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HankronThe best rule of thumb is, when buying online, to buy ungraded T206 Cobbs, 33 Goudey Ruths and such from dealers you know and trust. In a previous post was a list of reliable sellers from this board (and there are others). It is not that reliable sellers never make mistakes (everyone does), but that reliable sellers will give appologize and give you your money back if they do sell you a fake.
Most scams and counterfeits on eBay can be identified and/or highly suspect auctions avoided. Identifiers can include the image of the item (doesn't look real, funny cut, etc), or details in the description (Private auction, All Sales are Final, 'Looks real, but selling as reprint to safe'). Many worry that counterfeiters and scammers are subtle. But to the experienced collector and eBayer, they are about as subtle as a Dick Vitale in a library. They vast majority of counterfeiters aren't trying to fool Rob Lifson or Scott Brockelman-- they're trying to fool people who are impetuous and have no experience or knowledge about the area or auctions.