Anybody ever buy an item listed as a "reprint" only to find out it was real?
 

We hear about all the scams and questionable listings regarding reprints and forgeries that it made me wonder - has anybody ever bought an item that the seller thought wasn't real only to find out it was the real deal when you got it?

No, unfortunately I don't have a story about one but wondered if others have had that experience or have heard about one.

Rob M.

I don't remember but am sure I have bought a fake that was real with respect to Fro Joys or Babe Ruth Candy cards. Many of both of those series are very difficult to tell fake from real.

That being said I have bought many cards as trimmed that came back with numerical grades. :eek: (I have never personally trimmed a card or had anyone do it for me)

And I have bought many cards with numerical grades that (I thought) were trimmed.:D

Yes!
Twice, I have bought a "reprint" Joe DiMaggio signature (one for 5 bucks, including shipping); only to receive them and look at them under the scope. Both were live ink.

That being said, it was not a surprise. I researched both pieces. One was a poster, but I realized the original poster didn't have Joe's signature on it, and the one I bought did. The other was an old magazine insert, but ironically Leon was selling the same insert in his recent auction, and mine had an extra signature. That one was a really old signature also, pre-1940 I think.

Unfortunately, though, most of the time, it doesn't work out that way (for me). I have rolled the dice on a couple of items I thought for sure were legit, only to find out I called it wrong.

I bought a T205 Walter Johnson that was called "probably a reprint " as part of a 10 dollar lot. SGC graded it.

Only a few T206 Wagners and Ruth rookies for me have turned out real....not sure what luck others are having. You just have keep at it that's my advice.

I've bought several cards that were presented as possibly/probably trimmed, but which I'm virtually certain are not. I haven't sent them to be graded, though. (Actually, I've never sent any card to be graded.)

Yep bought a Lefty Gomez Burke postcard that was listed as a "printed" signature and once I got it in hand you could see by the shine of the ink that it was a real signature. Not a super high dollar piece but was still a nice surprise.

Once, many years ago, I bought a group of cards from a guy on eBay that he was trying to pass off as authentic. Typical T206 reprints - bad O'Hara, bad Plank, bad Cobb Bat Off, that sort of stuff. It was back in the day when you could see who the bidders were, and there were a bunch of people bidding who were newbies. So I decided to win it, to keep it out of their hands.

In the pile of cards I got was a true blue Cy Young Portrait, along with a handful of commons. Wasn't in the scans! Total gift. I think the lot cost me $50.

Al

It happened to me once. I purchased this card in an Ebay auction several years ago. It was listed in the pre-1942 category as a reprint. Eventually, I ended up trading it for something else. As a side note, this card (not this exact card) seems to have a way of calling me back to it. I've owned a few of them, sold them & end up buying another. I guess I really like this particular card. Jeremy

Premiums listed as reprints
 

Several times I have purchased premiums that were listed as reprints by the sellers because they had facsimile autographs rather than real ones. Of course, this was part of the design element of the premiums, and each time they were the real deal items.