More Reprints

I do believe this is the only auction I have ever seen from him. Good thing he Stamped the backs to tell them apart from the real T3's.

To be honest if I had not read the description and looked at the pic I would have never know. I don't know jack about T3's and would have assumed those marks were part of the card. IMO all reprints should be definitive and not so close to the originals that it takes an expert collector to tell the difference

[buymycards]

I just want to say that I have made purchases from his ebay store and I have always been pleased. Mike's grading is accurate and he ships quickly. I have traded with him through the BST and he has always been fair and easy to trade with.

He does clearly state that this is a reproduction, so he isn't trying to fool anyone. I do agree that these reprints should have a separate category so they aren't included in a search for originals.

Rick

[HRBAKER]

Mike has been around a long time and is great to deal with. There is no intent to fool anyone here. This particular T3 is a fantasy card much like his set of Deadball Exhibits.

[Bigb13]

Hey Andrew do a search this is not his only card he has 113 listings. And being an old time dealer he should know that a lot of us do not want to see this junk when we do a search in vintage because there is nothing vintage about them. Rob

Don't get me wrong guys I have had a few transactions with Mike. He is 5 stars all the way. Most of the items he has are not what I go after anyways and never show up in auction style.

To touch on what Rick said as far a grading and pricing goes I am not so sure IMO. I can see listing a card for over value in order to provoke a decent offer but the fact that there are no BO's allowed keeps me from buying more, and the same cards are listed for months on end due to this.

Back to the original post. Like I said I would have never known that this was a reprint just by looking at it. Which leads me to believe that someone could very well pass this thing off for an original to someone.

"Hey I have a super rare T3 Turkey Red for sale. It was just discoved in a recent find in a Virginia attic. There are only a few known copies of Jackson in existance and have not made it into the publication books yet."

Anyone see were this could be going in the wrong hands. I know everyone needs to make money, and I will be the first one to tell you I used to not care, but after being burned several times I do care about the hobby regardless of the item or card for sale. I actually think that this post could be negative toward Mike. Maybe it was meant to be but he is a good seller and buyer, just trying to make some money. Hell maybe I am off on everything and I don't know what the hell I am talking about.

[SteveMitchell]

Richard Cline's minority view expresses my view well. As one of average means, I derive enjoyment from my T205 reprint set and would not appreciate having half (or more) of the value of my house tied up in a set of originals.

Rick McQuillan's comment that a special category ought to be created by eBay for reprints is clearly sound from both the collector's view and from the standpoint of protecting the unaware.

Baseball cards and their "great value", however, is not something new - as it was when the hobby was heating up in the 1970's and early eighties. A certain level of knowledge ought to be expected and demonstrated by one spending serious money for cards of questionable authenticity. For example, sometime in the 1970's or '80s there was a good quality set of Cracker Jack baseball cards issued. They are not marked "reprint" but to one even passively familiar with the basics of the issue, they cannot be passed as original. Still, marking "reprint" or some other method - as Mike Wheat does - is important to preserve the integrity of our fine hobby.

For me, the Mike Wheat T3's are great and, like my T205 reprint set, a valued part of my collection. And I'm looking forward to acquiring the Deadball "Exhibit" postcard set, too. The photos are outstanding and the set well done.

[Chris-Counts]

While the existence of reprints is certain to inspire some fraud, they provide a wonderful introduction to vintage cards for many collectors. As for Mike, there are few sellers I would recommend more ...