OT: 3.5 Million Dollar Scam - Pokemon Cards Certified by BBCE

[Buythatcard]

Check out this video. Guy bought a case of Pokemon cards for 3.5 million which was certified by BBCE.

Turns out to be a scam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8lmQ5Ls6bw

[25801wv]

This would make me worried if I had high dollar unopened boxes that are BBCE wrapped. If he can’t authenticate it, then who can?

[ALBB]

maybe...but cant help that it looks a little staged ??

[chriskim]

Originally Posted by ALBB

maybe...but cant help that it looks a little staged ??

There's no way BBCE Steve would have agreed to play a role if the whole thing was really staged. Steve is a 110% straight up guy!

[vintagetoppsguy]

BBCE has been involved in a number of scandals over the years, people just chose to turn a blind eye and not talk about it. As long as it's shrink wrapped with a BBCE label, what does it matter what's inside, right? Kinda like PSA and all the altered cards they slabbed that were brought to light a couple of years ago. It's not what's on the inside that counts; it's the authenticator's seal that gives it its value.

[Eric72]

I get the feeling this will send ripples throughout the hobby. Either BBCE made a multi-million dollar mistake or someone is trying to make it look like they were the victim of multi-million dollar fraud.

[shagrotn77]

Originally Posted by Eric72

I get the feeling this will send ripples throughout the hobby. Either BBCE made a multi-million dollar mistake or someone is trying to make it look like they were the victim of multi-million dollar fraud.

Given all that's occurred and been forgotten about over the years, I'm quite certain nothing will ever send ripples throughout the hobby. It's apparently bulletproof.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Two threads going at once on this.

[maniac_73]

Originally Posted by ALBB

maybe...but cant help that it looks a little staged ??

Definitely not staged. I’ve been following this one for a while and after Logan bought it a lot of ppl on the internet started questioning what they were seeing on the boxes. Steve had no experience with Pokémon he should not have authenticated this box.


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[Santo10Fan]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Definitely not staged. I’ve been following this one for a while and after Logan bought it a lot of ppl on the internet started questioning what they were seeing on the boxes. Steve had no experience with Pokémon he should not have authenticated this box.

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I have to agree. Logan is not a fourth dimensional chess player. Frankly, he trusted an authenticator many of us on Net54 also trust. But it's not that simple.

LP got ripped off because he didn't do his homework and also trusted some chump middlemen who had him marked. The chain of custody on the fugazi item is surprisingly clear and the original auction was for suckers only. So many red flags. That video is likely earning him $15K+ per day this week as long as it stays a top trending. So there's no way LP or his lawyers would let him risk owing Steve Hart millions in a lawsuit over it, negating any revenue from the content.

Steve really looks bad here and if he was branching out, it's clear he spread himself too thin. The only good news is that it was not a Topps/Fleer/etc vintage product. Hardly anyone on this site gives a crap about Pokemon product but people here have invested (or are invested) in Steve's reputation with sports cards.

[swarmee]

To the people making some inferences that this ordeal is a dramatic ruse, READ MORE THREADS. This has been going on for 2 years. I've been following it from the beginning, because the original flipper, meelypops has a store in Gainesville FL and I've seen him post about the original purchase in early 2020.

Steve tried to authenticate out of his knowledge base, was challenged by real experts in that specific field, and was exposed for certifying a fake. It's that easy. Don't build up straw men to try to explain it away. It happened.

You think this meelypops guy would make long videos about how he first purchased the case in Canada and then took it straight to BBCE for their blessing if he knew it was fraudulent? Because people normally play a long con where they incriminate themselves with million hit videos? Nope. He thought it was a true purchase of an undiscovered gem, and was burned along with Steve.
Will be interesting to see if anything happens with the original Canadian seller, who has a history of faking these types of items. Would require the Canadian authorities to intervene.
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1500649

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1500869

https://forums.collectors.com/discus...m-pokeman-case

https://forums.collectors.com/discus...n-case-updates

[chriskim]

Originally Posted by 25801wv

This would make me worried if I had high dollar unopened boxes that are BBCE wrapped. If he can’t authenticate it, then who can?

I think unopened boxes are fine. People should worry about those UD Esq unopened cases (3 hobby boxes) that might pull LeBron RPA and sold for $1M. Those cases suddenly swim out from no where one by one and we have seen 3 so far on Goldin. The next one in line would be the 86 Fleer case that sold last yr but it has solid evidence of where it came from, so not much of an issue.

[Exhibitman]

All I can say after watching that is that Hart and his colleague need to seriously consider salads.

[bird_man_sportscards]

Anybody who has BBCE stuff is just hosed but honestly you should know better. It looks like the label has wear and the tape is perfect ...lol

This is like pawn stars ....I am sorry the sheep followed and walked into a black hole.

[Johnny630]

This will blow over like every other hobby scandal this industry has faced, it’s no big deal in the grand scheme of things. His brand will only gain more acceptance and sell stronger and stronger. Everyone’s cards and unopened boxes will only go up in-value. Any short term decline which there won’t be any will be a massive buying opportunity!

[ullmandds]

I also feel sad for the Pokémon community!

[wolf441]

Am I the only one impatiently waiting for Logan and Jake's 15 minutes to be up?

I blame the Kardashians for starting all of this stupid sh*t. No wonder China owns half of America.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I also feel sad for the Pokémon community!

That Pokemon community must be huge if someone is going to pay that much for a case of those cards. What would happen if someone found a case of un-opened cigarette packs with tax stamps that indicate they all have baseball cards in them? I wonder how much that case would sell.

I guess I'm not a part of the Pokemon community because for the life of me I could not see putting out $3.5M for a case of those cards. I need to open my eyes and see what the heck else is happening in the collectibles world.

[bn2cardz]

People that try and compare this BBCE blunder to a TPG like PSA's mistakes are missing the point. BBCE didn't grade an altered, but authentic, item. This was a fully fabricated box. This would be similar to PSA grading a fake Wagner, not just a trimmed authentic one.

BBCE is supposed to authenticate these items. They had this in hand and couldn't detect the fact it was fake, even though others, only seeing pictures of it, could tell it was fake.

The box wasn't right, the label wasn't the right size, the label barcode didn't match the number, the box tape didn't match the tape on other cases from the same company. Nothing was right and the "expert" still authenticated it.


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[Eric72]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

People that try and compare this BBCE blunder to a TPG like PSA's mistakes are missing the point. BBCE didn't grade an altered, but authentic, item. This was a fully fabricated box. This would be similar to PSA grading a fake Wagner, not just a trimmed authentic one.

BBCE is supposed to authenticate these items. They had this in hand and couldn't detect the fact it was fake, even though others, only seeing pictures of it, could tell it was fake.

The box wasn't right, the label wasn't the right size, the label barcode didn't match the number, the box tape didn't match the tape on other cases from the same company. Nothing was right and the "expert" still authenticated it.

+1

Spot on!

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

people that try and compare this bbce blunder to a tpg like psa's mistakes are missing the point. Bbce didn't grade an altered, but authentic, item. This was a fully fabricated box. This would be similar to psa grading a fake wagner, not just a trimmed authentic one.

Bbce is supposed to authenticate these items. They had this in hand and couldn't detect the fact it was fake, even though others, only seeing pictures of it, could tell it was fake.

The box wasn't right, the label wasn't the right size, the label barcode didn't match the number, the box tape didn't match the tape on other cases from the same company. Nothing was right and the "expert" still authenticated it.

+ 26

[maniac_73]

Have we let authentications control the marketplace instead of collectors? I feel like collecting has very little to do with the card or “sealed item” and everything to do with what a private unregulated company has to say about it


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[bn2cardz]

Let's stop talking about Autographed cards graded by TPGs Ion this thread. This other topic of signed Pujols cards is a distraction from the topic at hand.

This thread is about the ineptitude of BBCE and their authentication of a fabricated case (not authentic in any way).


å̵̧͇̭͉͙̜͠n̴̨̻̬͙̯̗̋̎́̒̾͛̈́̾̕d̸̳̱̗̖̖̟͆͐̂́y̵̆͗̓̋̿̋̉͗̈ ̩́ ̷̢̧̗̳̫̭̼̒̒͗̇͐̉͒͠͝n̴̨̬̣͋̌͌̀̌̄e̵̘̞̙̯̯̰͋́̀̋͘͜u̵͌̾̉̇͐͂ ͙̜͙̤̗͍̤̥̽̈́b̶̡̛͕̋̃͒̒͛̐e̷̥̠̟̓͂͋̐r̴̗̜̲͇̘̙̾̾t̴̛͗͋͌ ̹͙̠̎