First off, welcome to the forum.

Bats are very easy to verify. A bat is a bat is a bat.
Meaning, bats speak for themselves. I do not rely on COA's for bats. The Damon looks fine.

The bat itself cannot be faked, only the use can be. But certain use characteristics would be very close to impossible to duplicate.

Example, seam impressions, ball ink and leather transfers. To get the impression, someone would need to be able throw the ball hard enough and the person on the other end would have to be able to put a good swing on the ball.

Unless someone works at the factory, chances are the bats made their way to the players.

Educate yourself on what you want to collect. You can always ask members here.

On common players and lower tier stars, chances are no one is going to bother to fake their stuff.

Having collected coins and large size US Notes before. You would always hear, buy the book first.

Learn how to identify gamers. www.birdbats.com has a good section on doing so. John Taube's book is a must have for older Louisville Sluggers.

Usually, the problem I run into is with the uniform number on the ends. I always make sure of what is on the knob before buying. So this doesn't happen too often, cause I check for it.

Occasionally someone will take a gamer to the batting cage and use the bat themselves. Then turn around and sell it. Some may not do this to purposefully fool someone, but some may do thist o add use to a game issued bat. Check for ball marks with dimples.

Feel free to email me any item you're interested in and I will give you my opinion.

My specialty is Devil Rays/Rays bats. I also collect Devil Rays fielding gloves, batting helmets, team signed bats and balls. Plus vintage Braves bats, team signed bats and balls from the 1970's, 80's and nineties.