What's the real deal with these Cuban cards?

[ElCabron]

I wasn't sure who to call at eBay, so I only filed basic reports on each listing at this point. Tomorrow I'll be calling ebay (not sure if it's possible to reach someone at ebay via phone) to follow up and fill them in on the rest of the details. Not only are the items being auction of questionable authenticity, they are currently in Cuba where they are being exported from. Or at least they were as of yesterday. Kind of a big no no. Anyway, definitely something I'll be staying on top of.

-Ryan

[MW1]

I think some or perhaps all the cards are fakes. In addition to what I've read here and the evidence that has been presented, I know too much about Cuba and the endless scams that are run in that country. Even tellers at major banks in Cuba will attempt to short change foreigners who are exchanging one currency for CUC. And many of the street vendors are even worse. Pick up a travel guide or ask those who travel there regularly. When you have entire shelves in supermarkets that are nearly bare and roads filled with 1950s and 60s automobiles, there is a type of desperation that results. In my opinion, that's playing out here.

[T206DK]

I have a phone number for ebay Ryan

[ctownboy]

Again I am STILL confused!!!!

I thought the sellers were in Spain and that the cards were found in Spain.

Now I am reading there are four people involved ins elling these cards and the cards are in Cuba.

If the sellers are in Cuba and the cards are in Cuba, then why would a person lie about where they are and where the cards are from?

David

[Scocs]

My guess: since Americans are buying these cards, then the owner (in Cuba) ships to seller (in Spain), who then ships to you in USA. Not sure if that's true, but it makes logical sense.

[ctownboy]

Scocs,

I thought that might be what was going on. But, imho, if it is, then that type of deception is another red flag against the authenticity of these cards.

Finding an unknown issue of Cuban baseball cards in Spain adds some credibility to the story. I mean, the thinking would go, "Who in Spain would fake cards and where would they get the source material to do so?". However, if the sellers and cards are both in Cuba then there would be plenty of source material to fake cards and the story wouldn't hold up so well....

Not saying the cards are fakes because I don''t know but changing the location of the seller from Spain to Cuba, to me, seems like it would make a big difference.

I will now sit back and see what happens next.

Somebody please add the popcorn emoticon to this thread....

David

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by ctownboy

I will now sit back and see what happens next.

Somebody please add the popcorn emoticon to this thread....

David

We could just get Gizmo to bring the popcorn..

If only we could get these two to debate each other... I think that would be fun...

[Exhibitman]

So the origins story on eBay is false and designed to evade American law? Yikes!

[ElCabron]

Originally Posted by T206DK

I have a phone number for ebay Ryan

That would be very helpful, Dave. Thanks. Send it to me in a pm.

The reason they are saying the cards are in Spain is because it is illegal to do business with Cuba. You cannot export items from Cuba to the United States. If they said the items were in Cuba, eBay would shut the auctions down. That is why in the auction description, in addition to using my name and lying about me endorsing the cards, they also say "THESE IS A PRE 1959. PRE EMBARGOED ITEM FOUND IN SPAIN. NOT BE JUDGE BY THE EBAY RULES OF EMBARGOED ITEMS."

This, of course, is not true, which eBay will know about tomorrow. If the seller(s) could just resist the urge to run their mouths, I suspect all of this would be playing out quite differently.

For the record, I am still on the fence about the cards. I do think it's possible they are real. But there are so many red flags, I don't see how anyone could feel confident about them now. If eBay shuts the auctions down, maybe that will give Rolando a shot at buying them, which would actually be a happy ending in my opinion. I'm still rooting for them to be real, but it looks less and less likely by the minute, it seems.

-Ryan

[ElCabron]

Also, I would like clear something up about the way Cuba and, more importantly, Cubans are being made to look in this thread. Granted, almost all of it is self-inflicted. But I feel like it's important to say that on the whole, the people of Cuba are the kindest and most generous people I have ever met in any country. Most have very little, but they want to share whatever they have with you. They are extremely friendly, to each other and to visitors. The island itself is one of the most unique places on the planet. It would be a huge mistake to judge the people of Cuba based on the behavior of a handful of them in this thread. There is horrific poverty there, yet it is an island overflowing with riches much more important than money: La Gente!

-Ryan

[aljurgela]

Originally Posted by ElCabron

Also, I would like clear something up about the way Cuba and, more importantly, Cubans are being made to look in this thread. Granted, almost all of it is self-inflicted. But I feel like it's important to say that on the whole, the people of Cuba are the kindest and most generous people I have ever met in any country. Most have very little, but they want to share whatever they have with you. They are extremely friendly, to each other and to visitors. The island itself is one of the most unique places on the planet. It would be a huge mistake to judge the people of Cuba based on the behavior of a handful of them in this thread. There is horrific poverty there, yet it is an island overflowing with riches much more important than money: La Gente!

-Ryan

Well said Ryan. Well said.

Maybe a stupid question and I don't know if somebody has already brought it up, but if the cards in question were produced in Cuba, for the Cuban market, to be bought and sold by Cubans, why is "Batting Average" and "Fielding Average" printed on the back in English? Seems weird to me that two lines are in English and everything else is in Spanish. Why not print them in just Spanish or English?