ACEO reprints - disturbing find, disturbing answer

[chalupacollects]

Mods, feel free to move this to Modern 80's + thread if needed.

Ran across a box of cards with Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Saquon Barkley and Lebron, Steph Curry and a number of other hot new stars with rookie cards that were labeled on the toploaders as reprints. Examining the cards which were Topps, Bowman, Chrome and Donruss that I remember had no such "Reprint" designator on them...all cards were $2-$5 each...and on card stock..

Upon examining them they were pretty high quality inkjet maybe laser repros of real issues. Questioning the lady who was selling them I asked her why she was selling them and she just remarked that she had them marked as reprints on the toploaders... I mentioned the cards themselves weren't marked an maybe she should pull them... she said she would re-mark them so I let it go...


Turns out the cards have a little logo typically around the RC designator of the cards that says "ACEO." Some are bigger and you can actually find them..

ACEO is some sort of graphics arts company you can order from...


Would not the card companies be legally offended that people are reproducing current cards using what you would think are copyrighted images in bulk?

[Leon]

This kind of crosses all of our eras. It's not unlike things we encounter on the pre war side so it's relevant here too, I think. That said, I would seek copyright experts for their opinions. I don't think it's always black and white but I don't know.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

There is so much counterfeit modern on ebay it's not funny. To your question, yes the producing companies should care, the more people who become disenchanted with our hobby the less people to buy new packs. They are incredibly short-sighted in this regard. I actually have a bit of a business connection with Topps and they simply don't care. Try and sell a fake Tiffany bracelet, or Michael Kors bag on ebay. They get taken down nearly instantly because those companies are protecting their brand, even though they don't see any of the money on the secondary market. Why Topps refuses to do this is beyond me.

It is absolutely a violation of Topps trademarks (use of their logo) and property (design, photos etc...) and they are getting better and better all the time, which is scary. Some of the Brady rookies I have seen are phenomenal. Just because this company put something on the card to distinguish it doesn't mean it's still not infringement. To me this is one of, if not the biggest issue the hobby is facing right now and the manufacturers are incredibly short-sighted in not seeing the danger.

[that T206 Guy]

Wow.

I have seen alot of Fake Vintage on eBay but had no idea there were Fake Modern Cards.

Is it Hard to tell on these fake Modern Cards?

[drcy]

Irrelevant to whether or not one marks them as reprints, it's against the law to reproduce products like that-- if the companies choose to file suit. I've long said that a lot of the eBay reprint issues might be solved in Topps, etc decided to have these reprints banned along that line. eBay already removes Coach bags and such, because those fashion companies asked that they be removed, and people can be prosecuted for that. People at sales have their fake brand name jeans confiscated by the authorities.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Irrelevant to whether or not one marks them as reprints, it's against the law to reproduce products like that-- if the companies choose to file suit. I've long said that a lot of the eBay reprint issues might be solved in Topps, etc decided to have these reprints banned along that line. eBay already removes Coach bags and such, because those fashion companies asked that they be removed, and people can be prosecuted for that. People at sales have their fake brand name jeans confiscated by the authorities.

LOL you could've just quoted my post since we said the exact same thing.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Wow.

I have seen alot of Fake Vintage on eBay but had no idea there were Fake Modern Cards.

Is it Hard to tell on these fake Modern Cards?

Yes, it is getting harder and harder all the time.

[chalupacollects]

Wow.

I have seen alot of Fake Vintage on eBay but had no idea there were Fake Modern Cards.

Is it Hard to tell on these fake Modern Cards?

There's a bunch on ebay, just search ACEO baseball cards, vintage, modern...

[that T206 Guy]

There's a bunch on ebay, just search ACEO baseball cards, vintage, modern...

Those are all Fake "Fantasy" Cards.

I thought you meant they were faking "Real Cards"

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

I don't know about ACEO but there are plenty of fake modern cards on ebay to go around. Many of them are being called reprints, but unless Topps licensed the rights to someone they are counterfeits. Here's a couple it took two seconds to find:

Ripken (https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-T-TRADED-BASEBALL-CAL-RIPKEN-98T-ROOKIE-CARD-RP/142824671273?hash=item2141038829:g:fBEAAOSw60ta6-LF)

Montana (https://www.ebay.com/itm/1981-TOPPS-JOE-MONTANA-ROOKIE-REPRINT-49ERS-216/382496326006?hash=item590e8ec176:g:z~UAAOSwTFhbEI8 V)

[bbcard1]

Those of us who have been in the game forever remember the Broders and other unlicensed issues and the problems they created. This is an extension of that with a handy little gray wrinkle. They are called Art Cards Originals and Editions. Some of these are done as art originals. I am actually trying to toy with a few of them myself for my personal collection of some Marshall players. The artist is not emancipated from trademarks. If you do the art by hand and it's the only edition, it's probably mostly fine. A lot of folks are trying to use this as a wrinkle and they are out of bounds.

[that T206 Guy]

I don't know about ACEO but there are plenty of fake modern cards on ebay to go around. Many of them are being called reprints, but unless Topps licensed the rights to someone they are counterfeits. Here's a couple it took two seconds to find:

Ripken (https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-T-TRADED-BASEBALL-CAL-RIPKEN-98T-ROOKIE-CARD-RP/142824671273?hash=item2141038829:g:fBEAAOSw60ta6-LF)

Montana (https://www.ebay.com/itm/1981-TOPPS-JOE-MONTANA-ROOKIE-REPRINT-49ERS-216/382496326006?hash=item590e8ec176:g:z~UAAOSwTFhbEI8 V)

Are they Doing Really New Cards (Like Pannini) or just 1980's Wax Stuff.

I Figured New Stuff would be too Hard to Replicate.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Like I've said there are fantastic Brady Rookie fakes. Just look on Ebay for yourself. Search whatever you want to see and add the word reprint. This place is a great resource, but a lot of what you've asked is stuff you can examine for yourself fairly easily. First hand learning will stand you in better stead in the long run than just asking for other people's answers. Plus, occasionally, people who give advice are wrong!

[steve B]

Those of us who have been in the game forever remember the Broders and other unlicensed issues and the problems they created. This is an extension of that with a handy little gray wrinkle. They are called Art Cards Originals and Editions. Some of these are done as art originals. I am actually trying to toy with a few of them myself for my personal collection of some Marshall players. The artist is not emancipated from trademarks. If you do the art by hand and it's the only edition, it's probably mostly fine. A lot of folks are trying to use this as a wrinkle and they are out of bounds.

I was going to post something similar.

Done right, it's art done trading card size. I think the small edition stuff, like One I was just looking at which was supposedly limited to 8 copies and wouldn't be mistaken for an actual card is in maybe a bit of a gray area. The ones that use a design from an existing set like 82 Topps, are getting a bit over the line, especially since the ones I see look like they were done in decent quantities. Calling an outright fake an "art card" is just as wrong as faking it in the first place.

I actually liked some of the Broder type stuff. The argument that the producer could always print more seemed pretty silly when the licensed companies had press runs that were probably into the millions for each card.
And as far as I know only one company ever got caught reprinting its own stuff - Upper deck- Twice! Once with hockey cards, the next time with one of the game cards Yugioh?