What Do You Make of This Fake Mantle Sale???

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by robw1959

The seller is very typical, disclaiming any knowledge of authenticity, but also sprinkling just enough "provenance" in there to make you wonder if it's the real deal, like, It looks very old and my grandfather gave it to me as a kid.

It IS conceivable that a man could give his grandson a '52 Mantle that he knows to be a reprint, and many years later, the kid, who grows up to be a person of less than sterling ethics, puts it up for sale and says "my grandfather gave it to me" - which, in the case of this hypothetical example, would be true.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

It IS conceivable that a man could give his grandson a '52 Mantle that he knows to be a reprint, and many years later, the kid, who grows up to be a person of less than sterling ethics, puts it up for sale and says "my grandfather gave it to me" - which, in the case of this hypothetical example, would be true.

If the seller is 11 years old, his grandfather could've given it to him last month.

What is deceptive is the part of the listing that says Manufacturer: Topps. Topps didn't make that card.

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by Mark17

If the seller is 11 years old, his grandfather could've given it to him last month.

What is deceptive is the part of the listing that says Manufacturer: Topps. Topps didn't make that card.

All good points here. Whether the buyer was deceived or not is immaterial to me. But what is frankly stunning to me is that the buyer has forked out $3000+ for a card that he knows is a fake! And I still don't know what to make of it. I mean, come on, man! Let's say he did buy it to flip in hopes of turning a profit, which is highly unlikely. He could have bought this card for a couple of bucks and then tea-bagged it like the original seller probably did, right? Something is just plain amiss here.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by robw1959

All good points here. Whether the buyer was deceived or not is immaterial to me. But what is frankly stunning to me is that the buyer has forked out $3000+ for a card that he knows is a fake! And I still don't know what to make of it. I mean, come on, man! Let's say he did buy it to flip in hopes of turning a profit, which is highly unlikely. He could have bought this card for a couple of bucks and then tea-bagged it like the original seller probably did, right? Something is just plain amiss here.

buyer thinking - if the real one is worth 20k-30k then a fake must be worth 10-15% of that!