"Well, After authenticating as well as buying and selling game used memorabilia full time since 1991 with quite a few books, chapters to books, articles , etc I've finally had enough with regards to the authentication aspects of this hobby. As those who acutally know me and have a real name and face to go with their alias, I have always been more than willing to help free of charge anyone who stopped to ask and have written more articles on collecting game used items than probably anyone in the history of this hobby as well as having co-invented/written the very worksheets now used by us and others, the first company to ever do so. In additiion, we published all of the unable to authenticate items for all to see so they would not make it back into the hobby, ever. And it is of no consequence that you can get 8000 items right but if you make a single error, regardles of how trivial and regardless that you will offer to buy back any mistake, no matter what it is, it never seems to be enough for the self proclaimed so called authorities who wait at the computer for an auction catalog to come out merely for the purpose to rip it to shreads to show the world how much they know and how little others do. This behavior is no longer tolerable to me. I do not wish to be a third party authenticator from this day on and will not sign nor look at any piece until such time that MEARS no longer does any research of any kind for anyone except for items in which we sell, much like Lelands does for their own merchandise, all with a money back guarentee. Dave Grob, Troy Kinunen and our able staff can and will continue to do the quality work that everyone expects and I will concentrate soley on the for sale sight and will not grade nor authenticate my purchases and will leave that to the staff. I will continue to write as well as I acually enjoy that along with selling and going to shows. When something is no longer a joy and the pundits far out number the frienly's, time to let someone else do it."
Now most on this forum, know that Dave and I go back a long way. Nobody, in my opinion, has been more honest and open and particularly to his mistakes.He's made some and I've probably made more. He and I have had business dealings since 1990. Never a problem and we've had many opportunities for that to happen. When my widow needs help with my "stuff" after I go, I've told her to call Dave.
Poor Dave has been the target from the New York Daily News to the secret pundits. I think he'd just had his fill. He's tried to help people
and it's been costly for him personally.
That's my two cents.
