Grooming Your Cats

Cats are by personality very playful and 1955 Topps baseball cards and if they are left unattended, they are inclined to scratch the household furniture. In order to occupy the cats, you can purchase a scratching post for Star Wars to claw and enjoy themselves. With a scratching post, sometimes you might need to train the cats to concentrate on them instead of scratching your furniture.

In addition to that, you might need to fetch the cats around, so buying a cat carrier can come in handy. That can thwart the cats from scratching your car or your body while you transport them around. Cats are adorable and a great companion as well as cheap to maintain as they will play with most of what is around the house. They tend to chew and bite whatever they can lay their hands on so it is better to ensure Cerebus you keep those dangerous and valuable things away from them.

To make the toys safe, you can acquire ball that is small and bounce for them to play with. A wooden thread pool can be a great toy for cats as well in addition to balled up paper. You can get boxes and gift bags packed with tissue to amuse them too.

Items to steer clear off so as not causing any harm are:
Balls of string, yarn, or Nutty Mads with thread on them
Whatever thing with wire in it
Whatever thing aluminum or cellophane
All Plastic bags
Any Rubber bands
Avoid things that are sharp or pointy
Avoid things that can break and hurt your cat
Avoid things that they can chew off and get stuck in their throat

Get identification tag for your cats so that in the event that they are lost, they can be brought back. Grooming a cat is necessary so you will need to purchase those indispensable tools such as a flea comb and a brush. That will help to ward off hairball as that will cause fur to settle down on your furniture.

Cats are great companion and they can bring a lot of joy to your life. They are beautiful as well as jazz up your house but you must groom it well and take care of their fundamental needs by providing the essential toys for them to fill up their time. A well groom cat will bring unexpected joy and reassurance in bad times and fill part of your emotional needs.

Jason is a lover of pets and cats are fun, mysterious and playful making them great companion. You can check out the website at http://www.groomingyourcats.com/

The Problem with Autograph Authentication

As recently as 1997, the FBI estimated that between 50% and 90% of all collectibles in the marketplace 1961 Fleer baseball cards not authentic. Everyone that cares about the hobby agrees that something must be done. And most think that autograph authentication paying Iron Man action figure third party company to certify that an autograph is real - is a logical solution that benefits everyone involved and eliminates counterfeiting.

Last month, we featured a story by a small business owner (and friend of mine) who would strongly disagree with that statement. He sold a Michael Vick autographed mini helmet on eBay. The buyer sent it to be authenticated by PSA/DNA and, upon not receiving authentication, demanded a refund. My friend stood his ground and denied this request.

In my opinion this was the right move the autograph is real and he cannot set the precedent of letting PSA/DNA dictate his sales. No business owner wants to Aquaman action figure to make a decision that will result in an unsatisfied customer, but what was he supposed to do? Give the customer a refund on a perfectly good item because its another companys opinion that the item is fake? That would be even worse for his reputation than an unsatisfied customer! It seems that as collectors we have given authentication companies far too much control over the hobby.

Autograph Authentication Kills Small Businesses

Consider my friends business for a second either he himself or one of his associates obtains each and every autograph that he sells in person. He produces a certificate of authenticity that states the date and location of the signing. In todays industry, this simply isnt good enough. How is an entrepreneur who wants to form a legitimate autograph business supposed to start out? PSA/DNA is making it virtually impossible for these businesses to get their foot off the ground. When they do start to establish their business, one false positive can ruin their reputation. My friend will have no way of knowing how bad his name has been ruined by this customer who thinks he purchased a fake item.

Autograph Authentication Gives PSA, Steiner Sports, and Upper Deck Too Much Control

I certainly hope that it is not PSAs intention to crush small businesses, but the fact that they have the power to do so disturbs me a great deal. Everyone should realize that all PSA is doing is giving their OPINION as to the validity of the autograph. PSA states this on their website in the FAQ section http://www.psadna.com/faq.chtml:

Q: Do you guarantee that the autographs you certify are genuine and those you do not are fake?

A: No. We do not guarantee autographs under the Vintage Certified program. By using this program, you are paying for the opinion of the top experts in the world, using state-of-the-art examination tools and techniques.

The problem with this is that most people dont treat it like an opinion. For one reason or another people are mislead to treat it like it is fact. And by doing this they give PSA power that they shouldnt have. Their findings are treated as definitive if PSA says its real then it is real. If PSA says its fake then it is fake. It behooves them as a business to scare consumers into believing in their service. We have to ask ourselves the question: is this good for our hobby?

Autograph Authentication Means Higher Prices for Collectors

Along the same lines, exclusive autograph companies like Steiner Sports and Upper Deck benefit by scaring collectors. By making collectors think that everything that is not exclusive to them is not real, collectors are scared into paying outrageously high prices for their memorabilia and taught that anything reasonably priced is fake. This is just simply not true.

So What Should You Do?

My Recommendation get your autographs yourself. It will give you the most satisfaction and there will never be a question of authenticity. However, if you must purchase an autograph, research the signature you are looking for, research the company you are buying from, and find a seller that you trust is selling you something authentic. If in doing this you decide to pay PSA/DNA for their opinion, keep in mind that is what you are getting - an opinion.

Adam McFarland owns SportsLizard.com - an online marketplace for buying and selling sports collectibles http://www.sportslizard.com

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