Comments on: Florida dealer pleads guilty to mail fraud charges

By: Cthomashowell

Cthomashowell — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 06:18:04 +0000

Zeprock

Damn—-you just hit it on the head for me. I’m Bummed on this story, but I agree with you 100%. You’re a genesis. Thanks for your comment!
Uplifting,
C. Thomas Howell

P.S. I was just hired today by TVG. God bless America! I’m so happy Beckett community! God Bless the USA!

By: joe

joe — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 04:55:39 +0000

So collectors, do you think that the on card autos are signed in person at the card companies. WRONG. For the most part the cards, just like the stickers, are mailed to the player, signed and mailed back to the card company. If the card companies had each player come in and sign for each product can you imagine how much the boxes would be. Even if a rep from the card companies sent someone to games that would still raise the price of the boxes. Collectors we brought this on our self. When memorabillia and auto cards first came out they were cool. A check list of only 5-10 players and no multiple parallels of the same damn autograph. Bringing in 5-10 players or going to a game to get their auto was something that could be done. Than we demanded more and the card companies had to come up with a way to give us what we wanted and keep the cost down. Hence forth the sticker autograph. Sticker autographs are just as authentic as an on card autograph (besides the player touches the sticker just like he would touch the card). At least they moved away from the ugly silver sticker that took away from the picture on the card. Let’s just hope that nothing comes up with the autrhenticity of autograph cards

By: Zeprock

Zeprock — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 20:02:43 +0000

I don’t care. I’m glad they got the scumbag and are prosecuting him but it doesn’t affect the way I collect. Alright, maybe I’ve got a swatch of a tee-shirt on my card instead of a jersey, or a piece of a piano bench instead of a bat. It still pictures the player I collect. I never collected for the profit or the value that my collection might be worth. I collect because I love baseball and I like the design of the cards. I’ve never spent huge sums on the cards in my collection. Don’t have the means to. I’ll cherish what I’ve got same as I always have.

By: Mike Corno

Mike Corno — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 06:17:32 +0000

Hi Chris. Which of the card companies bought jerseys from Wells? Is it assumed to be all of them? And were the jerseys from all sports or was the fraud confined to certain sports? Thanks for your time.

By: Roy in Texas

Roy in Texas — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:38:07 +0000

The biggest issue I have with the card companies are the amount of auto’s that they have to know are not signed by the athlete. The biggest one I can think of is Dez Bryant. Look at his first auto’s from his rookie year and the ones obtained in person compared to the ones we have seen in the last year. His real auto looks like a cross between hieroglyphs and chicken scratch. The ones made within in the last year are completely legible. There is no way he suddenly learned how to spell after signing his name the same way for 15 years and the card companies don’t care (which I believe is true) or they have idiots that certify the auto’s.

By: Jim Jordan

Jim Jordan — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:28:50 +0000

Joe-

I agree that most are not fake, but some people are making it sound like their entire card collection is in ruins. Let’s hope all mem. cards AND autographs are for sure authentic from this day forward, but it’s really tough to be 100% sure unless you are their watching “the process” happen.

By: Marc W.

Marc W. — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:37:36 +0000

Jim-Are you insane?! Have you read the Daily News article? Bradley Wells acknowledged in a plea agreement with the U.S. Freakin’ Attorney that he purchased replica jerseys, altered them, and then sold them to “trading card companies that create premium collectibles by cutting up the garments and inserting swatches of the material into cards.” “Cutting up the garments and inserting swatches of the material into cards” – who does that besides Topps, UD, Panini, etc.? It is now a fact that anyone with a substantial collection of game used memorabilia cards from the last 5 or so years, like myself, has at least some altered replica jersey cards and since I have no way of finding out which ones are fake and which ones are real I have to assume they are all fake. That is unless, as some others have commented, Topps (for example) gets out in front of this thing and explains why their memorabilia cards are authentic or that they didn’t buy from these guys. If there is no word from any of the “major trading card” companies on this matter than it is a stone cold lock that they did buy from him. Their reputation’s are at stake. If they hadn’t, why wouldn’t they be screaming it from the mountain tops? And yes, you are being very silly and or very naive thinking the card companies aren’t to blame. If the best quality control they can muster up is taking Bradley Wells’ word for it to assure their product is legit then it is a very poorly run company or one that is blinded by greed.

I truly wish this thing would’ve gone to trial. If it had, then who Wells sold the replica jerseys to would have most likely come out in the trial and therefore been public record.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:11:21 +0000

This is crazy!!!

The card companies don’t seem to care about their customers. Now evertime I see a jersey card I will think to myself is this real? The government should now go after the card companies and confiscate any remaining jersey material they have left and get this off the market. I have already talked to a lot of my friends about this and they are disgusted by this and it will only be a matter of time when we all take action with the card companies for selling these fake jersey cards to us. Inserts now seem to be the safest bet in the hobby.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:08:03 +0000

Jim-I don’t think a majority of the memorabillia cards are fake. I just wish the card companies would stand up and say something. Speaking of cherry picking boxes, Chris when you guys do your box buster you should mix the packs up. Most of the autos or mem cards are in the exact same spot across the board.

By: Jim Jordan

Jim Jordan — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:56:56 +0000

Chris, thanks. It’s nice to have my comments acknowledged. BTW-I STILL want your job, looks so fun sitting and opening cards and commenting on the hobby. (Yes, I know you do LOTS more than that). That’s coming from a teacher who “sits around all summer doing nothing and is overpaid”. LOL. Keep ripping and keeping us informed on things like this. It is appreciated.