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Now with Tiger in his 30's and more focused than ever, there are more collectors looking to eBay to help them find some great collectible rookie cards of this great athlete. Unfortunately this also opens the doors for more shady sellers to sell reprints and fake items as authentic ones. In this guide we will discuss how easy it is to spot a REPRINT of Tiger Woods' famous 1996 Sports Illustruated for Kids SIFK Rookie Card #536.
I'll make this short and simple - to identify the reprints look for the following:
Identifying the 2004 SIFK reprint: Look at the bottom of the Tiger Woods cards and you will see two logos- the one on the left has a grey diamond with the number 15 over it and the right side has a White golf ball on a tee in a square. The original has the text Sports Illustrated for Kids on the bottom right and a blue golf ball on a tee at the bottom left.
Identifying a 1996 FAKE REPRINT of the ORIGINAL: Look at the perforations. The reprint card has MORE "POINTS" on the edges (the original has a total of 29 perforation points at the top or bottom, the reprint has a about 39 points). The rest of the card looks just like the original. If you can't see it clearly in the auction page email the seller for a better resolution picture, in the end it will save you some aggrevation and more importantly some money.
NOTE: These reprints that look just like the original have perfect centering and were issued in the sheet of 9 cards that was an exact copy of the sheet found in the original SIFK magazine. To protect yourself make sure you can count the perforation points on the Tiger card whether sold separately or in the sheet of nine.
The next time you see a SHEET or INDIVIDUAL card on sale you should first and foremost ask yourself if it's an original and simply apply the checks above before bidding. This will help you to make a worthwhile investment in the real thing rather than wasting your hard earned money on a worthless fake item. The safest way to make a purchase of this card ungraded would be one with the original 9 card sheet still intact in the original magazine.
To all readers of my guides, if you do find any of this information useful a "YES" vote at the bottom is always appreciated. If you don't, you can send me an email and tell me what would help to make this a better guide. I'm sure some sellers will find this information offensive and leave me a negative review but it is intended to only edcuate the buyer and not offend the seller.
I'll make this short and simple - to identify the reprints look for the following:
Identifying the 2004 SIFK reprint: Look at the bottom of the Tiger Woods cards and you will see two logos- the one on the left has a grey diamond with the number 15 over it and the right side has a White golf ball on a tee in a square. The original has the text Sports Illustrated for Kids on the bottom right and a blue golf ball on a tee at the bottom left.
Identifying a 1996 FAKE REPRINT of the ORIGINAL: Look at the perforations. The reprint card has MORE "POINTS" on the edges (the original has a total of 29 perforation points at the top or bottom, the reprint has a about 39 points). The rest of the card looks just like the original. If you can't see it clearly in the auction page email the seller for a better resolution picture, in the end it will save you some aggrevation and more importantly some money.
NOTE: These reprints that look just like the original have perfect centering and were issued in the sheet of 9 cards that was an exact copy of the sheet found in the original SIFK magazine. To protect yourself make sure you can count the perforation points on the Tiger card whether sold separately or in the sheet of nine.
The next time you see a SHEET or INDIVIDUAL card on sale you should first and foremost ask yourself if it's an original and simply apply the checks above before bidding. This will help you to make a worthwhile investment in the real thing rather than wasting your hard earned money on a worthless fake item. The safest way to make a purchase of this card ungraded would be one with the original 9 card sheet still intact in the original magazine.
To all readers of my guides, if you do find any of this information useful a "YES" vote at the bottom is always appreciated. If you don't, you can send me an email and tell me what would help to make this a better guide. I'm sure some sellers will find this information offensive and leave me a negative review but it is intended to only edcuate the buyer and not offend the seller.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about my items or another item you see on eBay.
Guide created: 04/14/07 (updated 07/08/08)
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