Nothing new -- people have been complaining forever that Heritage's pics hide/downplay some types of defects. This is one of the more egregious examples I've seen but there have been others for sure.

I've already assumed the worst with the 52 Bowman Mantle I just bought, now we have to play the waiting game to see what it actually looks like. If it's bad, they'll get a strongly worded email from me, not that it will do much, but at least it will make me feel better. But lets hope for the best.

Aren't there laws about fair representations?

I hope it all works out for you James. For me personally, I don't have the time or inclination to deal with an AH that plays such games. Still trying (perhaps foolishly) to keep this hobby fun and avoid hassles as best I can.

I never saw this original thread in the first place, I assumed Heritage to be reliable and what actually made me want to use them even more was the fact that the scans they offered appeared to be very high quality. Also seeing what 1's and 1.5's of the 52 Bowman have been going for, I thought I got a good deal (I still think I did) all that being said, it's defintely disheartening that they play these games and going forward I do not think I will use them, for cards at least, for the foreseeable future.

I am not a big seller but I have dealt with a handful of the major auction houses:

Golden
REA
Goodwin(RIP thankfully)
Sterling
Heritage
Love of the Game

Everyone is going to have different experiences based on what they are consigning...their relationship with the house, etc.

I've had lukewarm experiences with most that I've dealt with. I don't want to have to hound these folks to get paid...but I have had to with most. Should I have to wait over a month for payment because the winner went over the time limit the AH allows to pay? I don't think so yet this has happened.

Sterling is my favorite AH to deal with...I know Lee well...he's closeby...I can always get in touch with him if I need to...and I've never ever had an issue.

Heritage just shipped out the Mantle I won, Fedex has it arriving by Thursday. Will update this post, once I have the card in hand.

Hopefully it's more in line with the scans.....still a great card.

OMG!!
That's the kind of photoshopping I would expect to see on a Match.com photo, with the bottom photo being the lady you actually meet.

An Update: The Cards in hand
 

After patiently waiting I finally got my winnings from Heritage today. I have to commend them for how well it was packaged. The card was placed inside a larger cardsaver, which was then bubble wrapped and placed in a decently large box with packing peanuts.

I was very nervous as I was opening it, I'm not going to lie, especially seeing some comparisons to what their cards look like on their website as opposed to in hand. However the worrying was for nothing and I breathed a sigh of relief. Here's a picture below of the card, the crease going through Mantle's arm is not nearly as pronounced as I was worried about. This did teach me a lesson though, always check with Net54 before purchasing anything!

https://i.imgur.com/a3VYXCb.jpg?3

Very good to hear and nice looking card!

Definitely a nice card. Looks like Heritage's listing accurately reflected the card you'd be getting.

Heritage image on the left, my scan on the right. I just got this card. Notice the creasing in the lower left.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...30faccd3_z.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6b4057b7_z.jpg

Good luck. I guarantee you that somewhere in their rules it states that graded cards are not returnable but I totally agree that is terrible that they doctored the scan/pic to that level.

Wow, that is just straight up photoshopping.

It's really unfortunate, to say the least. I was thankfully happy with what I received from them, but it has made me question almost everything going forward. From what I've been reading one of the only places that is 100% reliable is REA

Finding their rules should be a challenge on the game show minute to win it
in REA and most other auction houses they're right at the top of the page.

All sellers (whether a dealer, auction house, or eBay) should disclose creases and wrinkles like that in their descriptions... especially when the scans fail to pick up these creases.

The difference between the Heritage scan and the net54 member scan is the difference between whether or not I would even bid on it. Very misleading... I would definitely return that card for a refund.