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Hello, I have been an active Ebay seller/buyer for a number of years now and I also am a big sports card collector. There are some people out there that try and make fake cards that look like the real thing but aren't. Here are some of my tips for spotting fake cards that are up for sale on Ebay. If you like this guide please check out Top 27: Most Counterfeited Vintage Sports Cards , How To Spot Fake NFL, MLB, NBA, & NHL Logo Patch Cards.
(Above are some cards that are questionable for being fake)
- Check out the seller's feedback rating to see what their past customers have thought of their items
- Never buy from a seller that has private feedback. Why would an honest seller want to hide their feedback?
- Never bid on an auction where the current high bidder's ID is kept private. Most likely they will be shills. In other words, the seller will create multiple accounts where he/she will bid on their own items to raise the price.
- If you see a card up for sale that you are interested in buying do a little research and make sure that the company really did make that type of card
- Look to see if the auction you are looking at has its own picture. Sometimes people will steal photos from another auction and say they have a card just like it when they really don't.
- Be careful that the person didn't edit the photo of the card. People can easily use any photo editing software to make a card look better than it really is. For example, if a card really has bad corner wear a person could slightly crop the photo to make it look like the corners are sharp. People will also slightly cut off the edges of a card to get rid of the bad edges. Grading companies won't even touch these cards. Please make sure you compare the size of the card you plan to buy to other from that set, especially if the card looks too good to be true. This process is called trimming.
- Personally, I only trust five card grading companies: PSA, BGS, GAI, SCD and SGC. There are some others like Gem, AGS, Mint, and PGI. But a lot of these have been known not to be the best authenticators and graders.
- If the card you are planning to buy has a piece of material in it (jersey, patch, pants, etc) see if the colors match up with the colors of the team(s) the player has played with
- There are some companies that have specific cards for jerseys and specific cards for patches. The jersey cards will say jersey and the patch cards will say jersey - prime or patch.
- If you see a high #'ed card or a card that is not #'ed at all that contains a patch that is too good to be true, most likely it will be fake
- When looking at a material card see if the window that holds the piece of material is clean. By clean I mean there are no fringe cut marks from where the seller could have cut into the card to insert a piece of fake material. People can buy patches and other types of material and insert them into a card.
- Properly read the item description. Some people will tell you in the decription that the card that is up for sale is custom made and was not made by the company.
- If someone is selling an autographed card look and see if it has a hologram sticker on the back with a number. If you can't see the back of the card ask the seller to send you a picture of the back. Some card companies also may use a stamp or seal that overlaps the foil the autograph is on and the card. The stamp or seal is usually the logo of the company.
- If you are planning to buy a card that the seller says that they got it signed in person I would ask for a COA. Or you could look for an autographed card that is certified by Global, PSA, or any other certification company.
- If you are interested in buying a card see if you can find that exact same card up for sale by another seller and compare the two. Fake card makers can be good but sometimes they can make and error that sticks out when you compare it to the real thing.
- Some companies hand number their cards instead of machine stamp. Make sure the card you want to buy was hand numbered by the company. You can do this by checking to see if that company did hand number those particular cards.
- Believe it or not some people have found a way to stamp cards to look like a machine did it. Take a look at the size and shape of the stamped number and try and compare it to another card like it.
- People have found ways to counterfeit vintage cards too. A way to spot these fakes is to look at the condition of the card. If the card seems to good to be true it probably is. Take a look at the card and see if the color is rich and dark. Having rich dark color usually means its a fake. A common sign of counterfeit vintage cards is dots. Find an area of SOLID color and examine it with like a 16x magnification. If the solid area is comprised of fuzzy "dots" instead of "lines (or crosshatch)", then there is a good chance it's a fake. The best way to avoid buying a fake vintage card is to buy one that is graded/authenticated by PSA, Global, or any other certification company. By doing this you will decrease the chances of buying a fake vintage card. You could also get some comparison cards to compare your card to others from that same set.
- Get familiar to the set of cards your specific card comes from. That means get to know what the texture of the card feel like. Sometimes reprints will have a smooth glossy cover where vintage cards will have rough feeling backs.
- Use a ruler to compare sizes of cards. It is best to use a ruler that is broken down to 1/32 inches. Measure the height, width, and thickness.
Fake Real
- It was not until the mid 20th Century that paper and stock manufacturers began to add brighters to their products. These chemicals would make products seem brighter because the chemicals fluoresce when exposed to the UV light of the sun. A 1933 Goudey card will not fluoresce under a modern black light. A modern reprint will.
- If you need advice on sports cards you could always use the Ebay message boards. There are tons of experts there that would be glad to help.
Other Misc. Card Tips:
- If you are thinking about buying an older box of cards in search for a specific card, make sure that card was not only available through redemption. If it was a redemption it could be expired and you won't be able to obtain that card. For example, if you buy a box of 2001 Bowman Chrome Baseball in search for the Albert Pujols Autographed rookie card you will not find it. That card was only available through a redemption card which is now expired.
- When buying a box of cards make sure it is factory sealed. You don't want to buy a box of cards that has been tampered with. A good sign that the box of cards is factory sealed is the plastic seal over the box has the company logo all over it.
- Don't buy Fleer redemption cards that are from 2005 or before. Those redemption cards were issued by Fleer who is not in business anymore. Upper Deck bought Fleer's assets and can use the Fleer name. Fleer redemption cards that were made from 2006 or later you can send in to redeem your item.
- If you plan on selling a card of a player from overseas such as someone from Japan or Taiwan it would be a good idea to set your auction so that you ship to that part of the world. If you just have it set that you ship to the U.S. only you will be losing out on bids. There are big baseball fans over there that would love to get their hands on those cards, especially the big dollar ones.
Thank you for reading my guide on how to spot fake sports cards that are up for sale on Ebay. Please come back again as I will continue to update it. Hopefully this will help you in the future. I am glad to try and answer any questions that you have about cards. Just send me a message.
Guide created: 10/06/05 (updated 07/21/08)
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