OT: 3.5 Million Dollar Scam - Pokemon Cards Certified by BBCE

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by Frank A

I can't help it, but I find something fishy about this whole deal. A group of guys pay over 3 million dollars for an unopened box and can't wait to open it. BS. There is no card in the set worth anything near that. Then one of them does the jumping around overacting deal. All to staged looking for me. Something fishy went on with that case. I don't believe it a bit.

Did they make a video about this that would draw viewers? Absolutely. That said no way in hell it's "staged"

Steve Hart and BBCE have just taken a HUGE reputation hit - no way he agrees for that to happen for a stunt. Secondly - Steve has now publicly stated he is no longer authenticating Pokemon product. Why did it get opened? I suspect Logan Paul started looking at some of what was posted about this case which he may have been unaware of before he bought it. There is another "unopened" case that has one side of the top flap cut open to show the real boxes inside. I do presume Logan already had a commitment from his friend who he bought it from to refund if they were no good. I also suspect he would have kept the case intact with a single flap opened like the other if the boxes looked legit.

You can see the bus coming at you - "not believe" it's a bus and it's still going to run you over!

[Peter_Spaeth]

I wonder if Steve was made aware of the barcode and label issues between the time he authenticated the case and the video fiasco.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I wonder if Steve was made aware of the barcode and label issues between the time he authenticated the case and the video fiasco.

Hard to believe he'd voluntarily take part in that video had he discovered the case was likely a fabrication.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Hard to believe he'd voluntarily take part in that video had he discovered the case was likely a fabrication.

Right, which means San and Logan withheld the information from him. THEY knew the odds were this was going to be a bust, but led him on. With respect to Howard and others, something is just off about that video.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Right, which means San and Logan withheld the information from him. THEY knew the odds were this was going to be a bust, but led him on. With respect to Howard and others, something is just off about that video.

IMO, you're reading too much into it. If they would have divulged that info to Steve/BBCE beforehand, it's likely that he wouldn't have met with them. That's just my $.02.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

IMO, you're reading too much into it. If they would have divulged that info to Steve/BBCE beforehand, it's likely that he wouldn't have met with them. That's just my $.02.

I think that was my point. They led him on because they wanted him to be in the video.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I think that was my point. They led him on because they wanted him to be in the video.

Ok, understood. But I think it was important for him to be there for a couple of reasons: (1) he could confirm that the BBCE shrink-wrap hadn't been tampered with since it left his facility and (2) he could give his justification for authenticating the case originally.

If it were me and I had spent that much money, I would want the authenticator to be there.

[swarmee]

But if you're Steve and this is coming back to you based on rumors from the internet, wouldn't he have the common sense to read those rumors? It's like he wasn't even aware of them, since all he talked about before they cracked it was the condition of the label (fake) and the tape (fake). Or someone from his business should have pulled him aside with all the information. The meeting in the hotel room was like 3-5 days *after* all the information was out there on video and webpages explaining the rationale it was fake. That's a lot of time that he had to look into the challenges.

Reminds me of the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Steve should have known the phrase "penitent man" before walking into a buzzsaw.

[japhi]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Right, which means San and Logan withheld the information from him. THEY knew the odds were this was going to be a bust, but led him on. With respect to Howard and others, something is just off about that video.

All the information on the case was available online. Going in to that video it was widely known the case had serious issues. Further, provenance on the case was brutal. I think Steve is a hobby good guy, but if he was blindsided by this then I question his approach to authentication and wonder if he owns a computer.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by japhi

All the information on the case was available online. Going in to that video it was widely known the case had serious issues. Further, provenance on the case was brutal. I think Steve is a hobby good guy, but if he was blindsided by this then I question his approach to authentication and wonder if he owns a computer.

Of course he owns a computer, he does business online and through ebay. Maybe though he doesn't read Pokémon forums or whatever other obscure places this stuff was posted. If you're Logan or San and are genuinely interested in Steve's ongoing opinion, why not tell him about the information and get his thoughts? Or is he just a prop for the video now?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Of course he owns a computer, he does business online and through ebay. Maybe though he doesn't read Pokémon forums or whatever other obscure places this stuff was posted.

There were multiple threads on Blowout and Collector's Universe about it before Steve showed up, and Youtube videos with millions of views at that time. And I'd have to bet if he checked his emails, there would have been many people alerting him to his name being dragged through the mud. Or maybe he just doesn't have many friends. Even PSA should have been contacting him once it hit their message board.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Of course he owns a computer, he does business online and through ebay. Maybe though he doesn't read Pokémon forums or whatever other obscure places this stuff was posted. If you're Logan or San and are genuinely interested in Steve's ongoing opinion, why not tell him about the information and get his thoughts? Or is he just a prop for the video now?

I don't follow Pokemon, but knew all about this before the reveal. This was not hidden in the obscurities of the internet. This was being brought up in other forums and social media sports card groups because of the crossover.

Steve Hart can't even be bothered to research a case that he is authenticating, so it doesn't surprise me that he didn't do any research going into this meeting.



å̵̧͇̭͉͙̜͠n̴̨̻̬͙̯̗̋̎́̒̾͛̈́̾̕d̸̳̱̗̖̖̟͆͐̂́y̵̆͗̓̋̿̋̉͗̈ ̩́ ̷̢̧̗̳̫̭̼̒̒͗̇͐̉͒͠͝n̴̨̬̣͋̌͌̀̌̄e̵̘̞̙̯̯̰͋́̀̋͘͜u̵͌̾̉̇͐͂ ͙̜͙̤̗͍̤̥̽̈́b̶̡̛͕̋̃͒̒͛̐e̷̥̠̟̓͂͋̐r̴̗̜̲͇̘̙̾̾t̴̛͗͋͌ ̹͙̠̎

[japhi]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Of course he owns a computer, he does business online and through ebay. Maybe though he doesn't read Pokémon forums or whatever other obscure places this stuff was posted. If you're Logan or San and are genuinely interested in Steve's ongoing opinion, why not tell him about the information and get his thoughts? Or is he just a prop for the video now?

I was being facetious on the computer comment....

But I'd suggest that if you are in the business of authenticating 7 figure Pokemon cases you may want to follow the Poke forums and use all tools available to you. Hard to become a subject matter expert without any interest in the subject.

He also failed on hundreds of star on front cellos that were out of sequence, sequencing that is available online.

In a day and age when you can learn to build a house, or tear down a Chevy 350 online seems like a missed opportunity.