scam alert: fake psa cards from ebay seller "cardregistry"

[begsu1013]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

Scary stuff. Makes you wonder how many others are floating around in collections, not just the 150k in cards from this guy.

So was the card real, just not quite a 9?

card was 100% real. just "altered".

all they would give me.

take a solid 7, doctor her up a lil bit.

slip her into a very nicely tampered psa holder

insert a fake* flip

find a somewhat reliable ebay seller to take the consignment

and make $4K.


* the flip looked scary good as well. font was spot on. i did the flashlight test (no overlabel) and redlaser'd the barcode and it spit out the right cert number as well.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Somewhere south of the border, someone is laughing his butt off, all the way to the bank.

[begsu1013]

i have heard that as well. mexico, correct?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by begsu1013

i have heard that as well. mexico, correct?

Si.

[begsu1013]

dios mio!

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

It was only a matter of time before these professional thieves took notice of the surging card prices to make the counterfeit process worthwhile. Very scary. If I was PSA I would institute a team to tackle this issue before it damages their credibility and hurts the hobby irreparably.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

It was only a matter of time before these professional thieves took notice of the surging card prices to make the counterfeit process worthwhile. Very scary. If I was PSA I would institute a team to tackle this issue before it damages their credibility and hurts the hobby irreparably.

i still waiting for the half grade fake...when one of those shows up we know the floodgates have opened....and i wish PSA would implement an 'owner registry' (being informed if someone has a dup cert number out there without yourself building a card registry) as stated before.....if anyone else has ideas for PSA as AJjohnsonsox fan wants PSA to tackle the issue im sure PSA is all ears as well

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

i still waiting for the half grade fake...when one of those shows up we know the floodgates have opened....and i wish PSA would implement an 'owner registry' (being informed if someone has a dup cert number out there without yourself building a card registry) as stated before.....if anyone else has ideas for PSA as AJjohnsonsox fan wants PSA to tackle the issue im sure PSA is all ears as well

With a bad Mantle 8 having been pulled from a recent auction in a new holder with the hologram, they may have opened already.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

With a bad Mantle 8 having been pulled from a recent auction in a new holder with the hologram, they may have opened already.

we know for sure that Mantle was bad? I never heard the outcome of that but i guess if its not relisted than that answers that......

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

we know for sure that Mantle was bad? I never heard the outcome of that but i guess if its not relisted than that answers that......

Yeah it was bad. Someone who had the real one apparently sounded the alarm.

[botn]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

we know for sure that Mantle was bad? I never heard the outcome of that but i guess if its not relisted than that answers that......

I was told the Mantle was real just altered. The holder was resealed and it is PSA's stance is that it was very obvious. I am not sure that part is 100% accurate though or simply PSA trying to cover up their that their new holder can be opened and resealed. That card is linked to the Mexico operation.

[botn]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

It was only a matter of time before these professional thieves took notice of the surging card prices to make the counterfeit process worthwhile. Very scary. If I was PSA I would institute a team to tackle this issue before it damages their credibility and hurts the hobby irreparably.

This happened over a dozen years ago...http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=63017. There are various versions of the what took place. PSA has their version of course but the resealing of holders is nothing new. Only thing about this latest run, most of which are tied to coming out of Mexico, is that it is much more high profile cards.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by botn

This happened over a dozen years ago...http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=63017. There are various versions of the what took place. PSA has their version of course but the resealing of holders is nothing new. Only thing about this latest run, most of which are tied to coming out of Mexico, is that it is much more high profile cards.

Exactly. I don't know the exact dates, but it took PSA around ten years to purportedly improve the holder to minimize this type of fraud. To take that long after the WIWAG scandal is a disgrace in my opinion.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

Exactly. I don't know the exact dates, but it took PSA around ten years to purportedly improve the holder to minimize this type of fraud. To take that long after the WIWAG scandal is a disgrace in my opinion.

Disgrace yes,,, but PSA could give two shi-- about that.

[botn]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Disgrace yes,,, but PSA could give two shi-- about that.

All about profits. The way they handled the WIWAG scandal demonstrated they only cared about their brand not the people who made the brand what it is. Nothing at all has changed since then. An argument could be made that they care even less now about protecting the collectors. Despite being well aware of the problem of holders being resealed they have been silent.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

Exactly. I don't know the exact dates, but it took PSA around ten years to purportedly improve the holder to minimize this type of fraud. To take that long after the WIWAG scandal is a disgrace in my opinion.

I would guess the scammer had a fair number of his concoctions reholdered already so even assuming one can't duplicate the new holder, there are other ways...

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I'm glad to hear the buyer was made right.

[Sophiedog]

Maybe it's time to go back and enjoy collecting cards like it was in the Pre-Grading Days. Going to shows or going on Ebay and buying raw cards and staying away from having to have the best cards available. Seems it would be more enjoyable not having to always second guess the card I just spent a thousand or two is altered or switched or a fake...etc. Any time there is big money involved someone will find a way to cheat.

[doug.goodman]

If I was PSA I would institute a team to tackle this issue...

That's a good idea

... before it damages their credibility and hurts the hobby irreparably.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Laughing out loud

Cough, cough.

[Tennis13]

Let's say they are motivated by money. I can think of three ways off the top of my head to turn your laughing -- and I have my strong opinions about CLCT as well -- into an even greater profit/growth industry for them.

I mean, the pricing models one could come up with to make money off their grading oligopoly is insane. The reason you laugh -- they are like an airline comany-- is because they are in an oligopolistic market. Near monopoly, perhaps.

I know why you laugh. Trust me, I know. Let's assume they are able to focus on the business rather than the scurrying cockroaches coming out of the corners, the evolution of fraud is an evolution of profitability for an industry leader. They could change some sort of pricing models here, introduce a new technology and boom, growth and margins are manufactured overnight.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Tennis13

Let's say they are motivated by money. I can think of three ways off the top of my head to turn your laughing -- and I have my strong opinions about CLCT as well -- into an even greater profit/growth industry for them.

I mean, the pricing models one could come up with to make money off their grading oligopoly is insane. The reason you laugh -- they are like an airline comany-- is because they are in an oligopolistic market. Near monopoly, perhaps.

I know why you laugh. Trust me, I know. Let's assume they are able to focus on the business rather than the scurrying cockroaches coming out of the corners, the evolution of fraud is an evolution of profitability for an industry leader. They could change some sort of pricing models here, introduce a new technology and boom, growth and margins are manufactured overnight.

They already have an overwhelming market share. Where is the growth going to come from?

[Tennis13]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

They already have an overwhelming market share. Where is the growth going to come from?

Without giving away a very easy business model secret, currently you send in a card -- whether it is 1990, 2000 or 2016 -- and they almost never touch it again.

Meanwhile, the end consumer is buying and trading authenticated slabs with sonic sealing and holograms. Sort of like running your PC on Windows 95, no? Or do people even use PCs anymore? Amazing how services/products can become obsolete so fast.....I do wonder if there is a business opportunity there.....(It's HUGE given the brand....and it would allow them to perhaps undo some prior wrongs).

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by Tennis13

I know why you laugh. Trust me, I know.

No, actually, you do not.

[glynparson]

The holder was not even sealed. I find it more than a little coincidental an auction company owned by PSA's biggest rival was selling a terribly bad holdered Mantle. Everyone I have spoken to that saw the card in person said there is no way that it should have made it to Bill's catalog. They said it is nowhere near the quality of the older slabbed Mexico fakes.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by begsu1013

card was 100% real. just "altered".

all they would give me.

take a solid 7, doctor her up a lil bit.

slip her into a very nicely tampered psa holder

insert a fake* flip

find a somewhat reliable ebay seller to take the consignment

and make $4K.



* the flip looked scary good as well. font was spot on. i did the flashlight test (no overlabel) and redlaser'd the barcode and it spit out the right cert number as well.

Wow!! And we all thought that autographs were the worst part of the collecting hobby