robert Edward Auctions - has agreed to the terms.
Grob says he's not discouraged that other auction houses won't join him on the high road. MEARS will lose auction house business, he says, but submissions by individual collectors have jumped significantly.
"We charge the highest fees in the industry, but people are willing to pay those fees because MEARS-authenticated items sustain their value. MEARS items go for more money," Grob says.
The conditions MEARS wants auction houses to abide by include a ban on shill bidding. MEARS also wants auction houses to notify bidders when they have a financial stake in an item, and identify repairs and modifications made to an item to improve its value and appearance.
Grob says the future of the hobby may be at stake. The FBI has questioned industry officials about shill bidding and other improprieties at Mastro Auctions, the hobby's largest auction house, and Grob and others have called for lawmakers to intervene.
"This is an industry driven by trust and confidence," Grob says. "Trust and confidence that an item is what it is supposed to be, trust and confidence that an auction is conducted fairly."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2007/10/28/2007-10-28_the_answer_is_simple_alex_rodriguez_to_t.html
Taking the high road
A sports memorabilia executive who hopes to clean up his scandal-stained industry tells The Score it's a lonely battle.
In August, Dave Grob of Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services announced that his company would not provide authentication services to auction houses that did not sign contracts agreeing to several conditions Grob believes will make the hobby more transparent and accountable.
MEARS sent contracts to a dozen auction houses telling them they would need to be signed and delivered by Nov. 10.
So far, however, only one auction house - New Jersey's Robert Edward Auctions - has agreed to the terms.
Grob says he's not discouraged that other auction houses won't join him on the high road. MEARS will lose auction house business, he says, but submissions by individual collectors have jumped significantly.
"We charge the highest fees in the industry, but people are willing to pay those fees because MEARS-authenticated items sustain their value. MEARS items go for more money," Grob says.
The conditions MEARS wants auction houses to abide by include a ban on shill bidding. MEARS also wants auction houses to notify bidders when they have a financial stake in an item, and identify repairs and modifications made to an item to improve its value and appearance.
Grob says the future of the hobby may be at stake. The FBI has questioned industry officials about shill bidding and other improprieties at Mastro Auctions, the hobby's largest auction house, and Grob and others have called for lawmakers to intervene.
"This is an industry driven by trust and confidence," Grob says. "Trust and confidence that an item is what it is supposed to be, trust and confidence that an auction is conducted fairly."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2007/10/28/2007-10-28_the_answer_is_simple_alex_rodriguez_to_t.html