Tuesday, February 06, 2001
Baseball seal just one weapon against counterfeiter
By Beth Barovian
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Baseball's hologram, with serial number, is intended to authenticate items before they leave the park.
| ZOOM |
|
Cincinnati sports collectors are giving mixed reviews on Major League Baseball's plan to place holograms and serial numbers on memorabilia to ensure authenticity.
The authentication program is the first organized effort by baseball to rid the industry of fake and reproduction memorabilia, according to Joe Grippo, the Licensing Manager of Collectibles and Memorabilia for Major League Baseball.
The FBI, which has run sting operations on sports memorabilia, has estimated that up to 80 percent of such items are counterfeit. But Wayne Fields, the owner of Sports Machine, 9033 Colerain Ave., Groesbeck, thinks the number is exaggerated.
“Obviously, there are shady people out there who will make and sell reproductions, but I think that this attention (by baseball) is overhyped,” Mr. Fields said. “There are good companies that contract with players for their autographs, and I know that what I buy from them is genuine.”
Mr. Fields said 10 percent of the items he sees are not verifiable. Consumers can avoid investing in a fake if they are willing to pay extra and buy items from reputable dealers, he said.
Until now, owners of memorabilia stores have developed their own authentication programs. Many won't buy items from individuals unless they are certain where the items originated.
Typically, dealers buy their stock from official baseball licensees such as Tristar Productions and Upper Deck Authenticated, companies that contract with athletes for their autographs.
Store owners also have developed a knowledge of what a genuine item or autograph looks like and have built a strong network among other dealers to obtain second and third opinions about an item's authenticity.
Larry Vannasdall, owner of Hometown Sports Collectibles Inc., 615 Buttermilk Pike, Crescent Springs, also is wary of the national statistics for counterfeits. Changes need to be made, but the rise in purchasing costs that will result from Major League Baseball's program might not be worth it, he said.
“People will pay extra for a high-end item from a famous athlete,” Mr. Vannasdall said. “The famous athletes can absorb these costs easily; it is the middle-of-the-road athletes and everyone below who will be hurt by this measure. There won't be a demand to pay more for the authentication of their items.”
Mr. Grippo, however, disagrees. He said the authenticated items will be only a dollar or so more than the ones sold now.
“People pay anywhere from $100 to $2,000 for an autograph,” he said. “A dollar isn't that much.”
Steve Wolter, owner of Sports Investments Inc., 10026 Montgomery Road, Montgomery, said counterfeiting is the biggest problem in the business. He said that while baseball is heading in the right direction, this program is only one answer.
“The problem doesn't lie as much with the fake autographs as it does with the people who are forging them,” Mr. Wolter said. “There must be more investigations to find the people who are doing the forging.”
The program will not turn a profit for two years, Mr. Grippo said. Major League Baseball has enlisted an Arthur Andersen representative to collect all memorabilia from games and official signings. OpSec U.S. will create the tamper-resistant logo holograms that will be placed on the items.
The unique serial numbers on the logos will then be entered into a database at www.MLB.com, where dealers and consumers can easily confirm their authenticity.
The officially licensed memorabilia will be available at the beginning of March.
“For newer signed items, this is wonderful,” said Dr. John Gennantonio, a memorabilia collector. “To a kid today, this might mean something. However, the real problems are with the older counterfeit items, like autographs of Babe Ruth, which can go for as much as $60,000.”
Sports Stories
Xavier enters crucial stretch
Double ranking first for Xavier
UC not dead yet in C-USA
Scott lineman commits to UC
Reds' future on display at spring training
Baseball seal just one weapon against counterfeiter
