Sweeney no B on ebay, what is this card really worth?

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Posted By: Lee

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31719&item=2707389607
I am new to collecting t206s, and I have been watching this card for a few days. How much are they worth. I have been collecting Boston Teams, and I have been seeing things about the mysterious no b sweeney. Will this card appreciate? Any thoughts would be welcome.
Thanks

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Posted By: petecld

Lee,

I don't think there are any guarantees regarding this type of card keeping its value nor going back up to where it used to sell for. History is a good teacher and those lessons show that the value of this card won't become a high dollar card again.

A card is merely worth what someone will pay. At one time this card was a high $$$ card selling for thousands and then the card was looked at with a little more scrutiny and the realization that it is simply a printing error has brought the price down. There are collectors that prize these type of printing errors and many who don't.

Pay what you're comfortable with but I wouldn't advise putting your life savings into this type of card.

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Posted By: Hankron

If you are interested in these types of printing errors and want to buy one, go for it. However, my guess is that these types of errors will not appreceate well in the future. It's not even a 'No B,' it's a 'faint B'. This is not a judgement on whether the card is good or bad, but on its 'earning power.'

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Posted By: Robert

I don't know if it is just me but the printing of the name and team on that card look to be black? What do you guys think? Rob

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Robert
The card is Legit. The printing is brown, not black.
Be well Brian

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Posted By: Robert

Thanks Brian. Rob

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Posted By: Robert

I emailed him and asked if I could see a close up scan of Sweeney's name and team name. To me the print looks black. Rob

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Posted By: TBob

just an attempt by a seller or previous owner to try and make it a Sweeney "No B" by doing something to fade the red letters? Just wondering. I wonder if the card smells like bleach?

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

He quit the original listing and started a new one with a reserve and no explantion as to why he quit the first one. I certainly wouldn't rebid under those circumstances.

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi All
First of all in my opinion the card is Legit, I have quite a few Boston cards with little or no red ink and this card is no different. I have had numerous conversations with the seller and was planning to bid on the item, but I probably won't now. Apparently the seller didn't feel the card was going to reach his established sell price so he ended the auction early and relisted with a reserve. I have expressed my displeasure with this action, as I'm sure others have as well. Bottom line, either use a reserve or live with the final selling price. Be well Brian

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Posted By: First Last

who cares if he restarted the auction. still the same card, right?

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi All
I had a conversation with the seller this afternoon about the postings of the board and the subsequent cancellation of the auction. I offered to post his response:

To all those concerned, I feel terrible about the mess this has turned into. I initially posted the card on ebay without reserve and fully intended to complete the auction, letting the card stand on it's own merits. Initially, I was unaware of this website and at around 8:30 Bigb13 contacted me asking for a close up of the player's name and team name. I scrambled around and posted the new scan and contacted him to say it was up. Shortly after that I received several emails implying the card was a fake because of black ink on the card, and one guy telling me the card was definetly fake. I knew the card was real, but I started looking at the card with a jewlers loupe and I panicked, wondering if he knew something I didn't(I eventually took the card to have it inspected with a microscope, and all is well). Today someone emailed me asking if I had bleached the card, or if I knew it had been bleached.(tbob,I have bought cards from you on ebay, and I know you were kidding,but obviously this guy didn't.)The items that I usually buy and sell on ebay are watches, and I have seen perfectly fine watchesattacked as fakeson the varoius watch websites, because someone thinks something doesn't look right,something about the lighting or the angleof the picture,etc and the bidding dies right there. This is what I thought happened last night. And I pulled the auction at 2:00 am. I have never pulled an auction,(check my feedback)and I wasn't aware I was breaking an ebay rule. In talking with Brian I realize what a cheesy thing this was to do.To all that I have offended. I sincerly apologize, if this causes you not to bid, well that is on me. I am going to add my reserve of 1800 to the text of the auction.
Thanks for looking
Myer

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Posted By: TBob

Myer- it was a tongue in cheek remark. Sorry if anyone took it seriously. The only cards I have ever known to be bleached are Cracker Jacks (to get the caramel stains out).
Bob

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Posted By: brian parker

In no way do I mean to imply that this seller has done anything, but I thought I would relay my experiences with some T206 cards. Many a moon ago I picked up a group of T206 cards with very white borders. I eventually showed them to Mark MaCrae, who believed them to have been chemically lightened. They even had a fresh out of the laundromat 'bleachy' smell (people, always take the time to stop and smell your cards!) Slightly beside the point, but still upsetting to me to this day, I had a very difficult time securing my money back from the very reputable dealer that I had received the cards from, and eventually had to settle for a partial refund. Cracker Jacks are indeed the cards that most commonly receive this type of treatment (that is why you see so many CJ's with horrendous border nibbles--over time this process seems to make the thin paper used on the cards brittle), but any card is a candidate for the scammer to squeeze more bucks out of the unwary.

Besides the sniff test, does any one know of good way to detect a 'bleached' card?

Brian

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Posted By: Hankron

Some, but by no means all, bleaches have optical brighteners added to them (opitical brighteners are chemicals specificially added to products to make them appear brighter), which may cause the bleached areas to glow brightly or at least abnormally under black light.

As bleach obviously has such a distinct and strong smell, the sniff test is often the most important and definitive.

Also, realize that the borders on a T206, for example, is an extension of the entire card front. By this I mean that, before printing, the entire front of the card was 'plastered' in a white coating. An isolated area of white (no ink) in the T206 player image should be about as bright as the white borders. Often times, the white boarders are brightend by dipping only the white edges of the card in the bleach. This means that the borders while be substantially and abnormally more white than the white areas in the image (center area).

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Posted By: Hankron

The later should also apply to the pencil erasure technique of brightening borders. Easuring will usually alter the gloss/texture of the surface, which is noticeable by comparing it to other cards from the issue.