Steve Grad Defends Beckett From His Tesla: “We Can’t Afford Photos”

This week, we published an article about fake Beckett authentication stickers being sold on eBay, allegedly by someone connected to the company. The story detailed suspicious eBay accounts and collectors losing thousands on items with forged COAs.

Steve Grad—who recently left Beckett Authentication after 24 years—responded.

In a video posted to Sports Card Radio Clips‘ YouTube channel, Grad addressed the “widespread problem” of counterfeit authentication stickers. And he did it from the driver’s seat of his Tesla. With white interior.

That’s a $2,000 upgrade, by the way.

“We Can’t Photograph Everything”

Grad’s main defense? It’s just not realistic to photograph every authenticated item. “Beckett processes roughly 800,000 to 1 million witnessed items per year, plus hundreds of thousands of COAs and letters,” he explained.

Let’s do some math. Beckett charges anywhere from $20 to $250+ for authentication services, depending on the item and celebrity. 

According to their pricing page, a Michael Jordan autograph costs $250. Tom Brady runs $100. Mid-tier athletes are around $50.

Let’s be extremely conservative and say the average authentication fee is just $40. 800,000 items × $40 = $32 million in annual revenue. 

And Steve Grad is telling us they can’t afford to take a photograph?

“It’s an Arms Race”

Grad went on to compare authentication fraud to counterfeit luxury goods—fake Rolexes, fake Jordans, fake Louis Vuitton bags. “As long as there’s money to be made, scammers will try to stay one step ahead,” he said. Fair point. Counterfeiting is a multi-billion-dollar industry.

But here’s the difference: Rolex engraves every watch with a unique serial number and maintains authentication databases through authorized dealers. Beckett? “It’s unrealistic.”

The Real Issue

Let’s be clear: fake authentication stickers are a massive problem. Grad is right that it affects PSA, JSA, Tristar, Steiner, and Upper Deck too. Scammers are sophisticated. They use high-quality color copies of real signatures. They replicate holograms. They exploit trust.

But the solution isn’t throwing your hands up and saying “nothing we can do.” The solution is accountability. And accountability starts with a database that actually lets collectors verify what they bought. If you’re charging $250 to authenticate a signature, you can take a photo.

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Watch the full video:
Steve Grad RESPONDS to FAKE Beckett Authentication Stickers Being Used by Scammers

Read the original investigation:
Authenticator or eBay Seller? Fake Beckett COAs Under Federal Investigation