[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by ZenPop

I just checked out his website and the back of the cards are labeled as "reproduction"...

Some scammer could remove that, but he did a great job w/ quality and also put it in small type at the bottom...

Yup, I saw in the older thread that "reprint" was placed on the back of the card. I was concerned initially because we could not see the backs of the cards in the auction, and it was not mentioned.

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

What is a "newbie" anyway ?

Somebody like me, Al, who has collected baseball cards, but does not have a lot of experience with buying vintage cards. I'm a "newbie" to this niche.

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I don't really think this true "threat" to unknowledgeable collectors. You can't post post a Wagner, Plank, or Cobb listed as authentic on eBay that hasn't been authenticated and enough collectors follow the market that if a Young, WoJo, Matty, or other top Hall of Fame star is listed it would be reported almost instantly. Thus you are left with the semi-star/common market and honestly if you can make a living passing off fake Joe Lake cards more power to you.

It's true, collectors do a pretty darned good job of policing the vintage and pre-war portion of the hobby, and for that, I am grateful, believe me. And maybe the "crooks" out there know that well enough so they won't even try. I'm just concerned that a few might slip through, and somebody could end up buying a $1,000 Walter Johnson with "reprint" magically removed from the back, only to discover it was a fake years later. If the technology exists to make cards that are so close to the original, it also exists to alter those same cards. I don't know if it would be some form of bleaching, etc, but anything is possible so long as there is money to be made.