T206 Honus Wagner? Way too good to be true.

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Posted By: George27

Hello,
I am new to the board and was curious to get the opinions of some of the experts on the following auction. I did not bid on the auction but did look at it several times. I recently got back into collecting T206's but have started to get interested in several other vintage products based on this message boards(now if I only had deeper pockets!).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5228913380&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Of the 8 cards that were listed, 7 of them look authentic. I can't fathom why someone would list a legitimate Wagner card with a Piedmont back(only 3 known to exist?!)

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

George

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Posted By: JimB

Looks fake to me. The front picture just seems off a bit and the creases and pinhole area are much too white.
JimB

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Posted By: dennis

if you look at his other auctions he is selling "real" cards and saying he is selling them "not graded,as reprints". if you check his buying/selling he knows what is real and what is not...it's all a setup to look dumb to cash in on the wagner,which goes unmentioned, like all other t206s he is selling.the wagner is probably the only fake.

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Posted By: Robert

I must day though it is one of the better looking reprints that I have ever seen. The guy is smart probable haveing a bundch of real cards mixed in with the fake to try and confuse the buyer. Have to give him credit

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

this is a horrible reprint. Have any of you honestly ever seen ANY t206 with borders like this one?

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Posted By: Chris

It's a fake, not even a good one. Take a look at the back of the piedmonts. The color is off and the print is not fine on the Wagner. The others look to be real.

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Posted By: joe brennan

Its amazing. He sold 7 cards, total value near $100 for $1250. I hate seeing people get ripped off. Looks bad for the hobby and all the legit people in it. out

"I had the right to remain silent. I just didn't have the ability" Ron White

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Posted By: pete ullman

yes...a blatant fake. The borders are funky and the color in generAL IS WRONG. put together with the real t206's with odd backs...ingenious! it's too bad there are 37 bids worth of undereducated gamblers!

pete in mn

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

Where was it I read about a guy buying a whole stack of '63 Topps with a Rose rookie in it--he figured, since the others are real, that one probably is too. When he received the cards, he could tell the Rose was a fake, though the others were all real.

Not the oldest trick in the book, but not original...

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Posted By: George27

Thank you everyone for your responses. Something didn't seem right but I couldn't put my finger on it (probably due to not enough experience). It is very deceiving...placing authentic cards w/ a fake. The seller had another auction for some commons along w/ a beat up Eddie Collins. All seemed to be real.

FYI...I also did contact the seller earlier today since it just didn't seem right but I wanted to validate my concerns in an email. He told me that he believed they were all authentic and that he never gets any of his cards graded. I also sent a follow up email to him indicating that if he had it authenticated, it would be worth much more. Of course he didn't respond.

Thanks again to everyone!

George

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Posted By: bcornell

The reprint is awful, but the description also tells you all you need to know: "Because these cards are not graded, I am selling them as reprints. All sales are final." Scammer see, scammer do - they all love those 2 sentences.

Bill

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Posted By: dan mckee

no one got ripped off, there wasn't a legit bidder after $200. A blatant shill the rest of the way.

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Posted By: leon

Don't worry we all get fooled a little, every now and then.....hopefully we get our money back. It's part of the "internet" experience. I still have the fake Middy Bread card I just bought on ebay. The seller refunded my money and said keep it. Also recently a friend/collector/dealer had the same experience as you. He bought a scrap book with vintage photo's and fake Fro-Joys. It's getting to be a widely used scam....stay tuned for more...unfortunately

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Posted By: dan mckee

did your middy come from jugglingfish?

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Posted By: leon

yes....and he was good about an instant refund....

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

Perfect scammer material - - guess I should just burn it!

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Posted By: George27

Leon,
Thanks for the note. I think in the future I'm going to try to be smart enough to post questionable "vintage" material on this board. The responses have been great!

Regards,
George

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Posted By: warshawlaw

if it is too good to be true is it not true

With decades of publicity and multiple reference resources out there I find it hard to believe that anyone with a brain in their heads honestly believes that they will get a legit Wagner, Plank, CJ Jackson, etc., for a few bucks on ebay. I hate the scammers as much as the next guy but if people would only stop kidding themselves the scammers would end up back under whatever rocks they slithered out from under because they'd have no sales.

The foregoing should not be construed as applying to cards other than a high-profile extreme rarity like the Wagner. There are bargains to be had in dicey listings, but when it comes to the biggest cards in the hobby, a little common sense, please.