USA Today profiles Mastro Auctions while another paper says not all of the news is good.

Ten years ago, they were still fairly rare. A few sailed to mixed results but not until the dawn of the new century did sports memorabilia auctions become a luxury liner in the collectibles industry.

The popular format, museum-quality merchandise and huge catalogs meant for easychair reading catapulted several businesses toward record numbers. Mastro Auctions has gotten plenty of national press for its sales including a new piece that put reporter Mike Dodd inside the ‘warehouse’ where all the stuff is stored.

However, the company’s sale of a warmup top attributed to Michael Jordan that actually turned out to be altered has the New York Daily News claiming that the FBI is once again asking questions.

The shirt sold for $13,000 at a special National Sports Collectors Convention auction. It had been rejected by a major hobby authenticator who discovered the name and number on the back had been changed, but still found its way into the sale with a different authenticator’s stamp of approval. Mastro refunded the buyer’s money.