Of course it’s not something all would want to do and there would need to be a system of sorts for managing what they receive and deal with from people seeking autos and they could require a customization so that it’s not just a bunch of autos for resale.
There are real fans that want these signatures that don’t have the time, money and lack of brains that some of these people who simply wish to profit off the artists names have to travel and go to the now rare event that the artists are at.
And some have even been scared and worried for their safety because of weirdos and upset people who didn’t get to get their stuff signed because flipper jerks show up with their friends and get a ton of things signed. And I guess the artists are too polite to tell people they’re making hogs of themselves
It all adds up to this hyper competitive culture among flipper weirdos and if the process were somehow a little more democratized then you probably wouldn’t have PSA employees feeling incentivized to do something this stupid.
I get what you mean. This person was probably used to the sports market, where anything goes. There are sports cards with presidents autographs cut and pasted on a card:
I personally think the pokemon situation is at best weird. Especially if the process was not disclosed. Anyway you aren’t wrong with your analysis about the signature market. There is a lot of demand, and little to no formal process for that demand. Its always been this way, and will most likely be the indefinite reality.
I don’t think you’re wrong I just think it’s more complicated than “we can solve autographs with this one weird trick”
Many artists have taken cards in the mail for signings. And it pretty much goes the same way every time. The people that are super into autographs and/or the individuals with profit incentive are always the first to find out. Then they kind of keep the information to themselves to maximize on the opportunity with the occasional cryptic “ifykyk” instagram story.
Then without fail, there are a handful of people that take it too far. Send in 20 charizords to get signed, post to ebay before the ink is dry. Whatever it is. There are actually people who will do whatever they can to encourage the artist to stop signing because they got their 12 autos and the financial incentives are aligned such that it’s better for them if no one else gets an autograph.
I think mail-in autos are what’s best for the average collector and would also be a good way for artists to make some money. But in practice the mail-ins never get public enough for the average collector to become aware and so far every time it has ended with problems for the artist
Even some of the people who were initially genuine just end up dumping everything and frustrating an artist. The solution is two fold, a process that pays the artists well enough and in doing so, let them know the cards might go for sale and that’s fine.
I think keeping cut signatures for your own collection is fine. But selling them, especially without reaching out to the person involved is pretty sketchy.
On a side note, is PSA still authenticating sports autos? I got a bunch of baseball cards signed by mail for my person collection. I sent them to the players during spring training. If not, BGS would be the alternative right, since CGC doesn’t authenticate autos they haven’t witnessed?
I can see an argument for allowing these to be graded or allowing the signed fake metal Mario Pikachu cards (though I think the label should be more transparent) but they are also inherently deceptive. Using the image of the crystal charizard next to the cut auto or just using fakes that look like Mario Pikachu - it’s clearly designed to maximize profit by pairing the auto with the illusion of something of value.
It’s one thing for a random person to be grading these. I have a hard time believing you respect the artist and how they feel if you put together a cut auto like this. But I get that not everyone does. It’s an entirely different thing for an autograph authenticator to be doing this though. And then to deliberately sell the items on obscured accounts. To know where the weird loopholes in PSA grading are and instead of tightening them, to exploit them for self-gain.
Oh I definitely agree. If I were going to get a cut signature for my own collection graded, I wouldn’t put it on something that can be misconstrued as a real Pokemon card, or even anything Pokemon related. I believe PSA grades autographs even on index cards no?
As you mentioned, these instances screams of profiteering and are another level of sketchy behavior on top of doing them outside of reaching out to the artists. And I definitely agree that the involvement of authenticator here is pretty egregious.
It’s a shame since I am interested in getting autographs myself, and the whole situation seems to have soured artists on them.
I still can’t believe that cut card went though. I personally feel PSA employees shouldn’t be able to authenticate their own things. But thats just my two cents.
As for the signature, I believe they cut Kouki’s signature from the mailing slip when you buy one of his lottery Shikishis from his instagram. Shame on that guy.
I just wanted to do a quick update on my situation at least.
Revived my cards back two days ago and all labels say refund for being inconclusive.
Unfortunately I haven’t received my refund so I had to call PSA as they haven’t responded to my email and they told me they will email me why I haven’t received it yet as I should have.
I got an email yesterday explaining I will get the refund for my grading costs (not shipping) but it will take up to 5 weeks to show up.
That’s how this submission went. Just a waste of time and money all around, but I am grateful I will receive the refund for the grading cost eventually.
