Charity Fundraising 101: What does it mean?

Before I start, you should know and I’ll admit, a very long time ago – I could care less about sports.  Seriously, I was a fair weather fan and didn’t watch any of it.  But, since I started in the business and had to get to know what I was talking about or when someone was talking to me, I quickly learned everything I needed to know.  Shortly thereafter, I started being very interested in all sports. 

But when it comes to authentic autographs, I had to learn a few “Secrets” that no one else did.  So I thought I would share them with you.  So here they are:

How do we acquire autographs? 

Simply put, we pay athletes to sign their name.  No, we don’t stand outside the stadium or a locker room or over the dug out and ask for autographs, they are paid and paid very well to come and do an autograph signing.  In fact, this is something you should especially understand, if one company is the only company in the world offering certain items that no one else has, they are definitely counterfeit – Charity world, take note.  Why are there only two (2) companies in the charity fundraising field who offer autographed guitars, signed movie posters, signed drumheads etc.?  When a REAL autograph signing occurs, everyone is alerted across the country – and companies get in.

What does Inscribed or an Inscription mean?

Athletes or whoever is signing anything are paid once price for their actual “Autograph.”  But if they write anything else, that is an extra charge – making the price of the item go even higher.  For instance, on the baseball signed by Pete Rose to the right, the sentence "I'm Sorry I bet on Baseball" is an inscription.  Inscriptions are like an extra added bonus normally detailing awards or records, for instance, here are a few you will commonly see:

“HOF” – Hall of Fame

“HT” – Heisman Trophy Winner

“MVP” – Most Valuable Player

“SB MVP” – Super Bowl Most Valuable Player

“CHOF” – Collage Hall of Fame

“HR 500” – Home Runs 500

“CY” – Cy Young Award Winner

What types of items are there?

Items range from Pro-Line “On Field” Helmets meaning the same type of helmet worn on the Field, to actual Game Worn helmets/Jerseys etc.   Then there are Full Size Helmets (aka Replica Helmets).  These Helmets, in my opinion, are the best because they are much cheaper than a “Pro-Line” Helmet.  They look exactly the same when sitting on a shelf or a desk.  True collectors want Pro-Line’s.  Then there are real Nike or Reebok Jerseys – these Jerseys are intrinsically expensive so having one autographed is that much higher in price.  However, there are Custom Jerseys which appear to look exactly like a real Jersey however there are no insignia’s of the NFL or Nike/Reebok making them much cheaper.

What is an Authentic Authenticator?

In my professional opinion, there are only a few REAL Authenticators in the world.  Or companies which authenticate their own items but these companies are highly reputable. 

You should also understand in the real world of Sports Autographs, these two companies are the absolute “STANDARD” and widely accepted.  There are no other Authenticators which true collectors will accept. 

The only two Authentic Authenticators, in my opinion are:

JSA – James Spence Authenticators - http://www.spenceloa.com/

A Letter's of Authenticity are guaranteed to be accepted by all collectors, dealers, and auction houses worldwide, or your submission fee will be reimbursed.  JSA is an eBay approved autograph authenticator.  Increased value and a confident buyer for faster sale of autographed memorabilia.  JSA's extensive autograph exemplar database is second to none in the autograph industry.  Peace of mind that your memorabilia is deemed authentic and ready to be sold, passed along to a family member, or cherished forever.  Secure, virtually impossible to replicate proprietary watermark JSA Letter of Authenticity with corresponding high-resolution image and a unique alpha-numeric certification sticker.    Quick and simple online confirmation of your JSA certification number.  All JSA Letters of Authenticity are fully transferable without resubmission.  JSA's services are utilized by more major auction houses than any other autograph authentication company in the world including:

PSA/DNA – http://www.psacard.com/

PSA/DNA is the world’s leading third-party authentication service for autographs and authenticates signatures from the worlds of sports, history and entertainment.   Our experts have a diverse knowledge base that is complemented by proprietary methods and technology to form the following four-step authentication process.  PSA/DNA experts conduct ink analysis, autograph structure analysis, object evaluation and side-by-side comparisons.  Experts may also use a video spectral comparator to further evaluate the autograph.  Once the autograph is deemed genuine, the item is marked with invisible ink that contains a synthetic DNA sequence specific to PSA/DNA. A unique, serialized label is also provided.  Either a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) or a Letter of Authenticity (LOA) is issued with the genuine autograph. The document contains the same alphanumeric serial number to match the label on the item.  The certified autograph can be verified publically using our online Certification Verification webpage or mobile application.

Companies that authenticate their own items but are highly respected and their items are certified to be authentic:

Steiner Sports

SportsMemorabilia.com

To read about BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising's extensive Authentication Policy, go to http://www.bwunlimited.com/AUTHENTICITY-POLICY-BWunlimited.html

I hope this explains just a few of the terms used when reading our catalogs.  Knowing is much better than not knowing.  BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is the only Charity Fundraising auction item provider that continually provides absolutely 100% authentic, authenticated items by the world autograph experts.  If BWUCF doesn’t carry it and others do, most likely those items are counterfeit.  If we could help you with your next charity auction, contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.