Has anyone risked a "too good to be true" purchase online, and had a positive result?

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

We've all seen the plentiful ebay listings with UNKNOWN authenticity vintage cards claiming to be attic finds, flea market finds, "selling a collection of a family member", etc., etc. where the seller claims to have no knowledge of baseball cards and the listings typically have low starting bids and a NO RETURN policy.

I think we all assume that 100% of them are fakes/reprints.

Even though I know there is almost NO CHANCE any of those are real, I'll occasionally come across one where the card looks tantalizingly real, or the listing seems particularly genuine. But I've always come to my senses and talked myself out of taking the risk...even on a really low bid. Because 100% of them are fake, right?

So I'm curious...has anyone taken a chance on one of those "too good to be true" ebay listings, only to have it actually work out, and you got an authentic card at a great value?

I'm curious if there are ANY success stories from Net54 members.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by thatkidfromjerrymaguire

We've all seen the plentiful ebay listings with UNKNOWN authenticity vintage cards claiming to be attic finds, flea market finds, "selling a collection of a family member", etc., etc. where the seller claims to have no knowledge of baseball cards and the listings typically have low starting bids and a NO RETURN policy.

I think we all assume that 100% of them are fakes/reprints.

Even though I know there is almost NO CHANCE any of those are real, I'll occasionally come across one where the card looks tantalizingly real, or the listing seems particularly genuine. But I've always come to my senses and talked myself out of taking the risk...even on a really low bid. Because 100% of them are fake, right?

So I'm curious...has anyone taken a chance on one of those "too good to be true" ebay listings, only to have it actually work out, and you got an authentic card at a great value?

I'm curious if there are ANY success stories from Net54 members.

I took a chance one time on a raw 1948 Leaf Satchel Paige because it was sold by the "Hardcore Pawn" people who had that TV show. You know...the Gold's??? Unforutnately, it was NOT a happy ending...the card was fake, and although I got reimbursed, I lost out on a hefty grading fee.

[yanks87]

I did it one time 4 years ago on a 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson. The card had been listed on eBay, sold, listed again. The seller was responsive, but odd in their replies. I poked and prodded on how it was acquired, the back story etc, and it fits into everything that you listed above. Estate find, selling for a friend, EVERY RED FLAG was up. But for whatever reason, (probably because it felt right after collecting Leaf cards for so long), I pulled the trigger and bought it for $500. I was nervous as HELL, even after the card showed up. I shipped it to PSA, and checked every minute, every day until I heard back from them. PSA 4. It was the first, and last time that I would do that over the internet. I bought a '33 Goudey Ruth at an estate auction 8 years ago, and being able to hold and examine the card makes a HUGE difference.

[bnorth]

I was looking for a complete beater set from the 50's. I had a limit on price that I could afford. Had a fellow member email me saying he had one for sale. His price was firm and about 10% above my limit.

Really glad i bought it. I paid beater price for a complete set that SGC graded at a NrMint average.

[packs]

My luck has only extended to autographs. I bought this Grover Alexander baseball for $80:

[drcy]

As someone who worked in art and artifacts authentication, I've seen lots of fakes but have also had people who said they had no clue but had the real deal.

Including a guy who bought a Salvador Dali original print on a lark, and said "Not only do I not know if it's real, I have no idea how to find out." It was genuine.

[Howe’s Hunter]

Sometime between 1998 and 2003, there was a Maggie error card was on eBay that the seller listed as having just found, had done some research but said he didn’t know if the card was altered or the real thing. Everyone agreed it was an original but didn’t know if it had been scraped, erased, etc. Looked real to me but I was under-bidder by what ended up to be less than one dollar. In those days, you could contact the winner of a lot by eBay messages so I just asked if he planned on grading and if so would he let me know how it turned out. We exchanged messages off and on for about a month before he got his PSA 4 Maggie error card back.

That he won on eBay for $198.00.

Missed it by this much ...

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Howe’s Hunter

Sometime between 1998 and 2003, there was a Maggie error card was on eBay that the seller listed as having just found, had done some research but said he didn’t know if the card was altered or the real thing. Everyone agreed it was an original but didn’t know if it had been scraped, erased, etc. Looked real to me but I was under-bidder by what ended up to be less than one dollar. In those days, you could contact the winner of a lot by eBay messages so I just asked if he planned on grading and if so would he let me know how it turned out. We exchanged messages off and on for about a month before he got his PSA 4 Maggie error card back.

That he won on eBay for $198.00.

Missed it by this much ...

Ouch....that is one of those that you should have went a little stronger on the snipe!!

[mantleman]

In 2007ish there was a guy on Ebay (with very low feedback and nothing related to baseball cards) who had a large amount of 1955 and 1956 Topps singles he claimed were from his relatives collection when he was a kid in the 1950's. They were all raw and included all the stars from Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, and Sandy Koufax, no Mantles though.

They were all BIN's, not auctions, and only lasted a couple of weeks for sale. I purchased 3 1955 Topps Ted Williams, 2 1956 Topps Sandy Koufax and a 1955 Topps Hank Aaron for I think $300 total. When I got them back graded, they were all SGC 84 (7), except for one of the 1955 Ted Williams which was an SGC 88!!

By the time I went back to see if more were still available they were all gone.

Andy

[JeremyW]

This card was listed on Ebay as a reprint. I gambled on it & was very happy with the result.

[steve B]

I've had more of them in other hobbies, but have had a few in cards.

A card simply listed as "old baseball card" with a blurry pic of a Goerge C Miller.
It was a beater, but real. And the way it's beat up matches my others. The price was Ok, but not amazing.

A couple T206s sold ungraded with the usual seller warnings that they don't know what it would grade - they did pretty well.

The bikes and stamps.... Loads of deals on iffy listings, or just poor listings.

[Fastball]

Interesting thread because I will admit I did this very thing once a while back. However, up to this point I haven't put any effort into determining if it is authentic. So, upon disclosure I welcome any suggestions or help, or perhaps feel free to laugh. There was an auction on eBay that I saw close to the end that was selling a an original tintype photograph of Cy Young. There was a letter of provenance that said it came from his estate. I have no idea how to prove if the picture is really Cy Young; but, I thought it was cool enough and so I said what the heck. I don't have the picture here with me but can post it later. The truth is still yet to be determined or perhaps it's one of those cases where you'll just never know. But I even though I knew it was likely too good to be true, I did it anyway, but rarely do that.

[egri]

A few months ago, an eBay seller listed a lot of four signed 1953 Topps, including Fred Hutchinson. The photo on the listing was terrible (I could barely see the signatures, much less make an assessment) but at something like $80 for the lot, I figured it was worth a shot. I pulled the trigger, and they turned out to be four very nice vintage signatures, including a very bold Hutchinson. Two others were upgrades.

He also had a lot of 1951 Bowmans that had a Hutchinson, but by the time I went back, it was gone.

[IMG][/IMG]

[D. Bergin]

Back in the early years of Ebay I used to do searches for oddball playing card types, and ran across a lot of a couple dozen Fan Craze baseball cards, including a bunch of minor HOF'ers.

No pictures, just a written description. Probably won the lot for under 50 bucks. I was ecstatic when they showed up.

[seanofjapan]

I live in Japan and collect vintage Japanese cards.

The great thing about collecting here is that the hobby is in some ways like it was in the US in the 60s and 70s - there are still hoards of old (1930s-1960s) cards out there owned by people who are just looking to get rid of them and have no idea what they are or that they are worth anything. So when you see a "too good to be true" opportunity it almost always turns out to be both "good" and "true". Antique dealers are really good sources for vintage stuff since most of them don't know what they have on their hands either.

Stuff like this is what collecting here is like: https://baseballcardsinjapan.blogspo...40s-menko.html

[robw1959]

One time I saw an eBay ad selling a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card #144 for $1,000 on a Buy-It-Now. The card was supposedly graded PSA 3, but there were no pictures in the ad, and the seller's eBay rating was just 1. I pulled the trigger on it anyway, figuring that both eBay and PayPal had my back. To my surprise, about four days later the card came in the mail as a nice looking PSA 3 Ruth card, with the only issue being some light water staining around the edges. Nice deal!

[icurnmedic]

Bought a 1951 Mantle around 2010, raw, $1000. Came back SGC 2.5 at the time $1700 ish. However, interestingly enough, eBay cancelled the transaction as if it never happened, AFTER I had already paid for and received the card. Never figured that one out.

[Promethius88]

Not pre-war and not all ungraded vintage, but... back around 2000, there was a lot of cards listed on Ebay, mostly graded and had a reserve set. Seller didn't have high feedback. I was the high bidder but it hadn't reached the reserve. Seller reached out to me asking if I still wanted to buy it for the same price. He claimed he was in college and needed the money to fix his car. His story about where he got the cards was odd because I could see in his purchase history that he bought them within the last few months...and paid a lot more. He lived about 2 hours south of where I lived at the time so we agreed to just meet in public. When we met up, he sure as heck had what he said. I don't remember everything, but it was about $3k worth of cards at the time. PSA 8(centered) 58 Topps Mantle AS, Brock rookie PSA 8, Bench rookie PSA 8, Bird/Magic PSA 8, 2001 Topps Rookie Reprints Auto Walter Payton PSA 10 as well as a few other higher graded stars. The lot also included a raw NM Ryan rookie. The card had a wavy top border and I thought it may have been trimmed. Turns out it was just oversized and miscut. Best part was the guy wanted me to pay the $10 shipping charge he had listed in the auction. I pointed out that he didn't ship the cards but gave him the extra money anyway. Good deal for $710

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Some good stories so far. It sounds like every once in a while some of these suspicious sounding deals turn out to be the real deal. Which will only make it that much more tempting in the future when I see a fuzzy scan of someone selling his uncle's Babe Ruth card of unknown origin

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by seanofjapan

I live in Japan and collect vintage Japanese cards.

The great thing about collecting here is that the hobby is in some ways like it was in the US in the 60s and 70s - there are still hoards of old (1930s-1960s) cards out there owned by people who are just looking to get rid of them and have no idea what they are or that they are worth anything. So when you see a "too good to be true" opportunity it almost always turns out to be both "good" and "true". Antique dealers are really good sources for vintage stuff since most of them don't know what they have on their hands either.

Stuff like this is what collecting here is like: https://baseballcardsinjapan.blogspo...40s-menko.html

Fun read, thanks for sharing!

[mossy56]

Bought an album page that was signed by Mel Ott, Rogers Hornsby and Roger Bresnahan. Most people didn't notice the Bresnahan. I bought it for $800. Sold the Ott and Horsnby as cuts for $800 and kept the Bresnahan and got it slabbed PSA DNA. So basically it cost me $150 for a Bresnahan.

[xbaggypants]

I was lucky enough to win the majority of these lots with some very valuable hockey cards: https://ebay.ca/sch/blueantique1/m.h...p2046732.m1684

[h2oya311]

In 2014, I bought a 1935 Wheaties Lou Gehrig (w/ nice full ornate borders) for $19.14 off eBay ($9.99 + $9.15 shipping). It had all the signs of trouble (poor image, low feedback, no other cards for sale by the seller, etc., etc.), and I don't believe it was listed in the usual spot on eBay. But something inside of me told me to take a chance. So I did. By the way, this was not a Buy It Now, this was a full-blown 7-day auction. When I got the card, I was floored that it was the real deal. The back had "$8" written in pencil. Ironically, that's pretty much what I paid for it.

Funny thing is, the seller felt that he "overcharged" me for shipping and refunded me $3.84 to get in line with the actual shipping cost. Oy vay. I feel like such a schmuck today now that I am recalling this "win".

I later traded the Gehrig for a very nice looking T205 Cobb that I subsequently consigned to an AH. It sold for $780. I'd say that the reward outweighed the risk.

By the way, the next thread should be about the bone-headed moves we've all made and later regretted (specifically as it relates to "too good to be true"). I've had plenty of those that have likely fully negated my very few wins.

[Exhibitman]

I often pick up cards that the seller doesn't know about; a benefit of being into some niche items. However, on the risk-reward scale this is one that comes to mind:



I'd been looking for a Dr. J RC for a while and came across this one, raw, for $90. I assumed it was possibly trimmed, damaged, fake, whatever, but the seller was local and there was the eBay/PayPal refund thing so I took the risk. The card looked great, measured out, etc., so I sent it to PSA and got back the 8. Still have it, BTW.

[guy3050]

Back in May I found a 1st game program/scorecard from the Expos 1st Home opener in 1969 Online , while I was at the older gentleman's house he showed me another program/scorecard cover from 1969 against the Pirates , he got the autograph himself back in 1969 , I offered him $225 and he accepted ,Here is the autograph ,I found a cool picutre of Roberto signing autographs at Jarry Park and got both framed together.

thumbnail_IMG_1536 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

thumbnail_IMG_7097 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

[xbaggypants]

Originally Posted by guy3050

Back in May I found a 1st game program/scorecard from the Expos 1st Home opener in 1969 , while I was at the older gentleman's house he showed me another program/scorecard cover from 1969 against the Pirates , he got the autograph himself back in 1969 , I offered him $225 and he accepted ,Here is the autograph ,I found a cool picutre of Roberto signing autographs at Jarry Park and got both framed together.

thumbnail_IMG_1536 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

thumbnail_IMG_7097 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

Nice!

[japhi]

Originally Posted by guy3050

Back in May I found a 1st game program/scorecard from the Expos 1st Home opener in 1969 , while I was at the older gentleman's house he showed me another program/scorecard cover from 1969 against the Pirates , he got the autograph himself back in 1969 , I offered him $225 and he accepted ,Here is the autograph ,I found a cool picutre of Roberto signing autographs at Jarry Park and got both framed together.

thumbnail_IMG_1536 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

thumbnail_IMG_7097 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

Incroyable!

[kevinlenane]

I am in the middle of an ill advised risk on a scrapbook containing some questionable and damaged Goudey cards I'll tell you in a week if it was worth it...

[Hxcmilkshake]

Originally Posted by guy3050

Back in May I found a 1st game program/scorecard from the Expos 1st Home opener in 1969 Online , while I was at the older gentleman's house he showed me another program/scorecard cover from 1969 against the Pirates , he got the autograph himself back in 1969 , I offered him $225 and he accepted ,Here is the autograph ,I found a cool picutre of Roberto signing autographs at Jarry Park and got both framed together.

thumbnail_IMG_1536 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

thumbnail_IMG_7097 by Guy Bourque, on Flickr

You win the thread

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[toledo_mudhen]

This

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BABE-RUTH-1...p2047675.l2557

is probably not going to turn out well

[Econteachert205]

I still have the Gehrig and love it!

Originally Posted by h2oya311

In 2014, I bought a 1935 Wheaties Lou Gehrig (w/ nice full ornate borders) for $19.14 off eBay ($9.99 + $9.15 shipping). It had all the signs of trouble (poor image, low feedback, no other cards for sale by the seller, etc., etc.), and I don't believe it was listed in the usual spot on eBay. But something inside of me told me to take a chance. So I did. By the way, this was not a Buy It Now, this was a full-blown 7-day auction. When I got the card, I was floored that it was the real deal. The back had "$8" written in pencil. Ironically, that's pretty much what I paid for it.

Funny thing is, the seller felt that he "overcharged" me for shipping and refunded me $3.84 to get in line with the actual shipping cost. Oy vay. I feel like such a schmuck today now that I am recalling this "win".

I later traded the Gehrig for a very nice looking T205 Cobb that I subsequently consigned to an AH. It sold for $780. I'd say that the reward outweighed the risk.

By the way, the next thread should be about the bone-headed moves we've all made and later regretted (specifically as it relates to "too good to be true"). I've had plenty of those that have likely fully negated my very few wins.

[Jim65]

Not a card but a few years ago I bought a 1987 Keith Hernandez Mets jersey the seller had advertised as an autographed retail. I was just getting back into collecting game used so my knowledge was lacking but I had a feeling it was game used. I bought it and turned out to be genuine. Best $200 I ever spent.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by Econteachert205

I still have the Gehrig and love it!

I knew you’d put two and two together! There aren’t (m)any Gehrigs out there with those same characteristics...

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by packs

My luck has only extended to autographs. I bought this Grover Alexander baseball for $80:

Killer ball
That is by far the most impressive deal in this thread!

[Popcorn]

I took a chance on a 52 Topps Mantle a couple years ago that was listed as a $150 BIN. It was beat to heck and only graded Authentic but I was very pleased obviously.

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by drcy

As someone who worked in art and artifacts authentication, I've seen lots of fakes but have also had people who said they had no clue but had the real deal.

Including a guy who bought a Salvador Dali original print on a lark, and said "Not only do I not know if it's real, I have no idea how to find out." It was genuine.

I hear this ALL the time. "I don't know much about this piece, but I know 100% it is real."

[Leon]

So when one of these deals happens isn't the waiting for the item to be delivered greatly anticipated and a little nerve racking? Fortunately this time there is a good return policy.... It (they)are out for delivery so we will see if they turn out to be hero's or a zero's. ..............(for the record, these today turned out to be duds.)

[Steve D]

I bought a raw T3 Ty Cobb about 16 years ago from a small unknown seller on ebay, that I wasn't completely sure about.

I sent it in to PSA and it came back a 1 (due to a missing bottom corner). The rest of the card though, is flawless.

Steve

[BabyRuth]

Back in 2012 I was scouring Craigslist and found an add for a signed Babe Ruth program. The guy said his mom bought it for him back in 1993. He had a letter from Mark Jordan Autographs (he now works at Heritage). I met the guy in a Friendly's parking lot. Really weird guy, he wanted $4500 for the program.
After haggling for a while he came down to $2500, and said he'll sweeten the pot. He pulls out a signed dinner menu with Cobb, Aaron, Musial, Kaline from his trunk under all kinds of junk, along with original photos from the event (pics of Musial a little Tipsey, Cobb with a Cigarette, etc). He then comes down to $2K for both signed items. I haggle a little more - He throws in a Mantle/Williams signed ball - We settle on $1900 for everything.

Oh and did I mention the Ruth program was also signed by Walter Johnson and was for the War Bond game on August 23, 1942!!!!
It's a jumbo 4 inch signature - just gorgeous!!

I brought everything to JSA at the White Plains NY show a week later - and everything was spot on authentic!!!!!

The biggest score of my collecting days

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

Back in 2012 I was scouring Craigslist and found an add for a signed Babe Ruth program. The guy said his mom bought it for him back in 1993. He had a letter from Mark Jordan Autographs (he now works at Heritage). I met the guy in a Friendly's parking lot. Really weird guy, he wanted $4500 for the program.
After haggling for a while he came down to $2500, and said he'll sweeten the pot. He pulls out a signed dinner menu with Cobb, Aaron, Musial, Kaline from his trunk under all kinds of junk, along with original photos from the event (pics of Musial a little Tipsey, Cobb with a Cigarette, etc). He then comes down to $2K for both signed items. I haggle a little more - He throws in a Mantle/Williams signed ball - We settle on $1900 for everything.

Oh and did I mention the Ruth program was also signed by Walter Johnson and was for the War Bond game on August 23, 1942!!!!
It's a jumbo 4 inch signature - just gorgeous!!

I brought everything to JSA at the White Plains NY show a week later - and everything was spot on authentic!!!!!

The biggest score of my collecting days

His mom bought it for him? Yeah, that doesn't smell of B&E and selling for drug money.

[BabyRuth]

Ya - his mom bought it for him in 1993, I have the letter from Mark Jordan and the paperwork and credit card slip that she bought it with (all with her name on it).

No B+E, all legit. Why does everyone have to be so negative all the time, Maybe just enjoy a good feel good story once in a while!
That's what this hobby and this forum is all about.

He was just a weird kinda guy from a small Vermont town, but was harmless, not a druggie, just a bit off.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

Ya - his mom bought it for him in 1993, I have the letter from Mark Jordan and the paperwork and credit card slip that she bought it with (all with her name on it).

No B+E, all legit. Why does everyone have to be so negative all the time, Maybe just enjoy a good feel good story once in a while!
That's what this hobby and this forum is all about.

He was just a weird kinda guy from a small Vermont town, but was harmless, not a druggie, just a bit off.

I'm not sure how that is a feel good story for anyone but yourself. You got a guy who obviously needed money to go down from 4500 to 1900 while throwing in a bunch of stuff. Sleep well.

[shagrotn77]

Originally Posted by mr2686

I'm not sure how that is a feel good story for anyone but yourself. You got a guy who obviously needed money to go down from 4500 to 1900 while throwing in a bunch of stuff. Sleep well.

Nobody put a gun to the guy's head. Maybe find someone else to pick on.

[Kzoo]

After it popped up on Ebay on Memorial Day in 2017, I studied this Campanella for a week. I was 99% sure of the sig and took the chance. The guy was selling it for his neighbor in Florida, whose husband was deceased, but used to be an autograph collector. All other items from his collection had sold years prior, but she found this card and a 48 Bowman signed Berra RC (Mill Creek still has it for sale) while cleaning out her roll top desk. I think starting bid was $25 and it's the most expensive thing I ever bought on Ebay. I had butterflies in my stomach for weeks, first waiting for it to arrive, then waiting for a response from PSA. Happy how it turned out.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

Back in 2012 I was scouring Craigslist and found an add for a signed Babe Ruth program. The guy said his mom bought it for him back in 1993. He had a letter from Mark Jordan Autographs (he now works at Heritage). I met the guy in a Friendly's parking lot. Really weird guy, he wanted $4500 for the program.
After haggling for a while he came down to $2500, and said he'll sweeten the pot. He pulls out a signed dinner menu with Cobb, Aaron, Musial, Kaline from his trunk under all kinds of junk, along with original photos from the event (pics of Musial a little Tipsey, Cobb with a Cigarette, etc). He then comes down to $2K for both signed items. I haggle a little more - He throws in a Mantle/Williams signed ball - We settle on $1900 for everything.

Oh and did I mention the Ruth program was also signed by Walter Johnson and was for the War Bond game on August 23, 1942!!!!
It's a jumbo 4 inch signature - just gorgeous!!

I brought everything to JSA at the White Plains NY show a week later - and everything was spot on authentic!!!!!

The biggest score of my collecting days

That Hank Aaron autograph is gorgeous! I Never see any like that on ebay.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by todeen

That Hank Aaron autograph is gorgeous! I Never see any like that on ebay.

You probably won't for the most part. Although he used that style of H in the 50's and into the 60's...slowly started morphing to what it is today, the Capital A in is last name seems to show up in 1958, mainly on balls, but goes back to the large lowercase A after that.

[Jason19th]

Just posted s bunch of images on the memorabilia side. Picked up a real 1945 Negro Baseball Pictorial Year Book for 35.00. I think most assumed it was a reprint

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Jason19th

Just posted s bunch of images on the memorabilia side. Picked up a real 1945 Negro Baseball Pictorial Year Book for 35.00. I think most assumed it was a reprint

That is a great pickup. I would have thought it to be fake also. Congrats. As stated, most of my great finds lately have ended up in returns.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by mr2686

His mom bought it for him? Yeah, that doesn't smell of B&E and selling for drug money.

Hey, don't discount mothers. My mom bought me a ton of stuff between the ages of about 11 and 14. There were no legit Ruth autos, no, however there were more than a few Mickey Mantle cards.

[Tripredacus]

Not card related, but I had bought an untested laserdisc player on Ebay for $20 shipped and it worked just fine.