LOL, you have obviously not run across bat $hit carzy Matthew yet. He has had several different accounts on here and probably has a few going now.

I had one Matthew go ballistic when I didn't juice the pump he wanted to juice but I suspect this is a different Matthew. Have we had a true stalker or assault case? The odds aren't high but it all it takes is one. I used to shut up to remain compliant until something got the rule on my account, so it's the boards fault I run my mouth now :)

So, a member got angry because you "didn't juice the pump he wanted to juice." Wow, that sounds intense.

Pardon me for asking, but what does that mean?

Hardly intense at all. As I said, I was not aware of any real stalking/assault intensity that had ever actually happened.

Which word is difficult?

Individually, none of them are difficult. The phrase I surrounded with quotation marks is one I hadn't previously heard.

This seller is NO GOOD.

Dan Mckee

Wow does that line hit home, spot on.

Hi Rob, let me say this, and dare I say I will opine as to the state of (some) the hobby. people from all walks of life and demographics collect cards, that is one area which is amazing about the hobby. So many people I have met, including some I consider friends, which I would have never known without this hobby of ours. Anyone can jump in, all it takes is having time, money and some effort. My back story, I can remember many of the old dealers back in the early 90s which are still around today. When I was just a kid at 16 or so, they were always willing to take to the time to educate me. Whether it was explaining the grades, oddball issue, or signed cards, I felt these guys were kind of like Curators at a museum.

Just like any other "hot" commodity, be is stocks during covid, beanie babies, what have you, you have the innovator, imitator and the fool. Now I wont pontificate about stubble-beards and what have you, I dont think generalizing will help any. However quite a few new people have (tried) made a splash in the hobby. The advent of social media can put your inventory in front of faces 24/7. I remember, years before covid, one big splash came from a guy who, i believe, got a big settlement, and walked around shows with a briefcase full of cash buying. A gimmick like this can put you on the map!

Anyhow, I am seeing these amazingly high prices on cards, only to be turned around and being relisted, or showcased, for even more. This was the old 707 model, but I dont believe anybody can do it like Levi. If you are new in the hobby, and have 10 1952 mantles, 20 1954 aarons, etc in a showcase, the dealer will get a lot of attention, but my guess is they are dollar cost averaging and trying to prop up your inventory. Again, aside from 707, this business model has never been used in the hobby. I always found it strange, but it did work for 707. Nothing against it and I always used to like looking and speaking with both Levi and Jim (RIP) about cards. I do not remember Levi from the 90s, but do remember Don Hontz and a few others. I went to shows almost every weekend throughout the northeast.


That being said, it seems like a new type/style of dealer (in vintage) has popped up, and I for one and curious how it will work out. if I had another life maybe I would enjoy doing shows. The energy, the excitement, this kids faces are all a part of the hobby. Sadly, I would "get high on my own supply" and have to think about time away from my family, so I would not pursue this venture. Also, at some point, you need to make a profit, the must be worth the squeeze. People are not buying 1952 mantles on ebay every weekend, and if shows are panning out, what is a dealer to do?

Thanks for reading a morning rambling from the fixed museum, not a traveling one

Saw some raw T206 Fred Snodgrass cards in surprisingly good condition so I added them to my watchlist. Was looking at them closer and thought it was weird that they were paired with a handful of random 70’s cards. Then I noticed who the seller was. Removed them from my watchlist. Thanks to all of those that posted in this thread!

How is this seller still on ebay? The amount of cards destroyed has to be in the tens of thousands. Every listing is nm or mint and heavily trimmed. Report report report, lets take some collected action and all report this seller. Get them off the site.

Not only destroying cards which is against ebay tos in terms of fraudulent listings but also against ebay tos circumventing authentication by selling as lots.

Of course this is all alleged and I'm also the pope.

Maybe they moved to Ohio? It seems to be where a lot of fraud starts out...

NO, this seller shouldn't be on ebay any longer. But they are because they make ebay money.

I also was skeptical about this seller. His photos are extremely misleading and on average are about 5 grade points below the described condition...however I have bought approx. 20 1952 Topps and 25 T206 cards from him and only one of the 45 cards came back from SGC as trimmed.

Again, extremely shady seller, but I just wanted to share my personal experience. If you can win a card described as NM-MT and expect to receive a 3 or 4 grade and still pay for around VG condition, you likely will come out ahead.

Day late and a dollar short for me on this one - I just bought a bunch of 1943 and 44 Cubs pictures. Fortunately didn't pay much and fortunately maybe they are good.

Many obviously know this already, but one preventative can be done right on your computer. Might as well go into detail in case it's helpful for some.

If there's a listing you're interested in, save the images to your computer, then open those images using software that allows you to tweak the images. For Windows 10 users, there's a built-in program called "Photos". Right click on the thumbnail of the scan you have saved. From the menu that appears, select "Open With", then select "Photos" from the subsequent menu that pops up.

"Photos" is easy enough to use. Once the photo opens, there will be a menu at the top center of your screen. The first option looks like a drawing of a little photo with a pencil in lower right corner (AKA "Edit"). Click on that. A new menu will appear at top center of screen. Click on "Adjustment". A bunch of different filter options will appear to the right of the photo. Play around with those slider bars that come up. If any creases/blemishes have been purposely hidden by clever scanning tricks, they will usually appear when you're toying around with this software.

Lots of other software out there, but for Windows users, this one should be built right in, is user friendly and works nicely.

I picked up a couple 1932 ones to finish out my set. I got a near complete set from a trusted source and was rather uniform in size, so it will be easy to size compare for possible trimming.

Very interesting. I tried uncovering edits PBC Comics and Sports may have made to some of their listings using the method you described, but I couldn't find anything. Would be very interested to see what you have uncovered.

It seems like maybe they are cropping the pictures of their cards rather than actually trimming all of them?

This program and others like it are best for things like creases and blemishes that can be hidden using brighter scan resolutions.

There's one shady dealer I know who likes to hide such things. He sells a lot of signed index cards. Of course, the software I mentioned makes any issues easy to uncover, but creases and spots on white paper index cards are definitely much easier to spot vs. all the busy card colors. Still, it does often work for cards as well. Worth dabbling with the software to see if it can help you in your quest with any listings.

If other members have similar software suggestions, by all means share!

Many years ago I tried doing some research on Cubs pictures - somehow I determined the size of the 1944 Picture Pack was 6 x 8 1/2 and the size of the 1943 Picture Pack was 6 1/2 x 9. I do not remember how I came up with this anymore. Regarding the 1941 and 1942 this is what I wrote:

((I have found it difficult to separate the 1942 from the 1941 so had taken
people's word. However, I finally ran into a dealer who, when asked, said
he didn't know the difference. I decided to see if I could find the difference
between the 1941 and 1942. I checked the 1941 and 1942 Cubs Players books I have, wrote to the Cubs asking if they had Opening Day Rosters, and contacted another Cubs guy who has a web page. The Player Books didn't help as they were from Spring Training. The Cubs never got back to me and the other Cubs guy couldn't help either. I found players who were with the Cubs in 1941 and not 1942 so that makes them in the 1941 Cub Pack. I found the players who were with the Cubs starting in 1942 so those are definitely 1942. The rest I suspect are 1941 photos used also for 1942 since we were at war and film was probably at a premium. I concluded the Cubs re-used 1941 photos in 1942 for those players who were with them in 1941 to save on supplies. They also may have had some photos left over so it was cheaper and easier to re-use them rather than take new photos.
Then I found a site that listed 1941 Cubs Team Issue and 1942 Team issue
check lists. I used these also as a starting point.))

I then bought a pack that came listed as 1942 so I used that for 1942. There were a couple players who were not with the Cubs in 1941 so that added credibility to it. Then, from an estate, I bought a a 1941 set in an album with a envelope so used that.

The ones I am getting from 1944 and 1943 from PCB are mostly ones that I need for the 1944 set. They were also a couple that only played with the Cubs in 1943. So I will find it interesting to check the size of these and compare with my writing from years ago.

Thanks for that info on the Cubs Picture Packs.

Checklists are all over the place and many are incorrect at worst and misplaced guesses at best.

I've limited mine to 1932, 1939, and 1944. I'd like to add the 1931, but I'm yet to stumble onto one that was cheap, understandably.

I have all the 39's with quite a few extra - know they are 39's because of the textured paper. Have most of 32's missing 5 and some 31's. The 32's measure 6 1/8 X 9 1/4 but I did find some measure 6 1/4. The 31's I have I got years ago from a reputable dealer. If you want any of my 39 extras just PM me and maybe we can work something out.

My 39 and 44 sets are complete. Appreciate it, though.

I hope the couple I picked up from this latest auction ends my 32 set.

My experience was a 1967 OPC Willie Stargell purchase. Scan on eBay looked near mint. Card received was clearly not. I think in my case they cropped the picture to make the corners appear sharper. They did send a refund after I opened a dispute.

734. Short Border Crook
A seller on eBay who deceptively crops his picture to eliminate a little bit on all sides of a lower or mid-grade card to make it magically appear to have four perfectly sharp corners.

Only slightly less shady than a seller who crops the actual card to make it magically appear to have four perfectly sharp corners

I will say, that is how Battlecreek et al. has stayed in business, they have never put up a fight about returns and refunds. Barely a positive when they're committing fraud (or at the very least sneaking up on the line) with the majority of their transactions.

Got my 32 pic.

I can't say who trimmed, but...trimmed...or mislabeled and actually another year.

Well, a change of pace. I got my 31's, 43's and 44's pictures and all was good. I was overcharged for postage as my two orders ended up being combined but he is going to refund me postage.

Yeah, that's why I'm not saying who could be at fault for the trim job on my 32's.

There's no obvious sign of fresh trimming and given the timing of the multiple-year photo postings, it was most likely part of some bulk purchase by the seller.

Slightly disappointed, but they were extremely cheap and I'm just going to hold what I got as a placeholder rather than trying to argue a return.