Alarming Observation on Ebay

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kycardkid

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Lexington, KY
Up until the last month or so, I had not purchased or traded any cards since around mid-2009. Since jumping back in, I have been in the market for Hall of Famer rookies, particularly those of old time stars such as Johnny Bench, Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose etc. While browsing on eBay I have seen quite a few sellers offering reprint cards, that are spot on the originals with no discernible way of telling that the cards are in fact counterfeit by just looking at the pictures. Most are not even mint. While I appreciate the fact that these sellers are telling potential buyers that they are reprints, I often wonder about unscrupulous sellers or traders that may purchase them and then try to pass them off as the real thing. I think if I were able to look at one up close, I would like to think I could tell the difference, but counterfeit products are getting better and better as technology advances. Anyone else noticed this or have any tips on how to spot one just by looking at a picture? Does anyone think that eBay can do anything about it? To me this is the type of thing that could flat out ruin a hobby.
 
Fakes have been around for awhile, patch cards are really bad. Do your homework. They say 70% of autographs on eBay are fake....think that will be the same with cards soon ;)
 
I knew there had been reprints and counterfeits of certain cards for a long time. I had just never seen them in such numbers, and none that had been that good before. Oh well, like anything else in life it will probably be destroyed by greed.
 
I really don't have the knowledge to spot reprints so on anything that may be reprinted I always go with graded cards...PSA, SGC, or BGS only. It costs a little more but it's worth the peace of mind. I don't want to pay $20 less and end up with a worthless reprint.

Actually one of my collecting goals for 2013 is to get a Reggie Jackson RC, and I will probably be going with a PSA 5 or so. I could find a better-quality ungraded copy for the same price, but I'd rather be certain it's authentic.

Richard
 
I tend to trust COMC (check out my collectibles) for G/U or auto's, and I don't collect any vintage. I hope their staff is good at spotting fakes.
 
I saw a 1954 hank aaron,it looked real. The description mentioned that they didn't know. Sometimes they call it a (real looking reprint)
 
Blame Topps themselves for some of these "reprints". they have issued rookie cards reprints in various shapes/forms in sets for the last 10+ years.
 
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