Complete Idiot or Scam Artist????

[Archive]

Posted By: Paul

Here is a guy with 97% feedback selling an E107. From the scan, it is clear that the card is not a reprint (at least I think it's clear, despite the tiny scan). However, the seller claims he is selling it "as a reprint" in order to comply with ebay's rules, since the card is ungraded. (I guess that's ebay rule 5.6(a)(3) - all ungraded cards must be sold as reprints, even though ebay provides a separate category for ungraded original cards).

I see two possibilities here. 1) He's a total scam artist and will send you absolutely nothing or a photocopy of the original card shown in the scan, or 2) he is a complete idiot and really is selling an original E107 as a reprint. I suppose it's also possible that he has made a high quality reprint of an E107 and then ripped off half the back, trimmed it down, but resisted the temptation to soak it in tea.

What do you think is going on?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5219849006&category=86840&rd=1

[Archive]

Posted By: Glenn

Has a grand total of 1 positive feedback as a seller.

[Archive]

Posted By: cmoking

97.4% is horrible feedback.
Buyer be very aware.

[Archive]

Posted By: steve k

Why even try to figure him out when he says it's a reprint? It's interesting to "figure out" if someone is lying in regards to trying to pass off a reprint as a genuine card. But if someone is stating it's a reprint, then it's a reprint!

[Archive]

Posted By: Glenn

I thought Paul was suggesting that it has become so common for sellers to state in their listings that they are selling a card as a reprint due to its being ungraded that new, honest, sellers might get the impression that this has to be mentioned in their listings of legitimate ungraded cards.

[Archive]

Posted By: Scott Forrest

Just forget about these auctions. I looked at the scans and the cards DO look real;however, NO ONE describes auctions the way he has and sells real cards. These could be scans of real cards and his plan is to print the scans, cut them out, and mail them to the winners. These could be nice forgeries that were purchased from someone like Garth Feldman. It could be that all the cards are real EXCEPT for the BW - that's a strategy that a few scam artists have used to get people to take the bait for the bigger kill.

Anyway, just forget about them, and if another board member wins them and posts about the great deal he got, that's good for them - you can only have one winner anyway.

[Archive]

Posted By: Paul

I'm definitely not going to touch anything this seller has with a ten foot pole. I was just curious about what is going on because it seems like the card is real. I think the best guess is that he will print out a scan of the card and send it to you.

[Archive]

Posted By: Judge Dred

This listing (5219849006) has been removed by eBay or is no longer available.

If the item was removed by eBay, please consider this transaction canceled. If anybody contacts you to complete the sale, please ignore the request. Completing the sale outside of eBay may be unsafe and will not be covered by eBay purchase protection programs.

[Archive]

Posted By: davidcycleback

Rule of the thumb if the seller has these typical disclaimers (selling as reprint due to non existant eBay rule, no refunds, can't get it graded by PSA because I have to return overdue library book), it's a scam.

If the seller is selling a T206 Wagner reprint that is horribly photographed (nonsensical angles and cropping, Dr. Caligari backgrounds, out of focus) the seller knows it's a fake. Because if the seller thought it was real, he would supply good pictures.

If a 52 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 10 books for $100,000 and the eBay seller beleives his own words when he advertises the card as "Gem Mint," the card would be in a PSA holder instead of raw. Especially when this seller is using PSA and SMR prices as selling points!

No one gives a $10,000 sale discount on a raw card because he doesn't want to pay the $6 to get the card graded.

No one sells a card that would easily sell for $50,000 for $5,000 because he needs the money right away to pay bills.

The sexiness of the seller in the picture has no relationship to the authenticity or grade accuracy of the of the card. And, if that really was a picture of the seller, she probably already has a boyfriend.

It's a myth that grandparents stored T206 Honus Wagners in cabinets. The cabinet is where they stored the maps to where the cards were burried.