Buyer Beware these auctions

[MattyC]

A 52 Mick in SGC 5 for 18k or best offer is obviously a scam. 5s in this market will command 20-30k if not more with eye appeal.

With that kind of inventory the seller wouldn't be having a desperate fire sale.

There are some things in life where "bargain steal deals" are just not possible. Premium, elite items like T206 Wagners and 52 Topps Mantles, for example. A new Ferrari. Everyone would love to have one on the cheap, but it just ain't gonna happen. Good scammers prey on guys looking for the sweet deal. But if one wants the real Rolex, they buy it at the Rolex store, or the like, not off a fold out table on Canal Street in Chinatown.

A motivated seller is one thing but no way a 5 goes that cheap. Too good to be true, which means it isn't true.

[novakjr]

Mostly from looking at the '52 Topps Mantle photos. I curious as to why it's the lone card where the photos are cropped, with the black border added.. If you save and blowup the back of the card, it's quite obvious that the photo's been cropped from somewhere, as a not so black sharp corner extends slightly past the rounded corner of the slab.

Looking back at his past auctions, he recently received positive feedback for the Gretzky. So that might be a good sign. Or it might just be something funny's going on. Look at the bid history on that one, it's crazy. Almost like they were setting up a few false sales on BIG ticket items, so that they could lure people into a sense of security on this next wave of auctions..

However, looking at that one, and even the other cards currently listed, there doesn't appear to be any photoshop done with the scans. Why the 52 Mantle? Could it be that he only had an image that was already cropped, and needed the black border so that it would match that scans in his other auctions? The Gibson does not appear to have been cropped and photoshopped, so again, why the Mantle?

None of this is fact. And for all we know, it could be legit. But based on what I saw in a coupla minutes of looking, I wouldn't feel comfortable bidding on these... Aside from the fact that I'm a cheap a$$, and these are WAY out of my price range..

[pawpawdiv9]

As this was pointed out in my conversations with a board member. He finally remembered where he saw it from. The 52 Mick had a different slab.
He said he remembered it by the scruff mark on his chin. In the end, it looks like our board guy just barely saved himself.

The question now is?? Does It seems legit??
See if they dont look the same????
Here the link of the 52 prior:
http://sports.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleN...lotIdNo=117001


At its CURRENT state:

[MattyC]

Hence why I avoid all headaches and won't ever mess with a high-end card unless it comes from a TRUSTED SOURCE.

Peace of mind is worth a lot, and seeking bargain deals often leads one to a veritable underworld of scammers. By avoiding that entire underworld and dealing only with trusted sources for high-end material, one really spares oneself so much time wasted on the whole, "Is this a scam or not?" topic.

[CW]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Hence why I avoid all headaches and won't ever mess with a high-end card unless it comes from a TRUSTED SOURCE.

Peace of mind is worth a lot, and seeking bargain deals often leads one to a veritable underworld of scammers. By avoiding that entire underworld and dealing only with trusted sources for high-end material, one really spares oneself so much time wasted on the whole, "Is this a scam or not?" topic.

Very wise advice, indeed!

(I'll learn, sooner or later )

[novakjr]

Looking again, especially at the side by side of the front and back of the mantle. the card appears to be seated in the insert differently. On top of the frosting that cw pointed out, I'm fairly confident, that the photos(photoshopped or not) do not belong to the same card

[savedfrommyspokes]

The site below is great for verifying the authenticity of barcodes:
http://barcode.tec-it.com/

For PSA serial numbers use option code-2of5

Gibson is certainly fake when plugged in here.

[CW]

Originally Posted by MattyC

A 52 Mick in SGC 5 for 18k or best offer is obviously a scam. 5s in this market will command 20-30k if not more with eye appeal.

I don't think the 18K price is too far off (if it was a great deal, someone would have already hit the BIN). SGC 60s don't command the same premium as PSA 5s. In researching past prices on this card, it just doesn't seem like SGC gets as much respect in the postwar market as PSA (prewar being a different story). Centering and surface flaws seem to play a huge role in variations of pricing within a specific grade.

If this SGC 60 Mantle were a legit card in a good slab, the scuff on the surface and the l/r centering make this a sub-18K card, imo (my offer to this seller was under 16.5K, and he accepted it claiming it was the highest offer he received).

I do agree, though, that altogether it was too good to be true.

As Chris mentioned, the card in the SGC 60 auction is the exact same PSA 4 sold by Heritage a few years back. I actually thought the card was simply crossed over to a higher grade SGC slab, but after seeing comments in this thread I'm thinking it might be a photoshop job.

One other thing that looked very strange in the Mantle images is the frosting on the edges doesn't match when comparing front and back scans. Notice on the comparison of the Cobb slab how the frosting on the back mirrors what is on the front (the Cobb is in a known legit holder)

[MyGuyTy]

Originally Posted by CW

I don't think the 18K price is too far off (if it was a great deal, someone would have already hit the BIN). SGC 60s don't command the same premium as PSA 5s. In researching past prices on this card, it just doesn't seem like SGC gets as much respect in the postwar market as PSA (prewar being a different story). Centering and surface flaws seem to play a huge role in variations of pricing within a specific grade.

If this SGC 60 Mantle were a legit card in a good slab, the scuff on the surface and the l/r centering make this a sub-18K card, imo (my offer to this seller was under 16.5K, and he accepted it claiming it was the highest offer he received).

I do agree, though, that altogether it was too good to be true.

As Chris mentioned, the card in the SGC 60 auction is the exact same PSA 4 sold by Heritage a few years back. I actually thought the card was simply crossed over to a higher grade SGC slab, but after seeing comments in this thread I'm thinking it might be a photoshop job.

One other thing that looked very strange in the Mantle images is the frosting on the edges doesn't match when comparing front and back scans. Notice on the comparison of the Cobb slab how the frosting on the back mirrors what is on the front (the Cobb is in a known legit holder)

Completely agree with this, I don't think I've ever see a $30K SGC 60 Mantle. 20K or a hair over is possible for a PSA 5 if everything checks out completely and it's a gem of a 5. I would say a nice comfortable range for an SGC 60 is 15.5-19.5K

[earlywynnfan]

He told me the items were on consignment. I see he's pulled them all.

[team-of-rivals]

He was feelin' the heat! I absolutely love the fact that Net54 members are 'always lookin' out for one another! Glad to be on board!

[iwantitiwinit]

Told me the same, I told him the Rose was sketchy and people were on to him and he sends me back this:

Dear iwantitiwinit,I noticed as well! Thank you for the e-mail! I pulled the Rose & the Gibson after I received several e-mails. These cards were not mine and on consignment. I hope you feel better about this now as I do not want any issues.- premier-cards.

Great job on outing this guy.

[MikeGarcia]

The penalties for conspiracy to commit interstate wire fraud are substantial . I hope for his sake that his cellmate doesn't think he's cute.