Authenticators are a necessary evil of the collecting world. Many different types of collectibles come with various forms of authentication to prove their authenticity. It’s a bit cumbersome and can feel like needless red tape, but it’s also necessary. Without these measures in place, collectors would have no way of knowing whether or not their items were real and authentic. We’ve all heard stories of players getting tricked into buying fake jerseys or other memorabilia that was never actually produced by the company listed on the tag. Authentication is an essential part of making sure that doesn’t happen again, and that only the real things get out there into the marketplace. Read on to find out what a professional sports authenticator card is, what they do, and why you need one if you want to start collecting authentic player merchandise!
How Does An Authenticator Work?
In order to get an authenticator, you’ll need to take your item to an authenticator or send it in for evaluation. Depending on the company, the authenticator will either inspect your collectible to see if it is indeed genuine or take photos of it for the database. In some cases, the authenticator will also send your collectible to a lab for testing to make sure it’s legitimate. If the item is authentic, the authenticator will then place a sticker on it with their company logo and an authentication code. The code can then be entered into an online database to confirm that it was verified by an authenticator.
Why Do You Need One?
Collecting and investing in sports memorabilia is a fun and rewarding hobby with plenty of money-making potential. However, there’s always the potential for fakes to sneak their way into the marketplace and ruin the reputation of authentic players items. Authenticators are the best way to combat this. If you want to sell your authentic items in the future, they’ll need an authenticator on them to prove they are genuine and not fake items. If you want to buy authentic cards, you’ll want to make sure they have an authenticator on them to make sure they are genuine.
Benefits of A PSA Card
Authenticators are a great way to make sure you’re buying genuine player items, but they aren’t foolproof. Sometimes authenticators make mistakes, and occasionally, people will fake authenticators. You can even buy authenticator cards that are genuine, but are scannable fakes. The most reliable way to tell if an authenticator card is real or fake, though, is to look at the barcode. If an authenticator card has a barcode, it’s almost certainly real. If an authenticator card doesn’t have a barcode, it’s incredibly likely to be fake. If you don’t have an authenticator card, one of the best things you can do is request your items come with a PSA card. PSA cards are the most common authenticator cards among sports card collectors. If an item doesn’t come with one, you might want to ask the seller to go get one or at least make sure they give you the authentication code so you can verify it on the PSA website yourself.
Authenticators come in various forms, including cards, stickers, or labels. They all include a unique authentication code that you can enter into a database to confirm that your item is genuine.
