Is it too risky to buy an ungraded Ruth or other high value strip card from ebay?

[Mungo Hungo]

I guess my question is, given the low quality of these cards when made, is it simply too easy for a counterfeiter to pass one off as real? In person, testing for fakes might be somewhat doable, but I would't know how to do it online.

Here are a couple of examples - can anyone tell with reasonable confidence whether they're real?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1921-W551-Babe-Ruth-card/253877839849?hash=item3b1c4c67e9:g:MkgAAOSwlJ1atsr G

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1921-W551-Babe-Ruth-Strip-Card-Free-Shipping-Make-Offer/253861910988?hash=item3b1b5959cc:g:N4sAAOSwYeNbG5I e

By including these examples, I don't mean to imply in any way that the sellers are doing anything wrong -- the cards may be 100% legitimate, but it may also be that the sellers don't have the expertise to know for sure whether the cads are real.

Thanks for any feedback!

[swarmee]

Very risky, yes. There was actually a tremendous shock this summer when it was found that a seller who had hundreds of strip cards including Gehrigs and they were actually real. He was slowly selling off an original collection. I'll see if I can dig up the thread. Most of the cards on eBay are reprints, and you should buy graded if you cannot tell the difference (or buy from trustworthy vintage sellers).

Thread: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=256475&highlight=strip

[Mungo Hungo]

Thanks swarmee, really appreciate that. While I'm I'm a little bummed at the answer, it's much better to hear this before spending the money.

[Rhotchkiss]

If you even have to ask in the first place......

[Rookiemonster]

Pretty risky to buy a graded one at this point .....

[steve B]

Of the two in the original post, one I think is real, the other fake. The differences are pretty obvious.


Like any other card, study pics of real ones and if possible known fakes. (Which is almost 100% possible with Ruth, but not always with commons)

Even on stuff that wasn't printed with any real quality in mind. W551s are pretty good for strip cards, some other sets the original quality was really low making it harder to tell.

[glchen]

First one seems real. Second one is definitely fake. If the W551 has blue lettering, it’s fake.

[HawkFan70]

I've had luck buying ungraded strip cards from major auction houses but I wouldn't take a chance on the Bay.

[iwantitiwinit]

Yes

[BuckiGuy]

Pretty risky to buy a graded one at this point .....

+1

[frankh8147]

As others have said, I think the first one is real and the second one is fake.

[Mungo Hungo]

Thanks to everyone for chiming in. There will still be plenty of people who fall for counterfeits, but you all at least make it a bit harder for the scammers.

[NotVader]

Welcome to the card world.

If you need to ask then you can not play yet at that level!

[NotVader]

Welcome to the card world.

If you need to ask then you can not play yet at that level!

[GasHouseGang]

Here are the first two examples mentioned. The 3rd card is one I recently purchased. If they are all supposed to be the same, then something is wrong with the second one. But maybe they aren't the same issue. The lettering appears to be blue on the second example. Could there have been different printings?

[pokerplyr80]

There isn't much risk since you have the Ebay and PayPal guarantees and the option to dispute the transaction through your credit card company. Just make sure you get an email from the seller that guarantees the card is authentic and worst case you're out some shipping and grading fees.