kingjammy24
11-17-2006, 05:07 PM
when i scan auctions and see completely garbage pieces that have a number of bids, i genuinely wonder who's bidding on these items and why. usually i conclude it must be individuals who have failed to educate themselves and/or are unaware of this Forum. while they can't be blamed for the latter, they can certainly be blamed for the former. recently i read some posts on here regarding ASI/Brad Wells/Historic Auctions that have me dumbfounded. there have been a litany of threads over the past year regarding ASI/Brad Wells/Historic revealing in detail several seriously alarming issues. despite all of this information, there still seem to be people interested in buying from these entities. i can't say these are people who don't have the opportunity to educate themselves or are unaware of this forum so i'm completely bewildered by their decisions. i'd like to understand them. kylehess, in a recent post about a hat on historic, you said "Yes, I have seen the other posts about Historic Auctions but most are all concerning jerseys, which I am staying away from in their auctions, but the auctions that I do look at come from ASI who I can trust (even though they ripped me off the other day)".
As you know, Brad Wells not only runs ASI but also authenticates for Expert/Historic. Unfortunately, Historic Auction doesn't show Brad's affiliation with ASI or with certain items. He's simply listed as authenticating for "Expert Sports Authentication" which seems like some third party firm. You feel that you can trust a person who authenticates items they own but fails to divulge this relationship? You also seem to imply that since most of the negative issues revolve around jerseys, there's no need to be concerned for non-jersey items. Almost like the cook who spits on burgers would never spit on the fries. Your last line, honestly, is a classic: "ASI who I can trust...even though they ripped me off". If after reading the recent threads about Historic, you feel you can trust them/Brad Wells, let me offer some more insight:
Brad Wells, pres. of ASI, created Historic Auctions on Oct 21, 2005. When asked about the relationship between ASI and Historic Auctions, on Nov 29, 2005 Brad Wells claimed "ASI did participate with the authentication of the game used baseball (which is notably their expertise), as well as consigned a few items. that is the only affiliation whatsoever." On June 7, 2006, James Brown, president of Historic Auctions, said "Brad Wells, at one time, owned a stake in Historic Auctions". Apparently Brad and James didn't have their stories straight and Brad forgot that he created Historic Auctions a month prior to denying any such affiliation with it.
NY Daily News:
"Washington D.C. collector Ken Mutzabaugh spent $7,000 for the uniform and equipment Palmeiro used in the second inning of his 500-homer game. Soon after he bought his Palmeiro gear through Clearwater, Fla.-based Authentic Sports Investments, he discovered that the helmet, shoes, bat and batting gloves ASI had certified as real weren't even used in the 500-home run game. The company insisted the Palmeiro stuff was as-advertised even though Mutzabaugh provided photos and a video he says prove it wasn't. After a frustrating 10-month series of phone calls, e-mails and letters, the company exchanged the Palmeiro gear for for Sammy Sosa memorabilia"
"Two years ago, for example, ASI offered a white A-Rod autographed Texas jersey from the game in which he hit his third and fourth home runs of the 2002 season. When Ed Schauder checked photos from MLB.com game archives, he saw that the Rangers had worn blue jerseys for that game."
NYTimes & NY Daily News:
"Alex Rodriguez yesterday abruptly cut ties with a memorabilia company attempting to sell autographed baseballs commemorating his three-homer, 10-RBI game against the Angels on Tuesday, claiming he never had given permission for such a venture...By Thursday, the company, A-Rod Authenticated, was running radio advertisements for signed baseballs commemorating that performance, with a price of $399...They were not actually used in the game..."I reached the people and I said, 'If you're trying to do things without me, that's not right,'" A-Rod said. "I'm very upset about it. ... To go out and sell this crap - that's BS." Rodriguez said yesterday that he never signed any baseballs, and that he was never approached about marketing his performance. He said that although A-Rod Authenticated had "generic signed baseballs" of his, he questioned the legality of the company linking those balls to his three-homer game..."They can't do that," Rodriguez said. "That wouldn't even be legal. That's impossible.".. AROD Authenticated is the brand name for the service, which is managed by Authentic Sports Investments"
a forum member's recent experience with Brad Wells/ASI:
"I purchased a Joe Montana GU jersey after talking with Brad by phone and he neglected to mention that the tagging was Pro Line authentic (rather than Wilson Presitige). He also failed to mention that the jersey was smeared with glue on the shoulders. When the jersey arrived, it took me 5 seconds to realize that it wasn't a real gamer. I called Brad and he agreed to accept a return, but hasn't refunded the purchase yet. This was about 5-6 weeks ago! I've called two times in the last few days but they won't return my calls and continue to not issue the refund. Also, I purchased 6 autographed mini helmets from them when they had a one-day sale a couple of months ago. They charged me for the items but then never shipped them. Instead, I received an invoice with a notation saying that they were sold out of the mini helmets! So far, even though they never shipped the helmets, they haven't refunded the purchase. Again, I can't get Brad to respond to this problem."
If all this isn't enough to cause you to run screaming in the other direction, let's take a look at Brad's "notable expertise". If you trust ASI, you must trust Brad's ability to offer genuine game-used items right? Let's see what sort of authenticator Brad is:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4527/wellsxk1.jpg
In summary, Brad doesn't know a retail bat from a game bat, is unaware of obvious details, and doesn't know a retail jersey from a gamer. If you examine the Pujols, Oswalt, and Biggio jerseys he "authenticated", he also apparently is completely unable to detect serious tagging issues.
Despite all of this, you trust ASI and Brad Wells. Why? Steve, I'd also like to know why you felt ASI would be a good source to buy from. Honestly, given the information readily available, I'm trying to comprehend why people continue to patronize ASI/Brad/Historic and keep them in business.
thanks in advance,
rudy.
As you know, Brad Wells not only runs ASI but also authenticates for Expert/Historic. Unfortunately, Historic Auction doesn't show Brad's affiliation with ASI or with certain items. He's simply listed as authenticating for "Expert Sports Authentication" which seems like some third party firm. You feel that you can trust a person who authenticates items they own but fails to divulge this relationship? You also seem to imply that since most of the negative issues revolve around jerseys, there's no need to be concerned for non-jersey items. Almost like the cook who spits on burgers would never spit on the fries. Your last line, honestly, is a classic: "ASI who I can trust...even though they ripped me off". If after reading the recent threads about Historic, you feel you can trust them/Brad Wells, let me offer some more insight:
Brad Wells, pres. of ASI, created Historic Auctions on Oct 21, 2005. When asked about the relationship between ASI and Historic Auctions, on Nov 29, 2005 Brad Wells claimed "ASI did participate with the authentication of the game used baseball (which is notably their expertise), as well as consigned a few items. that is the only affiliation whatsoever." On June 7, 2006, James Brown, president of Historic Auctions, said "Brad Wells, at one time, owned a stake in Historic Auctions". Apparently Brad and James didn't have their stories straight and Brad forgot that he created Historic Auctions a month prior to denying any such affiliation with it.
NY Daily News:
"Washington D.C. collector Ken Mutzabaugh spent $7,000 for the uniform and equipment Palmeiro used in the second inning of his 500-homer game. Soon after he bought his Palmeiro gear through Clearwater, Fla.-based Authentic Sports Investments, he discovered that the helmet, shoes, bat and batting gloves ASI had certified as real weren't even used in the 500-home run game. The company insisted the Palmeiro stuff was as-advertised even though Mutzabaugh provided photos and a video he says prove it wasn't. After a frustrating 10-month series of phone calls, e-mails and letters, the company exchanged the Palmeiro gear for for Sammy Sosa memorabilia"
"Two years ago, for example, ASI offered a white A-Rod autographed Texas jersey from the game in which he hit his third and fourth home runs of the 2002 season. When Ed Schauder checked photos from MLB.com game archives, he saw that the Rangers had worn blue jerseys for that game."
NYTimes & NY Daily News:
"Alex Rodriguez yesterday abruptly cut ties with a memorabilia company attempting to sell autographed baseballs commemorating his three-homer, 10-RBI game against the Angels on Tuesday, claiming he never had given permission for such a venture...By Thursday, the company, A-Rod Authenticated, was running radio advertisements for signed baseballs commemorating that performance, with a price of $399...They were not actually used in the game..."I reached the people and I said, 'If you're trying to do things without me, that's not right,'" A-Rod said. "I'm very upset about it. ... To go out and sell this crap - that's BS." Rodriguez said yesterday that he never signed any baseballs, and that he was never approached about marketing his performance. He said that although A-Rod Authenticated had "generic signed baseballs" of his, he questioned the legality of the company linking those balls to his three-homer game..."They can't do that," Rodriguez said. "That wouldn't even be legal. That's impossible.".. AROD Authenticated is the brand name for the service, which is managed by Authentic Sports Investments"
a forum member's recent experience with Brad Wells/ASI:
"I purchased a Joe Montana GU jersey after talking with Brad by phone and he neglected to mention that the tagging was Pro Line authentic (rather than Wilson Presitige). He also failed to mention that the jersey was smeared with glue on the shoulders. When the jersey arrived, it took me 5 seconds to realize that it wasn't a real gamer. I called Brad and he agreed to accept a return, but hasn't refunded the purchase yet. This was about 5-6 weeks ago! I've called two times in the last few days but they won't return my calls and continue to not issue the refund. Also, I purchased 6 autographed mini helmets from them when they had a one-day sale a couple of months ago. They charged me for the items but then never shipped them. Instead, I received an invoice with a notation saying that they were sold out of the mini helmets! So far, even though they never shipped the helmets, they haven't refunded the purchase. Again, I can't get Brad to respond to this problem."
If all this isn't enough to cause you to run screaming in the other direction, let's take a look at Brad's "notable expertise". If you trust ASI, you must trust Brad's ability to offer genuine game-used items right? Let's see what sort of authenticator Brad is:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4527/wellsxk1.jpg
In summary, Brad doesn't know a retail bat from a game bat, is unaware of obvious details, and doesn't know a retail jersey from a gamer. If you examine the Pujols, Oswalt, and Biggio jerseys he "authenticated", he also apparently is completely unable to detect serious tagging issues.
Despite all of this, you trust ASI and Brad Wells. Why? Steve, I'd also like to know why you felt ASI would be a good source to buy from. Honestly, given the information readily available, I'm trying to comprehend why people continue to patronize ASI/Brad/Historic and keep them in business.
thanks in advance,
rudy.