ACEO reprints - disturbing find, disturbing answer

[chalupacollects]

Mods, feel free to move this to Modern 80's + thread if needed.

Ran across a box of cards with Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Saquon Barkley and Lebron, Steph Curry and a number of other hot new stars with rookie cards that were labeled on the toploaders as reprints. Examining the cards which were Topps, Bowman, Chrome and Donruss that I remember had no such "Reprint" designator on them...all cards were $2-$5 each...and on card stock..

Upon examining them they were pretty high quality inkjet maybe laser repros of real issues. Questioning the lady who was selling them I asked her why she was selling them and she just remarked that she had them marked as reprints on the toploaders... I mentioned the cards themselves weren't marked an maybe she should pull them... she said she would re-mark them so I let it go...


Turns out the cards have a little logo typically around the RC designator of the cards that says "ACEO." Some are bigger and you can actually find them..

ACEO is some sort of graphics arts company you can order from...


Would not the card companies be legally offended that people are reproducing current cards using what you would think are copyrighted images in bulk?

[Leon]

This kind of crosses all of our eras. It's not unlike things we encounter on the pre war side so it's relevant here too, I think. That said, I would seek copyright experts for their opinions. I don't think it's always black and white but I don't know.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

There is so much counterfeit modern on ebay it's not funny. To your question, yes the producing companies should care, the more people who become disenchanted with our hobby the less people to buy new packs. They are incredibly short-sighted in this regard. I actually have a bit of a business connection with Topps and they simply don't care. Try and sell a fake Tiffany bracelet, or Michael Kors bag on ebay. They get taken down nearly instantly because those companies are protecting their brand, even though they don't see any of the money on the secondary market. Why Topps refuses to do this is beyond me.

It is absolutely a violation of Topps trademarks (use of their logo) and property (design, photos etc...) and they are getting better and better all the time, which is scary. Some of the Brady rookies I have seen are phenomenal. Just because this company put something on the card to distinguish it doesn't mean it's still not infringement. To me this is one of, if not the biggest issue the hobby is facing right now and the manufacturers are incredibly short-sighted in not seeing the danger.

[that T206 Guy]

Wow.

I have seen alot of Fake Vintage on eBay but had no idea there were Fake Modern Cards.

Is it Hard to tell on these fake Modern Cards?

[drcy]

Irrelevant to whether or not one marks them as reprints, it's against the law to reproduce products like that-- if the companies choose to file suit. I've long said that a lot of the eBay reprint issues might be solved in Topps, etc decided to have these reprints banned along that line. eBay already removes Coach bags and such, because those fashion companies asked that they be removed, and people can be prosecuted for that. People at sales have their fake brand name jeans confiscated by the authorities.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by drcy

Irrelevant to whether or not one marks them as reprints, it's against the law to reproduce products like that-- if the companies choose to file suit. I've long said that a lot of the eBay reprint issues might be solved in Topps, etc decided to have these reprints banned along that line. eBay already removes Coach bags and such, because those fashion companies asked that they be removed, and people can be prosecuted for that. People at sales have their fake brand name jeans confiscated by the authorities.

LOL you could've just quoted my post since we said the exact same thing.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by that T206 Guy

Wow.

I have seen alot of Fake Vintage on eBay but had no idea there were Fake Modern Cards.

Is it Hard to tell on these fake Modern Cards?

Yes, it is getting harder and harder all the time.

[chalupacollects]

Originally Posted by that T206 Guy

Wow.

I have seen alot of Fake Vintage on eBay but had no idea there were Fake Modern Cards.

Is it Hard to tell on these fake Modern Cards?

There's a bunch on ebay, just search ACEO baseball cards, vintage, modern...

[that T206 Guy]

Originally Posted by chalupacollects

There's a bunch on ebay, just search ACEO baseball cards, vintage, modern...

Those are all Fake "Fantasy" Cards.

I thought you meant they were faking "Real Cards"