Tom Brady signing leaves fans holding the bag ✍️

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Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Tom Brady signing leaves fans holding the bag ✍️

• eBay replaces CGC with PSA for Authenticity Guarantee 📋

• Auctions ending soon 🔎

• People to follow in the hobby 👥

• Meme of the day 🃏

TOM BRADY SIGNING LEAVES FANS HOLDING THE BAG ✍️

Tom Brady is under fire for defacing a number of high-end collectibles at a recent signing event. The incident occurred this past weekend at a conference in Miami — Brady spoke to the crowd, and afterwards attendees were allowed a photo-op along with one signed item, all included in the $3,600 ticket price. The event sold a total of 100 tickets.

When it came time to sign the items submitted by attendees, Brady was supposedly blindsided by the scope of items. His contract for the conference only allowed signings of photos and his book, but he found himself having to sign everything from tickets to the 2000 NFL Draft (when Brady was drafted) to the first Super Bowl touchdown ball between Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Fanatics, Brady’s exclusive autograph representative, was not involved in organizing the signing, which complicated matters further.

When attendees saw the signed items, they were shocked by the quality of the signatures (photos below), which can only best be described as a kindergartener’s scribble. Individuals who paid for the signing turned to social media to express their frustration, commenting that the signatures were “inexcusable“ and that Brady “owe[d] better effort to those that paid you their hard earned money“.

My take: This seems like poor communication on the part of the event organizer. Brady would’ve never agreed to sign all these items if he knew exactly what they were going to be. On top of that, his understanding was that the event would be more than just super-collectors looking for a quick flip. The responsibility for that misunderstanding falls fully on the event organizer’s shoulders. But, I do wonder why Brady chose to sign everything instead of only signing what was outlined in his contract. It would still lead to some disgruntled voices, but at the very least all the items would be in original quality without a subpar autograph on them.

EBAY REPLACES CGC WITH PSA FOR AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEE 📋

In a big move in the authentication space, PSA is set to become the sole authenticator of cards on eBay. PSA was already eBay’s authenticator for graded cards, but raw cards will now also be authenticated through PSA. This means that CGC, currently eBay’s chosen authenticator for raw cards, will no longer be used in that capacity.

After news broke of eBay acquiring Goldin Auctions from PSA, PSA and eBay have been working closely together to streamline the buying, selling, and grading process for cards. Their partnership will also introduce the option to have cards graded by PSA immediately after purchase on eBay, significantly speeding up the grading process.

To accommodate the expected increase in demand from this new partnership, PSA is planning to add facilities on both the East and West Coasts. This is in an effort to minimize geographical and logistical barriers, and reduce overall turnaround time for authentication and grading.

My take: PSA is further solidifying themselves as the top dog in the grading space. Soon enough, you’ll be able to buy a raw card on eBay, grade it with PSA, and list it for sale on eBay through the Collectors Vault, all without ever touching the card.

AUCTIONS ENDING SOON 🔎

• Fanatics Auctions: ends April 22-25

• Alt Liquid Auctions: ends April 25

• Rockhurst Auctions: ends April 25-26

• Detroit City Sports: ends April 27

• Galaxy Auctions: ends April 27

• Heritage Auctions: ends April 27

PEOPLE TO FOLLOW IN THE HOBBY 👥

• The Shlabotnik Report: Blog about curating a personal baseball card collection

• Lifetime Topps: Collecting every base Topps set since 1980

• Highly Subject and Completely Arbitrary: Simple blog to discuss the hobby

MEME OF THE DAY 🃏