March 30, 2009 9:01 pm

American Memorabilia: Same Old Problems

Reprinted from AutographAlert.com

The amount of emails we have received during the last two weeks about American Memorabilia, a sports autograph and memorabilia auction house operating out of a private home in Las Vegas is astonishing.

Consignors to this auction house are begging www.autographalert.com to post a story about how poorly run this auction house is operating.

Our response to most was that you have read about this auction house on www.autographalert.com before, you have read articles warnings about those businesses who use third party authenticators yet you still consigned your material to one of these businesses. Can’t say you weren’t educated and warned.

American Memorabilia is basically run out of the first floor of a private home in Las Vegas. The principal of this business is Victor Moreno however a gal whose name is actually Susan runs much of the day to day operation. She will tell you her name is Kieta.

The Better Business Bureau (bbb.org) gives them an “F” rating. The BBB has a listing of 13 ratings and the “F” is the lowest. If you want a bird’s eye view of what consignors are complaining about (including one suggesting a class action lawsuit) we suggest you go to this website for a most interesting read American Memorabilia complaints

March 30, 2009 9:01 pm

Upper Deck SPx Adds Buyback Packs

Upper Deck's 2009 SPx Baseball debuted this week with some unexpected bonuses. The company says game-used and autograph buyback packs have been added to the product. Collectors can find one of these packs in each box along with four jersey cards and one autograph card, on average. The product also includes nine 20th Anniversary cards and four Joe DiMaggio "Career Highlights" cards per box.

The game-used and autographed buyback cards have been purchased from hobby outlets over the last several months. PSA has encapsulated 10 of the most limited cards in the buyback packs and they are now being offered as exchange cards. Some of those cards include the 1992 Upper Deck Ted Williams autograph card, the 2001 SP Legendary Cuts Joe DiMaggio Cut Signature card and the 2001 SPx Baseball Albert Pujols autograph rookie card.

Another addition to 2009 SPx Baseball is the return of mystery rookie autograph exchange cards. Collectors who pull these cards can find out which card they will receive by registering the cards online. Upper Deck will announce which players those cards are good for throughout the season. The first card (RR1) will be exchanged for pitcher Koji Uehara of the Baltimore Orioles, a former Rookie of the Year in Japan and two-time Sawamura Award winner for being the top starter in Japan. Uehara signed 25 of these cards in Japanese as well which should create some additional chase.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:

o Find four (4) jersey cards, two which will be a Dual, Triple, or Quad swatch card, in each box, on average

o Find One Jersey Autograph or Rookie Signature per box, on average

o Find a 20th Anniversary buyback pack in each box

o One (1) 20th Anniversary Memorabilia card per case, on average

o Look for Three (3) patch cards, one which will be a patch auto per case, on average

o Look for four (4) Joe DiMaggio Career Highlight insert cards numbered to 425 per box, on average

o Look for nine (9) 20th Anniversary insert cards per box, on average

o Collect the complete 100-card SPx set printed with Light/FX technology

March 30, 2009 9:01 pm

Kate Gosselin Book Signing Events

Kate Gosselin, star of “Jon & Kate Plus 8″, will be signing copies of her book Eight Little Faces at the following locations:

* 4/14/09 1:00 PM at Barnes & Noble – Americana Way. Glendale, CA.
* 4/16/09 7:00 PM at Borders Books – North Blackstone Avenue. Fresno, CA.
* 4/17/09 7:00 PM at Borders Books – Crescent Drive. Pleasant Hill, CA.
* 4/28/09 7:00 PM at Borders Books – Jefferson Avenue. Newport News, VA.
* 5/4/09 7:30 PM at Barnes & Noble – Route 3 East. Clifton, NJ.
* 5/5/09 12:30 PM at Barnes & Noble – Warren Street. New York, NY.

Kate Gosselin Book Signing Events

Book Signings & Events

March 30, 2009 9:01 pm

Sir Ernest Shackleton's Last Photograph and Autograph Sold at Auction

The picture is believed to have been taken in October 1921 by a holidaymaker who chanced upon Shackleton and his team in Madeira during his final Antarctic expedition.

Known as the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, which left England in September 1921, it is considered to be the final episode in the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.

The crew travelled on a small converted Norwegian whaler called the Quest, and the expedition’s aims included oceanographic and coastal survey work.

The album includes a photograph of Shackleton going ashore to Madeira on board the Quest, along with his autograph and those of 18 members of his crew.

The autograph album was expected to fetch between £600 and £800 when it went under the hammer at Gorringes Auctioneers in Lewes, East Sussex on Wednesday.

But strong bidding helped push the price upwards and it was eventually bought on behalf of an unnamed English collector via a telephone bid.

A Gorringes spokeswoman said: “There were at least three or four interested people and it just goes to show that there still remains a fascination in Shackleton’s life.”

The identity of the autograph hunter is unknown but it is believed he chanced upon Shackleton while on holiday, as the album also contains watercolours of Madeira.

The expedition continued on its voyage to the Antarctic, but Shackleton was taken ill and died aged 47 on board the ship just after its arrival on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia on January 5 1922.

They successful bidder also paid a 17.5 per cent buyer’s premium on top of the hammer price.