Ever lose the paper certificate for your game used item?

[marino13]

I misplaced my paper certificates from Steiner. After worry sick about them, I decided to call Steiner and hope to have them reprinted.

Here is the kicker: Steiner willing to reprint a new certificate along with a NEW matching hologram number for a fee.

Here is my question, isnt the hologram attached tamper-proofed? If they are replacing it with something else, would that make the item more questionable?


Just curious if this ever happens to anyone else.

[legaleagle92481]

I misplaced my paper certificates from Steiner. After worry sick about them, I decided to call Steiner and hope to have them reprinted.

Here is the kicker: Steiner willing to reprint a new certificate along with a NEW matching hologram number for a fee.

Here is my question, isnt the hologram attached tamper-proofed? If they are replacing it with something else, would that make the item more questionable?


Just curious if this ever happens to anyone else.

How does it work? Do you send them back the item and they give you a new hologram/COA? I believe by tamper proof they only mean if it is removed it breaks apart to prevent people from taking it off one item and putting it on another. If you remove it it does not damage the item it is taken off of.

[xpress34]

Marino -

I have a few Rockies items that lost their original LOAs from the Rockies due to a minor flood in my basement years ago. Luckily, I scan and keep a file of every COA/LOA I recieve as well as making my own COAs for items that I get signed to continue a linear provenance of the item.

If I ever sell or trade an item that's original COA/LOA was destroyed in that flood, I make sure that I disclose that the COA/LOA is a REPRINT from my scan of the original.

As I become more and more organized with my personal collection I also become more and more advanced in my tracking and filing, including making scans of the COAs/LOAs as well as attaching Photos of the item including tagging, autos, etc.

Hope this helps!

All the best -

Chris

P.S. - Please let us know what Steiner does for you. Interested in how that works.

[karamaxjoe]

Last year I purchased a bat from a private collector that had an SCD sticker and I knew originally came with an SCD Authentic Letter. Unfortunately the seller lost the letter or didn't seem to care to send it along with the bat. Since SCD Authentic used to be MEARS, I contacted Troy and he was happy to print a MEARS letter for $20 with some photos that I provided.

Kudos to MEARS for making a lost letter work out better for me in the long run.

[short84]

I have a Dallas Cowboys jersey that has the Steiner game used hologram and even their inventory tag, but did not come with a Steiner paper COA. I'll contact one of their customer service representatives and see what answer I get. I would really like the paper COA to go with the jersey.

[MiLe HigH]

Chris.....Check your PM's. I sent you a heads up..

[sox83cubs84]

A generic dealer's LOA means nothing to me...I toss 'em in the trash. Same for Lampson LOAs. The only ones I'll keep are those issued by a team, a league, MEARS, or certian niche collectors/experts I know and trust.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[sportscentury]

Many years ago, I purchased an Andruw Jones game used/signed bat from a fellow on eBay. It had a Steiner certificate and matching hologram stating that the bat was a "Andruw Jones GU bat." This was a rare item as Steiner was not getting many game used items back then. The package took a beating in the mail and the certificate was in pretty bad condition when the item arrived. I let the seller know. He said that I should just contact Steiner and that they would replace it. I thought for sure this could not be true, but, sure enough, he was right. Steiner sent me a new hologram and matching COA, free of charge. On the one hand, I thought this was pretty nice. On the other hand, I wondered what was stopping other folks from requesting "replacement" hologram/COA sets and the sticking the holograms on items that they wanted to pass off as game used.

It seems to me that if you lost the paperwork and Steiner is willing to replace it for a fee, that is not too much to ask on their part (assuming the fee is reasonable). Really, you are getting off lucky. If the hologram and COA are both in proper condition, and they both match, then I don't see why the item would be more questionable. The holograms are tamper-proof in that they can't be taken off and applied to other items. But it's not like they can't be removed and replaced with new ones from Steiner.

[mbenga28]

did you have to resubmit the item to them to re-hologram? so how does this work, if I took a blank Yankees game issued jersey, customized it into a Jeter or A-Rod and wore it around then placed a Luis Polonia game used hologram on the tagging and told Steiner I lost the LOA for a Jeter/A-Rod gamer they would give me a replacement?

[xpress34]

Chris.....Check your PM's. I sent you a heads up..


Marcus -

PM returned!

- Chris

[marino13]

Here is a quick update on the topic:

After going to the actual office and leaving my items behind, along with a fee for duplicate LOA and a week of waiting, I got the generic plastic certificate without any important information attached.

No MLB hologram number mentioned.

No Number Steiner hologram mentioned.

Just a plain old "Game used Ball" along with the date.


What the hell. Now, if anyone get their hands on my plastic LOA, they can attached it to any baseball and you know the rest of the story.


What a waste of time and money.

[slam]

Here is a quick update on the topic:

What the hell. Now, if anyone get their hands on my plastic LOA, they can attached it to any baseball and you know the rest of the story.


And the story gets better with Steiner.

[indyred]

It is bad business to issue another LOA for an item. I know MeiGray won't and it's a great policy. If you loose it it's your fault. Last thing this hobby needs is more than one issued LOA for an item. You can get a lot of scams doing that.

[marino13]

It is bad business to issue another LOA for an item. I know MeiGray won't and it's a great policy. If you loose it it's your fault. Last thing this hobby needs is more than one issued LOA for an item. You can get a lot of scams doing that.


How is it bad business to issue another LOA for the SAME item? Since it was for the same item, scams would not happen.

But when they replace the LOA with a GENERIC ones - which can apply to anything else, then that would be a problem!


I paid for a specific LOA to be replaced and what I got was generic.

[mbenga28]

did you have to resubmit the original item back to Steiner?