Gotta love this e-mail from Mastro and Doug Allen!

The following e-mail is laughable, at best! Doug Allen tries to explain Mastro's "reasoning" in NOT going with MEARS for authentication of Game Used items. Then, he goes on to say that Mastro will be authenticating items they sell from now on THEMSELVES! Boy, that is certainly a load off anyone's shoulders worrying about Authenticity of an item - a seller authenticating items in their own catalog! :bom:

Also, Doug states that Mastro will be going back 10 years through THEIR OWN RECORDS to help in authenticating items. First of all, I thought Doug stated last year that these records were destroyed! Secondly, I know SEVERAL items have been proven to NOT be authentic that Mastro sold over the past year alone. If Mastro uses information from these NON-AUTHENTIC items to aid in authenticating items in the future, would this not lead to NON-AUTHENTIC items being sold again through Mastro Auctions?

Anyway, here is a copy of the e-mail. I would love to hear others' opinions on this e-mail and Mastro authenticating THEIR OWN ITEMS as well. Simply reading this e-mail makes me want to do this................

BTW - I know Rob Lifson has stated he WILL be using MEARS to authenticate items and has no problems with MEARS' contract. Maybe Rob can give us his side, as to why he thinks MEARS is good for the Hobby and why REA has chosen to use MEARS, since he is a member of this forum?

"MEARS Authentication took what in the auction industry is an unprecedented stand. In order to do business directly with auction companies they are requiring access to private consignor and confidential bidding records. We are uncomfortable providing this type of access to any organization let alone one that as part of their business model conducts private purchases and sales. It is on this basis we made the decision not to renew our contract with MEARS. What has transpired since this decision is a process that we believe will make us a better firm and enable us to offer game used jerseys that have gone through an unprecedented third party review process.

Effective in 2008 Mastro Auctions will stand behind all of our game used jerseys by issuing our own LOAs. Behind these LOAs will be the most targeted and comprehensive authentication process in the business. For each auction we will assemble a team of experts that will work together to examine all of our game used jerseys. No individual names will be associated with this work based on the fact that we will only offer items where the team unanimously deems the item to be authentic. We have engaged John Taube of PSA/DNA to oversee this process to ensure the necessary steps are being taken to ensure this authentication is being conducted in the most professional and comprehensive manner possible.

With the proliferation of fraud and alterations in our industry it is critical to have access to exemplar files to aid in the authentication process. We will arm our authentication team with the best exemplar database in the industry. First, we have gone through our historical database over the last 10 years of items sold and populated our new exemplar archive with images of tagging, styles, lettering, patches, etc. In order to augment this we have embarked upon an extensive retrieval process to collect detailed images from our customers who have the best private collections in the world. Although this process will be time consuming and expensive what will result will be the best authentication tool to ever be made available to the industry

I want to assure you that consistent with all the moves we make, a tremendous amount of thought and planning has gone into this change. We are confident that what will result is a better product for the industry and our valued customers.

Doug Allen
President & COO
Mastro Auctions Inc.
7900 S. Madison Street
Burr Ridge, IL 60527
p: 630-472-1200
m: 630-336-6650"

Laughable is an understatement. The telling statement in their letter is this..."No individual names will be associated with this work...". What this means is that they can cover up the fact that they are using people that have questionable reputations that will give them the results that they want. I forget what item it was where MEARS told them they were unsure about an item, so they went to an authenticator with dubious credentials to get the answer they wanted. Hopefully, someone remembers what this was and can give details.

Scott, I think the records they "lost" were bidder histories. The records they are talking about here are the item description and photo archive. Wonder if that Jordan NC warmup will be an exemplar of what is authentic?

This whole things wreaks and how anyone can say Mastro is honest and reputable is beyond me. Everything they have done the past few years has done nothing but make them look shady and questionable. If they were an eBay seller, they'd be getting raked over the coals for their recent conduct.

Jay

Jay, it is funny how a company can keep detailed records going back at least 10 years, yet NOT have bidders' records - especially when the company is an auction house! The ONLY thing one can surmise from an auction house NOT keeping their bidders' records is that they have something to hide. And, if an auction house has something to hide in bidders' records, one would definitely want to stay away from this auction house!

Jay, I cannot remember the exact item you are referring to. However, I think MEARS told Mastro they were unsure on the Jordan item as well. I remember a game-used collector (who will remain anonymous) contacting me about the Jordan item. He even contacted The University of North Carolina, and the University confirmed this item was NOT Jordan's, as the University still had Jordan's warmup! If Mastro wouldn't even call the University of North Carolina to get needed information regarding the authenticity of this Jordan item, then one can only laugh at the following statement from Doug Allen in the e-mail --- Although this process will be time consuming and expensive what will result will be the best authentication tool to ever be made available to the industry Maybe instead of using a "time consuming and expensive" process, Doug should have made a 50 cent long-distance call to The University of North Carolina?????

You can safely assume that this expensive and time consuming process will mean higher buyer premiums and seller fees becuase God forbid anything should cut into the bottom line of Mastro.

Jay

Sad but true Jay. TBH, Mastro auctions was a lot more "Hobby Oriented" when Bill Mastro was running the show. Since Doug Allen and his friend from Divine Interventures took over operations, Mastro has certainly been less "Hobby Oriented" and more about the "Bottom Line".

I think the last good thing Mastro ever did was the meeting me, Lee and Dan Barretta had at their offices to have a look at the evidence regarding the DiMaggio streak bat. Ever since then, almost everything Mastro has done has been on the questionable side and certainly not collector friendly.

Jay

Oh..and it only gets better from there. As some here may already know, here is another attempt by Mastro to look honest:

www.pcce2008.com

Looks like they have some good dealers there but several questionable one's too. Curious on what the roundtable and speakers subject matters will be about. Card doctoring is a red hot topic now, it has to be introduced. Wonder who's going to make that presentation? I'd love to sit in on that, if they have it! .


Kevin

hmmmm..not one mention of card doctoring and alterations. That should be first and foremost on the agenda. I wish I had the time and money to be able to go, just stir things up and try and make talk about REAL issues, and not this the feel-good crap and other posturing that they propose.

Kevin, without you there speaking about alreations, that confernce is a total joke.

Jay

Jay, it would be hard for Mastro to talk negatively about a part of the Hobby where many believe they are the leaders (card altering).

What, Lifson and Baker not invited? They are two of the top names in the hobby....and very respected!

Looks like a big smoke screen to cover their problem past (and present). Gezz...and some of the dealers are very questionable as well.

yeah, there are some glaring omissions and spoken to a few of them. Doesn't sound like they are too interested in be involved in it at present.

Jay

I have to admit, I really like Brian Drent and Mile High (from my dealings with them at least). He seemed so neutral to me when I spoke with him on the phone. He even stated to me he didn't want to get involved in supporting or advertising on any sites (when I mentioned something about Mastro and Net 54 to him). Again, he told me he likes to remain neutral. Personally, from speaking with Brian Drent, I would say he is under the impression this farce set up by Doug Allen (no doubt) is really good for the Hobby.

I agree, to have legitimacy in my eyes, Rob Lifson would DEFINITELY have to be a part of any organization over-seeing our Hobby.

It seems to me this was JIM C.'s idea some time back and NOBODY was interested. Now, Doug Allen heads up the same concept (except SOOOOO MUCH WEAKER AND A FARCE) and around 100 "vendors" are going to be on hand! Something just isn't right with this picture.

LET ME STATE I AM ALL FOR SOME INDEPENDENT ENTITY TO REGULATE OUR HOBBY. I SIMPLY DO NOT THINK AN AUCTION HOUSE WHO SELLS VERY QUESTIONABLE ITEMS SHOULD BE SPEAR-HEADING THIS!!

PS I wouldn't care to bet that a lot of those who opposed Jim C. so much will even attend this meeting (or whatever you want to label it)!

Kevin and Jay - You two and I should go to this farce, loaded with information (scans of fake items in Mastro's catalogs, the catalogs themselves, before/after pics of alterations Mastro has performed, etc.) and REALLY SHAKE UP THIS FARCE! The Lord only knows Doug Allen would end up sticking his foot in his mouth, as he has done SEVERAL times on Net 54, when replying to questions of dishonesty!.

There are several major names missing from that list I respect far more than anyone that's comitted to that gathering. I've spoken to a few about it and their absence speaks volumes to the legitimacy of the gathering. Without these major hobby figures, there is no way this can have any legitimacy.

Jay

...or they should at least list those who were invited but could not attend. Who knows maybe they were asked? It would add some credence to their (ahemm) cause . I asked HOF collector Jim and he wasn't invited, what gives?


Oh yeah, we could have some fun...a whole lotta' fun .

Rob Lifson said it was OK to share this info he told me about PCCE. He was one of the glaring omissions from the list and I asked him to share his thoughts about PCCE and why he wasn't participating. It turns out that he was unaware of PCCE until the press release and has not been invited to attend.

This is a direct quote from the PCCE website:

The PCCE is a unique event unlike anything that currently exists in the collectible
industry. The goal of the PCCE is to bring serious collectors and the industry's
most respected sources together in a professional environment that reflects the current
state of the collectible industry.

If anyone had any question as to whether or not this event is a joke,
shouldn't have any now. How you can omit Rob Lifson/REA and others
notables missing from the list from an even that is supposed to have
major consequences for the hobby is beyond laughable.

Much of what is being proposed by this conference was proposed by Jim Crandall at the NYC dinner about year ago and it all fell on deaf ears. Amazing, isn't it, that Mastro is now interested in something like this as long as they are in control of it. Here's another laugher from the PCCE website:

In 2001, Doug Allen, President and COO of Mastro Auctions, a leading Sports and Americana auction house and Ryan Friedman, owner of Auction Report, began exploring resources,
information and issues that the rapidly evolving collecting industry would require...

Then why the deafening silence during the NYC dinner?

Enough of this for now. It makes me want to puke

Jay

The PCCE is a unique event unlike anything that currently exists in the collectible
industry. The goal of the PCCE is to bring serious collectors and the industry's
most respected sources together in a professional environment that reflects the current
state of the collectible industry.

Hummm...now I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, which is not a good thing because it gives me a headache . This hobby is frustrating me to the point I'm ready to BLEVE.


This is beyond a joke, it's the fox guarding the hen house in the worst possible way. They want to talk about issues that reflect the current state of the collecting industry? I may just give them something to talk about....in detail.

I'd love to hear an explanation about "The Spoon"



It's a little tough to read here, but Louis Ballman has "la cuiller" in his name, which is French for "spoon". Not exactly a nickname I would want to have published if I'm VP of Vintage Cards.

Jay