Counterfeit Mantle card being auctioned as PSA 5

[CW]

Originally Posted by betafolio2

Hello, All!

I just spotted what looks to be a counterfeit '52 Topps Mantle rookie being auctioned on eBay. The item number is 221076771052. The card is shown in a PSA 5 holder, but I seriously doubt that it's real because it has the CLEAN, CRISP Yankees logo (with the white line inside the bat). I remember reading something somewhere that said any of the Mantle rookie cards with the crisp logo are outright FAKES, but now I can't find that same information. The card is already bid up to $14,000, and I fear that a newbie might get taken to the cleaners! I was going to report the item to eBay, but of course, the site's "report item" choices don't include COUNTERFEIT as one of the reasons. So I'm turning to all of you. First, is the card shown in this listing fake, and is there a quick and direct way to stop the auction before someone gets robbed?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

First of all, thanks for bringing attention to this. Hopefully if this gets flagged enough, eBay will end up pulling it.

Secondly, eBay does indeed have a "report as counterfeit" option. In the dropdowns, first select "copyright and trademark", then "counterfeit item or authenticity disclaimer", then "counterfeit, fake, or replica items". That should do it.

[Wymers Auction]

Payment must be posted within 12 hours of sale or I will void the sale. That is kind of crazy for this type of card. I have been looking for the white in the logo bat fake info, but I cannot find it. I have read that also.

[Wymers Auction]

There should also be a black pixel missing in the bottom left border. I do not think that pixel is missing.

[GasHouseGang]

I was looking on the internet to see if I could find the "real" 1952 Topps Mantle with that cert #. I didn't find it, but I came across this article. The cards pictured in this scam would be very hard to spot. Scary stuff!

Link:

http://bbcemporium.com/california-craigs-list-psa-scam/

[GasHouseGang]

Look what I found! The real 1952 Topps Mantle, PSA Cert #31517905. It was sold by Leland's on 4/28/2006. It realized $18161. Looks a bit different in the ebay listing. It's not even the same version of 1952 Mantle. Can someone clue ebay into this. They don't want to listen when we've told them it's a fake.

[betafolio2]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Look what I found! The real 1952 Topps Mantle, PSA Cert #31517905. It was sold by Leland's on 4/28/2006. It realized $18161. Looks a bit different in the ebay listing. It's not even the same version of 1952 Mantle. Can someone clue ebay into this. They don't want to listen when we've told them it's a fake.

AWESOME detective work! You are indeed an Internet searcher extraordinaire! Now if only eBay would listen to all of us and remove the bogus card from the auction!

[Wymers Auction]

I reported this card also, but being in a PSA slab Ebay seems to be careful at best. I contacted the seller and gave him a link here and informed him that there is no possible way that card is genuine.

[betafolio2]

Originally Posted by CW

First of all, thanks for bringing attention to this. Hopefully if this gets flagged enough, eBay will end up pulling it.

Secondly, eBay does indeed have a "report as counterfeit" option. In the dropdowns, first select "copyright and trademark", then "counterfeit item or authenticity disclaimer", then "counterfeit, fake, or replica items". That should do it.

Thanks for validating my concerns. I was initially hesitant to post something about this card, thinking, "Surely, many other people will raise a red flag here." But then I realized that some innocent person's hard-earned dollars were at stake, and if I didn't say something, maybe it would slip under the radar. I wouldn't want someone to get hurt, especially for such an obvious fake! It really makes me question eBay's ability to protect its buyers and sellers.

And thanks also for helping me to find the "report a counterfeit item" link. I had looked for it under the "report item" selections, but couldn't find it. I have since reported this item to eBay as fake -- but it's still an active listing as of 2:25 a.m. EDT Thursday. I considered contacting the seller to say, "Do you know this card is fake?", but I really don't want to open that can of worms. If this guy isn't the perpetrator of this forgery, how could he NOT know that this card is a fake? He's got tons of feedback as an eBay seller, so it seems to me he should know what he's listing.

[RUSH2112]

The shape of the numbers "5" and "9" on the slab of the card being sold are also much different from the authentic PSA 5 example.

[RUSH2112]

This is the response I got when I clicked "other" in the contact options of the sellers "My World" page.

We're sorry we couldn't find an answer for you. Unfortunately, this seller is not able to respond to your question. We suggest reviewing the item again to see if your answer is in the seller's listing.

[Volod]

Card is still there on eBay. I also reported it as counterfeit around 2pm today. I wonder how many such reports eBay will ignore before it sells. Anyone care for a count?

[GasHouseGang]

It doesn't seem that ebay is going to take our word for it. Hopefully someone in charge will look at this thread and see the two obviously different cards with the same serial number and decide the auction should be shut down. The seller has been told about this thread too. I wonder if he's even looked at it?
By the way, another easy way to tell the two apart is the bar codes. They are obviously different.

[RobertGT]

It appears the only way to protect those bidders will be for someone on this board to win that card.

Then slam the seller with the following feedback:

SCAMMER! SELLING FAKE MANTLE IN FAKE HOLDER DESPITE PROOF IT IS FAKE

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by RUSH2112

The shape of the numbers "5" and "9" on the slab of the card being sold are also much different from the authentic PSA 5 example.

And look at the difference in spacing between the EX and 5.