Would it help to have an "ebay fakes" thread?

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Posted By: leon

Hey Folks,
I know sometimes I see fakes on ebay and want to tell the board but am a little reluctant due to the overwhelming amount of them. We could have quite a few threads about them every single day. As such I usually only point out the ones that look like they might fool someone. There is also a small risk of something not being fake when we say we think it is. The debate surrouding those issues is always good too....I know, at very first, I didn't know the N167 was real that I won on ebay. I overtly tried to scare everyone away from bidding on it but that's another story (and it didn't work too well either). I just noticed a fake M101-4 recently listed on ebay and do think someone could get fooled. So the question is.....Should we have a rotating thread, that we can start over every once in a while, to point them out? Should we leave it on the same one off basis as we do now? I don't care to make another seperate permanent link right now...and the links page might not be looked at often enough. All opinions appreciated.

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Posted By: Jason L

There are going to be a few pros and cons to this, that I am sure will be elaborated on here, but I think that the Board is an excellent educational tool, and as long as people use such a thread with good intentions, I know the large collective body of knowledge here could serve as an excellent reference tool for people. I know I would stand to benefit greatly.

...and depending on how it develops, it could even serve as a proxy/stand-in for a community governing body...if the fakes stop moving over on the 'Bay, the incentive to produce and sell them drops...

I say it's a good idea
thank you

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Posted By: Steve f

Terrific idea Mod. I enjoy reading (and writing) them, but an all-in-one thread would contain the clutter.

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Posted By: Dave

I think it could be very beneficial in saving some dollars for someone getting ripped off. On the other hand, there would be that certain percentage of geniune items that are real...and suddenly they are under attack...could also end up being a board member's item put into question that may be real, that would set off some fireworks.

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Posted By: Dave

I think starting a seperate "Fakes on Ebay" thread is a good idea. I come across items just about every day that I think might be fishy. I think it would do the collectors who frequent this board and Ebay a service to at least be able to post about suspicious items. Let the buyer make up their own mind after they investigate the item themselves. If people stop bidding on the fake items then they probably will slowly dry up, and the people making them will switch to their next scam. It just so happems that Vintage cards are hot right now....people are talking about them, and the money that can be made off of them....this naturally lhas lead to an increase in counterfieting. i still want to find the guy who is making the Old Judge fakes mounted on old cardboard....these could really fool a lot of inexperienced 19th century collectors.
Yes, I think Dan mentioned in another thread about another fake item popping up in Ohio. Unfortunately Ohio has been a "hotbed" for sports card and memorabilia fraud for decades. Southern Ohio is like the Flea Market capitol of the world, and you get these rotating Gypsy caravaans of sellers who move from one flea market to the other within Ohio , Indiana, and Kentucky because they are all within driving distance of each other. We have Ceasar's Creek, turtle Creek, Trader's World, and someo thers that are massive places. Every time I go to one of these flea markets I see something fake. I like the guys that soak the reprint goudeys in coffee or tea to make them look old. Or the guys that rub chewing tobacco on T206 reprints to make them look and smell real. Anyway....I think a seperate thread will be beneficial to everyone interested in not losing their hard earned money. Ebay will not police itself in the manner that is needed, so perhaps it's time for collectors to do something like this

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Posted By: Paul

I think it's a great idea. Also, an option would be to have a "how to spot fakes" thread, & not single out Ebay auctions. Anybody could input what they know to look for in certain issues.

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Posted By: pat

i love the idea of the ebay fakes thread. also, i like the "how to spot fakes" thread also. i would have that in addition to the first, not instead of. i would be concerned if an auction is a members as they should know better than to list something questionable. if it may be a reprint, list it as a reprint.

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Posted By: Jim Dale

Sorry to shout; my reason for saying "no" is that I wouldn't likely look at a fakes thread, but do look at posts that are started about fakes. Now if you started a thread or forum for historical references to keep the announcements of fakes in it - that'd be great. But otherwise I think a fakes thread gets ignored?

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Posted By: Silver King

I would love to see an area for fake cards, or at least for potential fakes and have members discuss why they think it might be a fake or why others think it is real. I am new to these 19th century cards but I am looking to buy. I have been gun shy though because I am pretty sure that if I outbid the members on this site then I probably paid too much for something. It seems that yahoo auctions has even more questionable items then eBay.

robert shaw

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Posted By: Anonymous

It sounds like it couldnt hurt. Itd be cool if someone put a database together of some of the better fakes that were made to fool people. Something for people to reference to that are unfamiler with a set.

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Posted By: Joann

I think a thread is a good idea. Maybe do it like the Pick Ups thread - First Feb Ebay Fakes thread. Or maybe just one per month. I think there will be enough new fakes posted to keep it on the front page. But something like the RPU rule of thumb - start a new one at about 50 posts - would help keep it manageable and reasonably fresh.

I like the idea - one of the best things this forum has given me is the helps and hints for spotting fakes. Keep them coralled in one place and it tidies things up nicely.

Joann

Oh - and some of the ebay fakes posts are downright funny. Another good use of the thread - funny ebay claims regarding fakes. Maybe we could title the thread "From Grandpa's Attic - February", etc. heehee

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Posted By: barrysloate

I think part of becoming proficient in any collectibles field is learning to spot fakes, so I think it would be a useful thread. You might want to limit it to items that could be genuinely dangerous, such as the fake Tuxedo Mathewson that Dan pointed out. It probably wouldn't be necessary to list all the silly and obvious ones, such as Planks and Wagners that give their own value on the backs of the cards. Those become tedious after awhile.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Everyone should always only buy SGC graded cards, then they don't have to worry about fakes, they don't even have to learn how to spot them. That would be wonderful.

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Posted By: Rhys

This is pretty much what I suggested last month in the thread below

http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1168884310/last-1169010200/Link+to+Warnings-

Didn't seem to get much support at that time, but I think it could be a huge help to new members or to people venturing into collectible areas for the first time that they are not familiar with.

Rhys Yeakley

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Posted By: Jim Clarke

Yes, I have suggested this as well... Dan M. makes many post of bad listings. This will make the board more useful for everybody.

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Posted By: Scott

Leon,
I noticed those M101-4 listings too. I e-mailed the seller basically saying the wording "Could be reprints" should be changed to "They are reprints".
The response I got was that she's only listing them for a penny and don't I have anything better to do than to bother her. She's reporting me to ebay for harassing her. Oh well.

The truth is since it was a snow day I didn't have anything better to do. This was mild compared to the other pots I stirred.

I like the idea of an "ebay fakes" thread.
Scott.

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Posted By: leon

This thread will be implemented going forward. I realize it was suggested before but when it was suggested I had just been run over by a bus, called Net54, and hadn't picked myself back up yet. It took about 3-4 days for me to come back....I will never mention a better alternative to ebay again (auctions) with having anything to do with this board....live and learn.....Next decent ebay fake/scam that is noted and we'll start the "ebay fakes/scams" thread at that time. I thought it was a good idea before also but needed a few day break. I think everyone can understand that. best regards

corrected typo

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Posted By: David Seaborn

Good idea, glad to see it moving forward.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Personally, I think that this would be a GREAT idea.

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Posted By: dennis

besides spotting "good" fakes ,i'm sure a few "bad" fakes will provide some laffs for all of us who enjoy that sort of thing. but remember sometimes fakes are listed by good sellers who think they have the real thing,and a friendly email to these sellers most often gets them scraped.

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Posted By: RC McKenzie

There is a card on ebay right now over $150 that I believe is a Fritsch modern card. I don't know enough about it to 'rat it out'. The seller is claiming that it's a rare dealer sample size, which happens to be the size of the reprints.