Category Archives: fake cards

Some People Deserve It…

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Today I was reading on FCB about a guy who bought this 1952 Mantle “PSA 6” for 8 thousand before realizing it was a fake. A few months ago, I posted on the fake slabs and was talking about how hard it could be to spot one, this is one of those instances. To the trained eye, there are lots of things wrong with this auction, but for some people, they come out firing without doing any reasearch WHAT-SO-EVER.

Now, if you are buying a card like a 1952 Mantle, you need to know your shit. There is no way around that, especially when you are buying from a seller with single digit feedback. Then you see the auction title, and you feel your face slowly moving towards your palm. Yet, even with all of those red flags about this auction, there still happens to be one rule that should never….

…EEEEEEEVVVARRR…

…be broken. This card SCREAMS too good to be true, especially at 8k for a fucking PSA 6. Does anyone in their right mind think that this card is worth as little as 8k? PSA 4s go for more than that, though a good example hasnt come around in a while. Obviously, this idiot had no idea about anything before dropping the price of a compact car on this card, and really after all of these things I have mentioned, you gotta go the other direction instead of bidding.

The last part is the funniest, by far. On the thread on FCB, the OP also posted the seller’s feedback profile. This guy LEFT POSITIVE FEEDBACK. I have no idea why, but he did. He then spoke with PSA after getting that little voice in his head that said he is a huge mark and found out the card wasnt real. Really? Wow, I had no idea.

Most of the time, I feel bad for people who get taken, I really do. However, when you dont see the signs right in front of your fucking face, I gotta put most of the blame on you.

Oh, and for the record, the PSA profile from this slab does read Mantle 52 PSA 6. Duh, of course it would, thats the point.

Fake Buybacks Are Just As Bad Right Now

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In the wake of all this sticker fake mania, I have kind of left out all the different other fakes these fuckers are selling. One of the more prominent and easier scams to run is the “Buyback” fake, because technically, any card can be signed and considered for the job. All you do is start signing cards, get some holograms (or not), and you have a buyback. You dont even need language on the back or anything to signify that its more than just a signed card bought and resigned by the company. Look at Bowman Orignials, the whole product is made up of buybacks.

Still, the scam rules still apply:

1)If its too good to be true, it usually is
2)Private auctions are always bad
3)Watch the seller and their other items for sale
4)Research your sets so you dont get taken
5)If price is low, its low for a reason

Here are a few examples:

Fake Tiger Woods SP Authentic Buyback – Totally a fake, not even a question.
Fake Albert Pujols Bowman Buyback – Another No Doubter
Fake Alex Rodriguez Play Ball Buyback – Seller calls this card into question
Fake Alex Rodriguez Bowman Heritage Buyback – Just funny its so bad.

When it comes down to it, dont mess with buybacks unless you are sure. Most if not all UD buybacks come with a certificate, and you can always look up the UD cert number. Despite all these sellers saying they bought it from a friend, or it was pack pulled, they are just trying to scam you. No reason to take a chance.

The Fake Autos Have Been Around Longer Than Once Expected…

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After receiving some talk on message boards after being posted here and on VOTC, a few people have chimed in and given their history with this scam.

Here is an auction of an Adrian Peterson Gold Refractor “Autograph” that sold for 310 dollars. Wow. Notice, this auction has both front and back pics.

First off, for the casual collector, the following things would be pretty tough to spot – especially on one that is done like this. First is the auto, as it is very, very off from the normal autos. The 28 is written wrong, the crossing “T” is done incorrectly. Secondly, on the normal bowman chrome autos, there is a printing break a little above the top of the sticker. Its like the ghost line from the year before. This is refractor all the way through. Lastly is the spot just below the 8 in the sig, its not supposed to be there. Its most likely a problem from the sticker transfer.

Let’s look a little closer:


(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Other than the mentioned imperfections, its not any different from a normal auto. That’s what is so scary. The normal auto language is not there on the back, because these cards NEVER had it. Apply the sticker and apply the cert sticker on the back, and it looks real.

One of the board members on TCC also posted this list of people who are known to fake the stickers.

unknownquarterback7
borninouterspace
bigboydsportscards3
dmarcus8
exquisite-baybuys
cardboardgems1
cardcontractor
onlytherare
supercollectibles77
elkridgesportscards (new)
t.well(new)

Trust me, this has been submitted to eBay by numerous people, numerous times, and there has been ZERO correction or discipline. Its going to get much worse before it gets better.

How Are The Fake Stickers Done?

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From JustinD:


Gellman, 

Any common rubbing alcohol will remove Sharpie. A calm hand with a q-tip of rubbing alcohol (99% will work best and evaporate quickly before clouding the sticker) should clean up a sticker logo with no damage. You should also be able to peel it up nicely with a thin razor (the old paper thin two sided refill kind your grandpa used).

My worry is also elsewhere in elkridgesportscards listings. As you can easily see the sticker autos are faked. However they are also listing several fake logo patches, which means they are moving forward in scamming. The worry for me is that all of the buyback autos they have listed look fake too. I think they are peeling topps holos and sticking them on base cards and signing them. All those autos look off, and the topps seals on the holders look strange. I think it is another step in the fakery for elkridge.

Thanks,
JustinD

Thanks Justin, hopefully this post will not be used for evil. 

NOTE: Justin is not the person selling these cards.
NOTE 2: See the video from Rob at VOTC. For the record, its Gellman with a G like Golf, haha.

More Updates On The Growing Epidemic Of Fake Auto Stickers

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Looks like fake stickers are going to be the newest scam to hit the market. Yet, as expected, the people who perpetuate the scam are about as stupid as the clueless idiots that bid on this stuff. Thanks to my new favorite eBay spotter, ewensel, we now have cards that are so obviously fake that im surprised people are bidding.

Here we have a 2007 LCM Brady Quinn Freshman Fabrics card numbered to some gross number over 600. What the bidders dont know is that this card ALWAYS contained one jersey swatch and ZERO autos. When they get this card, turn it over and see the huge number its paralleled to, Im hoping they will maybe be tipped off.

First off, the auto is definitely fake. Quinn’s auto looks similar, but not even close. Secondly, the card is known to have NO auto parallels, and there is no back scan of the card. Obviously when you see the language on the back of the card there is no auto mentioned. Thirdly, the language from the auction says that “Card is autographed on an official Donruss/Playoff Autograph Sticker!!” Why would you need to say that? Obviously not real. Lastly, its a private auction, always a red flag.

I have two theories about how this happened. Either someone stole sheets of unsigned stickers from the company at an event or signing, or they are taking old stickers off crap cards and rubbing off the auto. Since most of the stickers are signed in permanent black pen, there has to be a catch I am missing.

Basically, if the card doesnt look right from now on, DO NOT BID. Cover your ass and dont be an idiot. Looks like hot packs have gone the way of the dodo, this is the new scam no doubt. I may stop covering it to prevent people from getting ideas.

NOTE: If someone has a crap Topps or Donini auto they can spare, please try to get the auto off the sticker and tell me what happens. Nail polish remover, acetone, paint thinner, do it all. Ill post the results here.