James Spence Authentication – JSA

My aunt attended the National Sports Collectors Convention and stopped by the JSA booth to have my items authenticated, including 6 signed baseballs and one photo. She chose to get the basic authentication on these 7 items and paid a total of $ 360.00. She then posted the 6 balls on eBay shortly after getting them authenticated.
About 5 weeks after the posting on ebay, we were sent a message from an ebay customer, «how come the item doesn’t match the COA», in regards to a Frank Thomas ball. These same 7 items came back to a Doug Savard hockey puck! We had an offer on that Frank Thomas ball that same day which I had to decline because of this incorrect authentication. We then ended up taking down all these items off ebay.
Once she contacted JSA, they fixed the issue. However, Ms. Guzman in the FL office took no responsibility for what occurred. She told my aunt that she should have verified them herself, (what? we have to verify an authentication expert), it was a computer glitch, it was a typo (This was however NOT a typo. They couldn’t correct until my aunt sent pics of these items, leading us to believe that the company had no record of what had been authenticated), that it happens a lot because of the volume JSA does and that when a customer calls it is rectified, that my eBay customers could have called JSA to verify authenticity, etc.
Our problem is problem is this: the unapologetic stance as well as the lack of responsibility taken.
We lost revenue as a result of this. All the company offered was a $ 20 credit (after going directly to Mr Spence, as Ms. Guzman offered nothing), which does nothing for us, since we have no interest in using a company that we don’t trust at all.
On a side note, they also said an authentic signature on the picture was fake. However, after reading other reviews here (same template letter), I also question that, as I know it is real (had a previous COA with purchase that I lost.)
Stay away from these guys! Very rude and terrifying that they make such mistakes for a company whose sole purpose is attention to detail.

First time at a signing to have 4 different baseballs looked at. JSA (James) took a good amount of time to exam each baseball in detail, and I was pleased they were all legit. The fee to look at each baseball is based on he athlete. I will seek to use JSA services again.

JSA is top of the line when it comes to authentication. Other than PSA, who also does cards and game used items, JSA has a stellar rep, regardless of the review below, which I’ve seen before, just because a relative had a baseball passed around a clubhouse doesn’t mean it got signed by the players, especially the star ones. This is old news as many players have a clubhouse attendant sign for them (this goes back to Babe Ruth’s days, he did this PLENTY), so unless you saw it signed in front of your eyes you have no way of knowing over a professional.
I own and have owned many JSA authenticated pieces, and I have never had a bad experience. IN FACT, anytime I’ve had an issue it was resolved in a quick and timely manner, very professional.

I am thrilled that JSA has opened an office in south Florida. As a long time collector I always had to be extremely careful as to the items I purchased. Now with JSA so conveniently located I can get prompt answers as to the authenticity of an item. It is extremely helpful with those items that have a short return policy. I find their staff to be friendly, knowledgable and responsive. What more can I ask?

Do not waste your time or money with this company. They are notorious for only authenticating items for people they know and questioning your item to the third degree. If I am paying for an opinion on the autograph, why would the story about where it came from really matter. They jacked around with on site authenticating that ended up taking over 6 weeks. When asking for a refund, they said they finished the authenticating all of a sudden and that all the items were not genuine. Very disheartening that the industry allows these companies to survive and be praised for the work they claim to do.

I attended a Sports Card Show up in Wilmington Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago to bring a book of autographed celebrity 3×5 index cards to obtain a value. The book was previously owned by a relative who lived in New York City in the 1970’s through the early 1990’s and worked at a restaurant where celebrities frequented. She was able to obtain these autographs and kept them in said book. Fast forward to the Sports Card Show that I attended. I brought the book to a vendor who was dealing in autograph memorabilia to see what the value was. The vendor was overwhelmed and brought me to the show’s promoter to see if the show promoter had any interest. The Promoter had a ton of interest but brought the book over to the JSA Table to see if the JSA guys would verify a couple of the more significant signatures in the book.
The JSA member behind the booth flipped through the book rather quickly while I was there and said that these autographs were «crap». He didn’t even compare signatures with «authentic» signatures. Now when it comes to accurately authenticating something whether it be an autograph or piece of memorabilia, I would expect some time and effort put into these authentications… especially for the prices they charge! To just eyeball an autograph and not even compare signatures and call it a fake or «secretary signed» piece is not a worthy job practice.
I’m bumming about the way I was treated by James Spence Authentications because I know they are considered to be the top notch in authenticators however I can’t stop thinking about how accurate they are if they treat other potential clients like how I was treated…: (

i had a similar experience. i sold a base ball to a policeman in san jos, ca. ted williams! i knew this ball to be authentic and even had a coa from the sports fan in san jose, ca. who obtained it and sold it to me. after almost a year the policeman sent it to be authenticated. it came back lacked spontanaety and was determined marginally not authentic! the policeman filed a fraud case against me. after investigation the dept. dropped the case with no criminal activity found. now he is taking me to small claims and want all money back plus his fees for authenticating.
it’s been a nightmare and wouldn’t you know it — i sold it to a policeman who seemed stable. these authenticators do not realize the magnitude of their errors and what they do to people. stay clear!!!
mac mccarty /​san jose

James Spence used to be one of the appraisers at PSA/​DNA, the leading sports memorabilia authentication company in the US. He left to form his own company a couple of years ago, calling it James Spence Authentication, or JSA.
I own a team-​signed baseball that I inherited from a relative who used to work for a major league team for many years, and was good friends with a number of athletes whose names any sports fan would recognize. In addition to the ball, I have a number of inscribed photos, letters and other memorabilia from the team and its members that only a person in my relative’s position could possibly have obtained. My relative is even mentioned in a number of books written about said team. There is no doubt that the objects in his collection were as legit as he was.
So I decided to have the ball appraised by JSA, for insurance value. The ball is kept inside of a clear plastic sphere (two mating hemispheres with a stand). I packaged the sphere carefully with foam and layers of bubble wrap around it, and put it in a box. I then put that box into a larger box with styrofoam peanuts between the two boxes. Packed to withstand any abuse. I included the $ 150 fee and $ 20 for insured return shipping. ($ 20 was their _​cheapest_​return shipping charge, for FedEx Ground.)
Two weeks later, I got the ball back. First, the clear plastic ball sphere was just dumped into a cardboard box with four or five sheets of wadded newspaper stuffed around it; that’s it. The lid was off the ball sphere and the ball was rolling around inside the box. With it was a form letter saying that the ball wasn’t actually signed by the team; that it was probably «ghost signed» by a team employee. Their reason? They said that the writing «lacked spontaneity» and had «poor transitions between connective strokes». Like I said, this was a form letter, with a facsimile signature (I wonder if that means it wasn’t authentically from James Spence?).
This is utter rubbish. Before I sent it off, I compared the signatures to authenticated versions I found on-​line, and all of them looked nearly identical. And my relative knew all of the signators personally; why would he bother getting a «clubhouse ball»?! He wouldn’t, any more than he’d bother getting a photo of famous ballplayer X and have someone else inscribe it to him, using his name and theirs!
In summation, I sincerely doubt the credibility of James Spence and/​or his employees, and I must warn prospective clients that their items will NOT be dealt with carefully. Avoid these fools.