Open Letter To Lou Lampson

[Eric]

If anyone is going to the National, would you mind handing this letter to Lou?
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Dear Mr. Lampson,

My name is Eric Stangel. I'm a long time game used collector and the founder of gameusedforum.com, a place where we discuss the hobby.

Many times our discussions on the forum involve items that you have authenticated and many people have questions they'd like to ask you.

Since your COAs don't list any contact information, and the auction houses who employ you refuse to help people get in touch directly with you, I would personally like to invite you to come on the forum and answer some of these questions and participate in the discussions.

Registration is free at www.gameuseduniverse.com/store/ (https://www.gameuseduniverse.com/store/)

People spend money based on your expertise and opinion and would like to be able to discuss the techniques you use to come up with your findings.

I would have approached you to talk about this in person, but the National Convention coincides with a trip I am taking out of the country.

I have made attempts to speak with you in the past- I have called telephone numbers and written to you at an email address provided to me by prominent members of the hobby and have never gotten a response.

If you would like to get in touch with me, I am always available at ecky3@aol.com. If you would like to speak in person, email me at the address and I can give you my cell number.

Every other hobby authenticator has managed to make themselves available to answer questions and I would ask you to do the same.

Thank you and I hope to hear from you
Eric Stangel
founder gameusedforum.com

[sarahsdad]

Eric:
Great idea. Unfortunately without a subpoena attached to it I am not sure you will have much luck. A for effort though!
Sarahsdad

[Jason]

Has anyone actually verified if this guy actually exists?

If he's going to be at the National, maybe they just meant a cardboard cutout of a human silhouette with "Lou Lampson" written in sharpie on it will be there.

[Vintagedeputy]

I think "Lou Lampson" is CIA-speak for "not a real person"

[Eric]

You guys are making jokes about this, but I'm being serious. Will someone take this letter to Lampson?

Thanks
Eric

[gamehawk]

Eric,
I hear you buddy, I have been trying to get ahold of the caped crusader for awhile now regarding his "LOA's" and MANY answers to questions I have regarding his work!

Best of luck with this. However, it will probably not get you anywhere except maybe someone affiliated with Lampson will contact you. My guess would be a lacky from American Memorabilia saying that Lampson is a very busy man who even they only see once and awhile That was the petty responses I got twice about 6 months and a year ago. I even emailed his company "25% Authentic" to no avail.

By the way, if someone does happen to call from AMI, ask them if they are wearing a Willie Mays Gamer or Macho Man Ring Worn Jacket while they are talking to you! :p

-LD

[b.heagy]

Eric,
Jim, Chris, Mike and Rob are going to the National.

[dcrules01]

Not being funny but does he really exist?It baffles me to no end how a guy can have his name stamped on so many game used jerseys that he authenticated but no one has ever met him or seen a picture even spoken to him.

[earlywynnfan]

Yes, he does exist. I talked to him for a while at the last National.

Ken

[harpt]

A year or two ago SCD ran articles with his picture. I can't remember if he wrote the articles or if they were about him (or both)...but his picture was always present.

[fridgefan]

I saw him once -- at Dinky Donuts with Joe Dimaggio.

[aeneas01]

the more i read about lampson the more i'm convinced that he's simply not in the "answering questions" business - frankly, he seems to be more in the "here's my opinion, take it or leave it" business.

i noticed that american memorabilia states that lampson "...has an astonishing 8,000 plus uniform-related photos in his reference library." while this number of photos may have been rather impressive 10 years ago, today anyone with the slightest interest in the hobby can amass twice as much inside of a week given the net's ever increasing resources - heck, i've accumulated well over 10,000 football helmet related photos alone.

i have to believe that the emergence of the intenet has been an authenticator's worst nightmare, especially considering just how ridiculously limited a collector's resources must have been not too long ago. i mean just how many second opinion options did collectors have 10+ years ago?

but i guess i should consider myself lucky, considering some of these posts, that lampson did recently respond to a question i had - albeit through mastro. but, i have to tell ya, if what i got from him was a typical example of his expert opinion then i would just assume not hear from him....

[aeneas01]

A year or two ago SCD ran articles with his picture. I can't remember if he wrote the articles or if they were about him (or both)...but his picture was always present.

http://www.100percentauthentic.com/assets/lampson.jpg

http://www.100percentauthentic.com/Authenticators.asp

[Eric]

What was the analysis you got from Lampson (by way of Mastro)? What was your question? What was your answer?


the more i read about lampson the more i'm convinced that he's simply not in the "answering questions" business - frankly, he seems to be more in the "here's my opinion, take it or leave it" business.

i noticed that american memorabilia states that lampson "...has an astonishing 8,000 plus uniform-related photos in his reference library." while this number of photos may have been rather impressive 10 years ago, today anyone with the slightest interest in the hobby can amass twice as much inside of a week given the net's ever increasing resources - heck, i've accumulated well over 10,000 football helmet related photos alone.

i have to believe that the emergence of the intenet has been an authenticator's worst nightmare, especially considering just how ridiculously limited a collector's resources must have been not too long ago. i mean just how many second opinion options did collectors have 10+ years ago?

but i guess i should consider myself lucky, considering some of these posts, that lampson did recently respond to a question i had - albeit through mastro. but, i have to tell ya, if what i got from him was a typical example of his expert opinion then i would just assume not hear from him....

[aeneas01]

i had a few questions regarding a dick butkus helmet currently listed by mastro - i emailed my questions to mastro and was told they would have to contact lampson for the answers. fwiw mastro was very prompt in answering my 3-4 emails.

a little background: because i was so interested in this lid, i contacted dick butkus through his website asking if he would please take a look at the helmet. the very next day i received a reply from mr. butkus stating that he was "bothered" by how the helmet was marked on inside. consequently i forwarded this to mastro, along with a couple of other questions, and that's when i was told by mastro that lampson would have to field the questions.

here's the exchange:

me:

...what can you tell me regarding the helmet's provenance - did you obtain it from a collector or directly from the bears? have you consulted with mr. butkus regarding the helmet's authenticity? because of my sincere interest in obtaining this item, i contatced mr. butkus for his opinion through his personal website (mounted memories) - i linked to your auction so that he could review the item. i received the following response:

======================

Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 8:50 AM
Subject: RE: Dick Butkus Web Contact

Robert-Here is Mr. Butkus response.

I would tell him what bothers me is where the "51" is located. I don't remember it being under the webbing.

Thanks
Becky Batista
Mounted Memories
954-742-8544

=======================

needless to say jim, it would have been very nice if mr. butkus had responded with a resounding vote of confidence regarding this helmet - perhaps something along the lines of: "yes, i can tell you with a great deal of confidence that this helmet appears to be one that i wore when i played with the bears, i see nothing that would cause me to believe otherwise". especially given the potential amount of money involved. so if you could provide me with any information regarding the helmet's provenance, it would be greatly appreciated.

mastro:

Lou Lampson provides the LOA on this lot and we are going to have him contact you about this lot.
Jim

me:

thank you very much - i look forward to hearing from lou lampson.

mastro:

Lou Lampson has been contacted and Responses to your two open questions are listed below. A modification will also be made to the internet write that will help address the provenance. The modification will be made within next few hours. Hope this follow up helps and Good Luck. Jim

note: the italicized sections below are what i sent to mastro which lampson quoted and replied to.

1) "looking at one of the photos it appears that a faint number "7" can be made out on the large crown webbing towards the rear of the helmet - can you make out any additional numbers next to the seven (i.e., 3/8, 1/2, etc.?"

We looked at the helmet and we can not make out the additional numbers with any certainty.

2) "I would tell him what bothers me is where the "51" is located. I don't remember it being under the webbing."

This is in fact where the 51 is located. We can't change that fact.

==================================

when i first asked about the helmet size i was told by mastro (and lampson?) that no size information was present in or on the helmet - this was particularly disconcerting given the clear photo evidence in the auction ad to the contrary. in question 1 (above) i pointed out where the size "7" was clearly visible/marked and asked if they could make out the other numbers.

as far as question 2 is concerned, i told mastro that i found lampson's response ("This is in fact where the 51 is located. We can't change that fact.") to mr. butkus's observations to be both dismissive and defensive. further, i pointed out that the person that made these observations just happened to be the hall of fame player who is supposed to have worn this very helmet and, as such, i found lampson's response to be rather disrespectful and of no help at all.

fwiw, i found it interesting that lampson referred to "we" when he responded to my questions - something which i should have asked mastro about. so what's the deal - when a loa carries lampson's sig is it actually a collaborative assessment? and, if so, would lampson sign off on an item without looking at it if one of his collaborators deemed it authentic? call me crazy, but i was under the impression that when a loa was signed by lampson it meant lampson - not "we".

[3arod13]

http://www.100percentauthentic.com/assets/lampson.jpg

http://www.100percentauthentic.com/Authenticators.asp

I haven't bought anything or been involved with anything dealing with Lou Lampson, but I'm just blown away by all that I have read about him in this forum.

How can one man do what he does and is able to hide so easily?

Why would any auction house or anyone in the business want to involve their name to his with all this negativity?

Maybe I'm just clueless, but I don't see how he's able to continue in this business successfully.

Regards, Tony

[mvandor]

I haven't bought anything or been involved with anything dealing with Lou Lampson, but I'm just blown away by all that I have read about him in this forum.

How can one man do what he does and is able to hide so easily?

Why would any auction house or anyone in the business want to involve their name to his with all this negativity?

Maybe I'm just clueless, but I don't see how he's able to continue in this business successfully.

Regards, Tony

Disclaimer: My opinion only, certainly not the GUU company line.

He appears to me to be the chief enabler in a highly profitable but corrupt industry. Through a catchy, memorable name and the sheer volume of his work, he appears to the average consumer be the dominant authenticator in the game used market. In fact, he is simply a guy getting paid significantly to help move millions in bad product through the mirage of "authentication".

The real question is how the scam has persisted this long without the intervention of the authorities. Apparently post 911 any crime not terrorism related, especially white collar crime, gets a pass.

If true reliable and honest professional authentication was provided in all cases, the revenues from game used sales would plummet putting a good number of people out of business as the vast majority of items would be dismissed. Accordingly, no one wants to REALLY look too closely.

[CollectGU]

aeneas01,

I noticed that Mastro is now claiming that they have a photo of Butkus wearing this helmet, but I'm not sure of they are saying the same style or the same helmet? Also they have added additional provenance information...Your thoughts?

Regards,
Dave

[otismalibu]

He appears to me to be the chief enabler in a highly profitable but corrupt industry. Through a catchy, memorable name and the sheer volume of his work, he appears to the average consumer be the dominant authenticator in the game used market. In fact, he is simply a guy getting paid significantly to help move millions in bad product through the mirage of "authentication".


I think even Lou would agree that the above statement is 100% Correct. If he disagreed, you'd think he might, at least once, speak up and defend some of his work.

[sammy]

Lou Lampson appears to be just like the authenticators the Marino family used to pass so many autograph forgeries. It doesn't matter whether it is real or not, the authenticating fee is paid, and the authentication letter is produced stating the item is good.

You would think with the constant rise in the rates these auction houses continue to charge, added to the "Seller's Rape" which in many cases, when added to the BR is about 40 percent of the final price, millions per auction, they would invest in someone or company that was competent.

But being as Lou works for a set fee each day, he churns out as many letters as possible, which is what he wants to do and the auction companies want him to do. Neither wants to spend the time or money to do an honest job. Lou would be out of work if he wasn't a "YES" man, and the auction companies would be out millions of dollars because they would not have this trash to peddle.

It has come to the point where if it reads "Lampson LOA" I don't even look at the auction and/or item.

It's a shame the FBI doesn't get involved with this garbage. I guess they are too busy spying on the average American.

[both-teams-played-hard]

http://img104.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2007/07/31/kerouaccopy-47c1kz2r6.jpg
Does anyone remember seeing this poster on display at the Fashion Village Promenade Towne Center?

[richpick]

As many has said before Lampson churns out LOA's auction houses sell the suspect stuff for great money and both Lou and the auction houses are happy. Here is the problem both Lou and the auction houses are both not on the hook for any penalties. So smart collectors stay away from a Lampson LOA so what there are a ton of suckers in the ocean. Who knows how much money Lou makes probably a lot and all he has to do is avoid answering questions. If these auction houses stood up and collectively turned their backs on Lampson then every item that they sold (with a Lampson LOA) and took their 40% or so profit on could be included in a class action lawsuit against the auction house for a full refund and cost them millions. Since they have put their trust in him they are in bed together and we (the collector) will suffer until there is a huge shake-up (like in the autograph market)

[Eric]

So, how many people here will take advantage of the opportunity and ask your questions to Lou in person at the National?

[gamehawk]

I like how the bio picture of Lampson looks like a bad guy on a Matlock episode?? :D

[Nathan]

I'll be there on Thursday and Saturday and I'll see what I can do.

By the way, here's some fun math for you. I'll use the NHL as an example.

30 teams x 6 seasons = 180
28 teams x 1 season = 28
27 teams x 1 season = 27
26 teams x 5 seasons = 180
24 teams x 1 season = 24
22 teams x 1 season = 22
21 teams x 14 season = 224

If Lampson were to have one picture of a particular team from a given season, then just by going back to 1977-78 he would have 685 pictures. If he were to go back to the beginning of the NHL, there would be roughly 1600 pictures total.

Now consider that MLB, the NBA, and the NFL all had more teams than the NHL for most of their history....although I'm not going to do all the math on here, is it possible that simply taking one picture from a team for a given season times every season of a league's existence would equal the "astonishing 8,000 plus pictures"?

[harpt]

I just got an email at home from someone who's email address is MyBlackEscalade@ aol.com there is no subject listed and the person does not sign a name.

The person quotes my post from this thread where I say

"A year or two ago SCD ran articles with his picture. I can't remember if he wrote the articles or if they were about him (or both)...but his picture was always present."

Then, their message is:

"ok, well what good does this silly remark make. how does this help people find the fraud"

That's it. No signature or anything. I wrote back and explained that I was responding to the question about whether or not he (Lou) exsists. I also told the person that I thought it was low-class and gutless to write such a message without signing a name.

Does anyone know who this guy is, or why he would take the discussion off the board like that? Has anyone else gotten similar emails? I don't know about you, but personally I would prefer not to get unsolicited emails at home. Asking for an email about a bat is one this. I think this is another. What do you guys think?

Thanks for the time,

Scott

[kneerat]

That's really interesting Scott... When I worked at AMI I would constantly get emails from that same email address. The person would never sign his name and would hide behind that address.

I would be willing to bet that he is a contributor to this message board or knows some of the members personally.

OT: Scott, give me a call this weekend and I will give you an update from the National on any clue items that pop up.

[kneerat]

I meant "cool," not "clue" LOL. Sorry bout the typo.

[Eric]

I would be willing to bet that he is a contributor to this message board or knows some of the members personally.

He's not a member of the board as far as I can tell. I have gotten emails from this person as well, some unsigned, some signed Ben, John, Bill and Michael.

Many of them are about how to track down Lampson's contact info for a friend who felt rippsed off.

There is a reference to this person and their dealings with Grey Flannel found here
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?p=38572

That's all I got.
Eric

[harpt]

Thanks Eric and Chris for those responses. I was wondering if I had gone off the deep end.

Scott

[Utopian2630]

I'm going to be there for a column I'm writing about retailers pulling controversial items (eg. Vick ) and collectors thoughts and buying habits as a result. I guess I could REALLY do an investigative piece on someone flooding the market with questionable items.

Anyone willing to go on record??? haha

[both-teams-played-hard]

So, how many people here will take advantage of the opportunity and ask your questions to Lou in person at the National?

Did anyone give Lampson a copy of Eric's letter?
Did anyone confront Lampson?
Did anyone ask Lampson questions about collecting?

Should I just mind my own business and forget about Lampson?
Am I beating a horse skeleton?