[DrMitchJ]

Fake Cards, Reprint Cards, Forgeries?
Call them what you will, but no matter the name, they're bad ....

Have you seen all the unofficial 'reprints' of Mike Trout key cards and autos on eBay? Some are really high end triple thread quality auto cards that look legit.
So far, they're being forthcoming about the reprints, but how long will it take for some unscrupulous person to sell one to an unwitting person who in turn innocently tries to resell and find out they've been totally ripped off?

As an analogy, it's not worth the cost, time, effort or risk for a forger to make $1 bills, but $100's much more so. I guess high ticket cards are worth the cost, time, and effort with very little risk when selling them on eBay! That being said, it's really worth the cost of getting them graded in order to resell them for that reason. I know my Trout RCs are good, since I pack pulled every one of them, but if I were to sell them, I'd get them graded. Likewise, buying graded cards are really the only way to avoid getting ripped off. After seeing more and more Mantle forgeries out there, I started buying Vintage Mantles only if graded.

Anyway, buyer AND seller beware!!!

[rob024420]

This is crazy stuff man. I agree that graded stuff is the only way to go, especially with high end rookies and vintage. It wont be long before those "honest" listings will "accidentally" leave out the reprint word...

On another note, the "digital card" listings on ebay are annoying as hell. Who collects those things anyway? Maybe I'm old school but I want to collect a card that I can actually hold and touch. Or that a player might have held at one point in time. To me digital cards are alot like capturing pokemon or whatever. Spend all this time and money on something for what? A picture of something that doesnt actually exist, idk, I need more coffee.

[DrMitchJ]

This is crazy stuff man. I agree that graded stuff is the only way to go, especially with high end rookies and vintage. It wont be long before those "honest" listings will "accidentally" leave out the reprint word...

On another note, the "digital card" listings on ebay are annoying as hell. Who collects those things anyway? Maybe I'm old school but I want to collect a card that I can actually hold and touch. Or that a player might have held at one point in time. To me digital cards are alot like capturing pokemon or whatever. Spend all this time and money on something for what? A picture of something that doesnt actually exist, idk, I need more coffee.

Couldn't agree more with you on both points.
Like I said, eventually these forgeries/reprints will make it into a private collection with the buyer knowing full well it's a forgery, but it looks nice on the shelf. Unfortunately and eventually all collectors will go to meet their maker, and the heirs to those collections will unwittingly sell them off, innocently thinking them real. That will perpetuate until someone someday gets it graded and learns that it's a piece of garbage, but at that point, who is to blame?

I have acquired a ton of digital cards playing Topps Bunt game over the years. I never spent a cent on them, only cost me my time (and my dignity LOL) and would NEVER think to sell an image of a card. I find the listings on eBay annoying and at times perhaps a little deceitful? I have so many digital 'auto' cards which makes me laugh to think that they are more valuable than 'unsigned' digital cards ... if anyone truly thinks that, then I have a Bridge in Brooklyn that I'd love to sell to them ... cheap!
The common value in the cardboard and digital card, in a very small sense, is the actual photographic image of the player, but the printed image has an ephemeral value while the digital images are ethereal.

[rob024420]

Couldn't agree more with you on both points.
Like I said, eventually these forgeries/reprints will make it into a private collection with the buyer knowing full well it's a forgery, but it looks nice on the shelf. Unfortunately and eventually all collectors will go to meet their maker, and the heirs to those collections will unwittingly sell them off, innocently thinking them real. That will perpetuate until someone someday gets it graded and learns that it's a piece of garbage, but at that point, who is to blame?

I have acquired a ton of digital cards playing Topps Bunt game over the years. I never spent a cent on them, only cost me my time (and my dignity LOL) and would NEVER think to sell an image of a card. I find the listings on eBay annoying and at times perhaps a little deceitful? I have so many digital 'auto' cards which makes me laugh to think that they are more valuable than 'unsigned' digital cards ... if anyone truly thinks that, then I have a Bridge in Brooklyn that I'd love to sell to them ... cheap!
The common value in the cardboard and digital card, in a very small sense, is the actual photographic image of the player, but the printed image has an ephemeral value while the digital images are ethereal.

Oh, ok. I thought you had to purchase aforementioned digital cards. I bought a Beltre patch auto yesterday and literally read the listing 4 times to make sure I wasnt buying some stupid digital image lol

[s_wwheeler]

I am so confused, when I did a quick search I found a seller on the bay thohenn91 that sells nothing but fake cards. I am confused because if he is printing or even selling these isn't he infringing upon copyright laws. Don't copyright laws exist to make this sort of thing illegal? Ebay should crack down on sellers that do not have the permission of the original card company to duplicate something that is not licensed. Am I missing something?

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after my post I went back and checked the user's feedback and decided that I would report the item to ebay, this guy is ruining card collecting by sitting at home and printing fraudulent cards. He has other custom cards that he is selling and I don't have a problem with that but when you go back and copy a rookie card without the card companies permission or knowledge and then sell it for no good reason other than being shady then I have a problem with that.

[DrMitchJ]

I am so confused, when I did a quick search I found a seller on the bay thohenn91 that sells nothing but fake cards. I am confused because if he is printing or even selling these isn't he infringing upon copyright laws. Don't copyright laws exist to make this sort of thing illegal? Ebay should crack down on sellers that do not have the permission of the original card company to duplicate something that is not licensed. Am I missing something?

---

after my post I went back and checked the user's feedback and decided that I would report the item to ebay, this guy is ruining card collecting by sitting at home and printing fraudulent cards. He has other custom cards that he is selling and I don't have a problem with that but when you go back and copy a rookie card without the card companies permission or knowledge and then sell it for no good reason other than being shady then I have a problem with that.

Good Job! You'd think eBay would have a problem ... you'd think Topps would have a problem ... you'd Think the Baseball Players association & MLB would have some lawyer ready to pounce ... you'd think it, but it doesn't happen.

They're even 'reprinting' the autographs that originally appeared on the autographed card ... making them look pretty authentic.
Slimeballs !!!!!

[rjcj2017]

The only reprints I've ever purchased were still produced by the card companies themselves and are of two cards I will never own ... 2009 Bowman Chrome Trout and 2001 Bowman Chrome Pujols. They say reprint on the backs and were actually issued in packs.

[DrMitchJ]

The only reprints I've ever purchased were still produced by the card companies themselves and are of two cards I will never own ... 2009 Bowman Chrome Trout and 2001 Bowman Chrome Pujols. They say reprint on the backs and were actually issued in packs.

Those bowman reprints aren't illegal, nor does anyone have an issue with them. These cards on eBay are not issued by any card company.

[hckydv7]

Good Job! You'd think eBay would have a problem ... you'd think Topps would have a problem ... you'd Think the Baseball Players association & MLB would have some lawyer ready to pounce ... you'd think it, but it doesn't happen.

They're even 'reprinting' the autographs that originally appeared on the autographed card ... making them look pretty authentic.
Slimeballs !!!!!

Yes Ebay should have a problem. More than once I have reported an item to Ebay as being an illegal reprint etc. and most times it has been removed.

[bengalsandreds]

I've seen the Trout update gold reprint card on eBay and there are several. They are always numbered 27/2011. It says reprint in the title, but it still annoys me. By the picture, it looks pretty similar to the real deal. Not sure how they pull this one off either.