Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-2, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in
Sports Memorabilia Counterfeit and RFID Dr. Shiva Shankar. K. C.1 & Mrs. Rohini Sajjan2 1
Assistant Professor, 2Research Scholar, Department of Studies & Research in Business Administration, Tumkur University, Tumkur, Karnataka 1,2
Abstract: The term sports memorabilia usually refers to a souvenir, memento, keepsake or token of remembrance that is directly connected to a famous athlete, sporting event or personality. For example Photos, trading cards, jerseys, helmets, balls, bats, or related sports equipment that have been signed by sports persons. These items are generally collected by fans that find sentimental and monetary value of the items. Sports Memorabilia market is a multibillion-dollar global market in present days. However, it is troubled with vulnerabilities, due to the large percentage of counterfeit memorabilia items. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it is estimated that around 90% of sports collectibles are counterfeit & which is accounting $500,000,000 in losses annually. This paper theoretically investigates the growth of sports memorabilia market with its inherited problems. It also examines the prospects for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to be used to provide a protection for pieces of sports memorabilia – from the point the item is signed through all subsequent transfers. The article explains the implications of RFID technology into this fragmented marketplace and the benefits for all parties involved in sports collectibles.
1. INTRODUCTION: The term sports memorabilia usually refers to a souvenir, memento, keepsake or token of remembrance that is directly connected to a famous athlete, sporting event or personality. For example Photos, trading cards, jerseys, helmets, balls, bats, or related sports equipment that have been signed by sports persons. These items are generally collected by fans that find sentimental and monetary value of the items. Sports Memorabilia market is a multibillion-dollar global market in present days. Present size of Global Sports Memorabilia Market is $5 billion, out of which $1 billion is contributed by U.S alone. However, it is troubled with vulnerabilities, due to the large percentage of counterfeit memorabilia items. Long term Memorabilia collector says that over the last decade the market for genuine vintage
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memorabilia has changed drastically. In the late 1980’s very limited genuine vintage pieces like vintage balls, checks, old books, letters, and the rare cuts were exclusively traded among the selected group of investors through a well-defined network. But later market was swamped with thousands of fake articles including bats, balls, jerseys, helmets, pictures, magazines, pieces of papers, posters, lithographs, record albums, and other items. At present most of the Memorabilia items are comprised of forgeries. These items were sold by the retail dealers. Counterfeit market is blossoming because of the role played by authenticators who fraudulently certify forgeries as genuine signatures & most of the middlemen are engaged in these activities. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it is estimated that around 90% of sports collectibles are counterfeit & which is accounting $500,000,000 in losses annually. Market analyst Havoscope (2008) has concluded that over half of the sports memorabilia market is comprised of counterfeit items. Counterfeit of sport memorabilia items are boosting in the economy as these are sold in various venues including physical and online stores, shows and auctions, private sales etc. Forgeries have increased considerably with the introduction of eBay & other online auction houses. The easy access & widened marketplace has increased the online memorabilia sales. One can see proof of this by striking any well-known players name on eBay, or other online auction sites & can find thousands of autographed items for sale.
2. SPORTS MARKET:
MEMORABILIA
History: Collecting sports memorabilia was first considered in the late 19th Century as part of a perceptive corporate marketing strategy to sell tobacco products. In late 1880’s tobacco companies came up with innovative advertising strategy & mass production allowed them to insert baseball cards into all the products from tobacco to soap. Between 1887 and 1890, Goodwin and Co. of New York produced the first true series of baseball cards,
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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-2, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in several hundred which featured sepia toned photographs of baseball players. By 1910, around 75 verities of baseball series were issued. By recognizing the opportunities in this market, in 1930’s, bubble gum companies have inserted the collectible cards into the chewing gun packets. From the beginning of II World War, manufacturing ceased till 1950. Again in 1952, Topps was the first company to place the player’s image, team logo, vital information and up-to-date statistics on the cards. In post-war 1950s, signed sporting equipment became popular
Market Structure: The terms Memorabilia & Collectibles are used interchangeably used in most of the instants but the recent publication of, “A Comprehensive Guide to Collecting Sports Memorabilia” states that the articles which are signed by sportsperson & authenticated by reputed dealer are considered as Memorabilia & which are not signed but authenticated are called Collectibles. The Memorabilia market is huge especially for sports items like baseball cards, football, jersey, gloves etc. Different age group people from children to adults are collecting these Memorabilia. With the growing popularity of eBay and other online auction companies, sports Memorabilia market has become even more popular. At present, there is huge value for this market as they are available in major locations to purchase unlike in olden days, which includes: shows — National Sports Collectors Convention; dealers – Sportsmemorabilia.com, Mounted Memories, Upper Deck, Steiner Sports, Sportsinvestments.com, allauthentic.com, eckett.com, TriStar Productions,; and auction houses – Leland’s, SCP Auctions, Goodwin & Co., Huggins & Scott, Hunt Auctions, Robert Edward Auctions. Appraisals and authentication can be done through Roger Ponn Associated Appraiers, Beckett Media, and dealers Robert Simon and Jerry Zuckerman. Present size of Global Sports Memorabilia Market is $5 billion, out of which $1 billion is contributed by U.S alone. Few examples are quoted below. Shoeless Joe Jackson signed photograph authenticated by modern grading-services, found in a photo book that sat in a trunk at the end of a bed in a Cleveland, OH house — and was originally compiled by Cleveland newspaper photographer Frank W. Smith in 1911 — sold for $179,250 in Heritage Auctions Saturday, Feb. 21 , 2015. On July 30-31, 2015, at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, 1860’s
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Brooklyn Atlantics team baseball card appeared at public auction & brought $179,250. Hobby history was made one year ago when the gloves worn in Cassius Clay's first defeat of Sonny Liston sold for $836,500 in February 2014 by New York Platinum Night auction. Only signed ticked from the "saddest day in Yankees history," brings $95,600 in Heritage Auctions July 31, 2014 Platinum Night Sports Auction, at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. In 1999, the ball with which McGwire achieved his record-breaking 70th home run was bought by comic-book creator Todd McFarlane for a record-breaking $3 million. An AC Milan shirt worn by Paolo Maldini during his final 2008-09 season which sold for £460 at Convery Auctions in May 2009. A square-toe iron dated to the 1600s from the Jeffery B. Ellis collection which sold at Sotheby’s New York in September 2007 for $151,000.
3. COUNTERFEIT IN SPORTS MEMORABILIA MARKET: In 1990s, the two large forgery and fraudulent autograph and memorabilia enterprises were identified by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Chicago & San Diego. These two organizations dumped various fake articles including the forged signatures of renowned players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Magic Johnson signed on baseballs, Muhammad Ali on Boxing gloves, LeBron James on Basketball. The Chicago branch of the FBI conducted an operation called “Foul Ball” in which FBI investigated a group of individuals to understand the authenticity of autographed sports items. The FBI confiscated over 2,000 baseballs, 500 bats, 600 jerseys and several other items including hats, helmets, pucks and photos & arrested fourteen individuals from five states. These fraudulent organizations sold over $100 million dollars’ worth of deceptive memorabilia in over 15 states. Initially, the forged items were sold strictly on the black market, but eventually they infiltrated the legal market being sold at internet auction sites, shopping malls, home shopping networks and sports memorabilia shows. Criminal operation has changed the celebrity & sports memorabilia market but still the practice of selling counterfeit memorabilia are in process. These are still sold in the market.
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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-2, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in During Oct, 1999 FBI & Internal Revenue System (IRS) executed search warrant & sized over $500,000 cash and approximately $10 million of forged memorabilia. The seized memorabilia included over 10,000 forged baseballs, signed by a variety of athletes and celebrities. Some of the autographs included:
product. But still RFID technology has its own advantages & it is differentiated from Barcodes on the following parameters.
Mother Teresa President Ronald Reagan Babe Ruth Ty Cobb Mickey Mantle Roberto Clemente Mark McGwire Sammy Sosa Tony Gwynn The FBI and IRS also seized or purchased hundreds of "cut" autographs. These are pieces of paper containing an autograph of an individual who has died many years ago. Because of these fake & fraudulent sellers, the genuine dealers are adversely affected. They are trying hard to regain the customers’ confidence in the memorabilia market. Authentication of sports memorabilia are one step in that process. RFID is a one unique technique by which fake autographed signatures can be identified.
To read the information encoded on a tag, a two-way radio transmitter-receiver called an interrogator or reader emits a signal to the tag using an antenna. The tag responds with the information written in its memory bank. The interrogator will then transmit the results to an RFID computer program. Barcode is the other most common method of tagging used today. Almost all products that are being sold have their own barcode that makes it easier for the teller to get the right price of the
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
Barcodes uses a sensor and light to read the data on the tag while RFID uses radio waves, which doesn’t need line of sight, to get the data
2.
Barcode scanners can only process tags one at a time while RFID scanners can process dozens in a single second
3.
Barcodes are really simple and can be easily replicated or counterfeited while RFID is more complex and secure
4.
RFID tags can be hidden to protect against the environment while barcodes need to be exposed
5.
Barcodes are very cheap while RFID tags are substantial pricier
RFID provides various advantages which are as follows:
4. RFID: Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a wireless technology which uses electromagnetic fields (a physical field produced by electrically charged objects ) to transfer data for identifying and tracking tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information. A tag can read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked. RFID includes two parts i.e., labels or tags & reader. RFID tags or labels are fixed with a transmitter and a receiver. Microchip - a component of RFID stores & processes information, and an antenna to receive and transmit a signal. The tag contains the specific serial number for one specific object.
1.
RFID-enabled systems help companies cut costs, improve customer service, reduce labor, increase accuracy, and improve production throughput.
The technology is superior compared to the limitations of traditional technologies such as barcode technology.
Touch memory does not use optics but does require a relatively clean environment because contact must be made to read the tag.
The tag can be read inside a case, carton, box or other container
RFID tags can be read hundreds at a time.
RFID tags are used in many industries. For example, an RFID tag attached to an automobile during production can be used to track its progress through the assembly line; RFID-tagged pharmaceuticals can be tracked through warehouses; and implanting RFID microchips in livestock and pets allows positive identification of animals. RFID’s can also be used in sports memorabilia market to recognize counterfeit items.
RFID AS A SOLUTION TOOL FOR SPORT MEMORABILIA COUNTERFEIT 6.
The collectibles industry has always been
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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-2, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in vulnerable to fraud. Autograph verifiers—people who visually analyse submitted signatures and compare them with bona fide autographs—can be used to verify an inscription's authenticity, but they can make mistakes. Holograms, commonly used to guarantee an autograph is genuine, can be counterfeited. And paper certifications of authenticity (COAs), issued at the time an autograph is signed, can't guarantee the collectible named in the certificate is the same item being sold. RFID solution attempts to provide the best proof possible that an autograph is authentic. The collectors can use the RFID services by inserting their name & address into a database & the label's unique RFID identifying number and a description of the item to which it would be attached. The RFID tag was then affixed to the item to be signed. Once the tags are affixed the collectors can collect autographs from the sports persons. After having an items autographed, handheld RFID interrogator reads each tag & documents its unique ID, date & time on tags chip. Later, handheld RFID downloads all the information to its database then posted the authentication information (such as the date of the autograph and the name of the signer) on its Web site. Collectors can access the information by entering their name and a password. The Web site provides the collector with electronic proof that the autograph on an item in their possession was obtained legitimately.
7. CONCLUSION: Interjecting RFID into the sports memorabilia market certainly parallels other auto-ID technological applications like Barcodes. With RFID application, there is a significant threat of counterfeit items. There is undoubtedly a far
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greater threat for those organizations, dealers, and distributors etc who are selling counterfeit Memorabilia. RFID has proven to be an effective solution in these areas. If the major sports marketing agencies choose independently or collectively to implement RFID solution, this would go a long way toward making RFID-based authentication a reality in the sports memorabilia industry.
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