[Archive]

Posted By: Joann

David,

I agree with your speculation that this forum would be a great place to learn how to make better fakes. On the other hand, I learn a ton from this site about spotting fakes, and would hate to see people stop posting the helps and hints.

I know that many collectors say that the best way to tell the difference is to see and handle many cards, both real and fake. But I'm not financially situated to do that, nor am I geographically located to go to shows regularly.

So I learn visually, and read this forum, and occasionally purchase excellent treatises by experts that describe different printing methods over the years, etc. and how they relate to card authenticity . I watch ebay auctions by seller "carbs" all the time - he sells reprints advertised as such and I have a photo file of his reprints for the different sets just so I have a reference, or can look up where the word 'reprint' appeared. I have the M101 compare and contrast photos from PC's caramel-card.com site in the same file.

So I do try to research it, and appreciate the value of this forum to learn. That doesn't leave anyone any closer to a good balance between teaching honest buyers like me and teaching dishonest sellers, unfortunately.

Joann

PS - I also agree with your comment on not seeing a picture. I do that often on ebay just for practice - see how far I can get in a decision without ever looking at the card itself. One thing I look for is people here appearing in the bid history. So to those of you who routinely bid on the initial bid levels...thanks! I see your names and feel better about authenticity.