Trimming Frauds Revealed | How Does It Impact Vintage???

[egbeachley]

They are saying that a couple cards went for over $100K. The alleged scammer, Eric Anthony Bitz, runs a company called BuyNiceCards or BNC out of Pennsylvania.

Here is a 13 second video that shows a typical BNC card and the untrimmed original as pulled from WorthPoint.

https://youtu.be/EJuO1SEucoY

[Peter_Spaeth]

Who the expletive pays 100K for a modern basketball card??

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Who the expletive pays 100K for a modern basketball card??

The guy that couldn't afford a modern baseball card.

[Orioles1954]

The modern sports hobby dwarfs pre-war by leaps and bounds. The overall view is much different as these cards really aren't, nor were meant to be collected long-term. I don't think it's a lesser form of collecting, just different.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Who the expletive pays 100K for a modern basketball card??

The highest confirmed sale on the card is less than 20k. So, the answer is probably no one. BNC had one for sale for 90k that didn't sell, so he has raised the price and now is trying to sell it for 175k.

[egbeachley]

Just repeating. They say there is a confirmed sale of $95K and 2 other private sales above that. Looking at the same card? There are probably hundreds of LeBron rookies.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by egbeachley

Just repeating. They say there is a confirmed sale of $95K and 2 other private sales above that. Looking at the same card? There are probably hundreds of LeBron rookies.

Who says? There are no confirmed sales over 20k on the 03/04 Exquisite LeBron James RC /99. It would sell above that, but until one is actually sold, no one knows what the card actually sells for. Ask yourself, if there are 99 of these, why does the t206 Wagner with a lower population and higher value come up for auction every so often, but these are only sold "privately"?

[egbeachley]

Ok it wasn’t a /99 card as I went back and looked. Keep in mind that there are over 3,000 posts on this thread. The $95K was referring to a /23 card, possibly a Jordan. And the $100K sale was for the same and the cashiers check shown for $250K likely included more than 1 card. These are also cards sold by BNC after trims.

[MattyC]

Is anyone really surprised that cards are being doctored in the myriad ways they can be— and that the work is sometimes done with a level of skill that gets it, "past the goalie," so to speak? Seems like a lot of Sturm und Drang over the obvious. Doctoring happens— and to cards of all grades, from the 2s to the 10s and everywhere in between. It's specious to think it is relegated solely to the realm of higher grades, since the spread to a seller from a 1 to a 3 on one card can be as worthwhile when it comes to doctoring as the spread from a 7 to 9 on another card.

End of the day, a collector should just be aware, get as much knowledge as possible of his desired collecting focus (as well as all the possible shenanigans that abound, from doctoring to the use of bogus sales to establish precedents), then purchase the pieces they'll enjoy.

It's also worth noting that not all collectors have the same attitudes toward all the forms of card doctoring; some may draw the line at trimming or recoloring, but have no issues with a pressed-out crease or a worked corner. Others might be cool with stain removal but would not want a card with a worked corner. In a way, though, it's all moot if one (and the graders) can't detect a trace of what was done to the card at some prior point in time.

[itslarry]

Originally Posted by rats60

Who says? There are no confirmed sales over 20k on the 03/04 Exquisite LeBron James RC /99. It would sell above that, but until one is actually sold, no one knows what the card actually sells for. Ask yourself, if there are 99 of these, why does the t206 Wagner with a lower population and higher value come up for auction every so often, but these are only sold "privately"?

Because basketball collectors don't want to pay a huge commission to auction houses?
And rich Asians lock their lebron and Jordan's away as collections, the Wagner is simply a commodity to be bought and sold.
I'm not joking, look at the Asian collectors on ig. Shoot, the card companies make special Asian releases now. The over seas market is insane.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by itslarry

Because basketball collectors don't want to pay a huge commission to auction houses?
And rich Asians lock their lebron and Jordan's away as collections, the Wagner is simply a commodity to be bought and sold.
I'm not joking, look at the Asian collectors on ig. Shoot, the card companies make special Asian releases now. The over seas market is insane.

I don't think that is it. Goldin Auctions recently had a far more desirable card, the 03/04 Ultimate Collection Logoman Lebron James Auto 1/1. PWCC recently sold the most desirable Michael Jordan card outside of a few 1/1s, the 97/98 Upper Deck Game Jersey Auto /23. I would argue that is also more desirable than the Exquisite LeBron /99.