Saturday, August 22, 2015

bought a Schmidt rookie.. turned out to be counterfeit

Since recently hitting 90% complete on 1973 Topps, I figured I would make a push to knock it out here sooner rather than later. I bid on some Mike Schmidt RCs and ended up winning one for a good price. It just showed up.


Something looked off about it right out of the package. My first thought was it had been trimmed, as the borders looked tight and the corners/edges seemed a bit too sharp, but I checked it out and it measured fine against a standard card.


Once I got it out of the toploader, it was clear to me this was a fake. Maybe someone who rarely dabbles in vintage would be fooled, but I've been in deep with 1973 Topps for a good while now, and I'm very familiar with the look and feel of these cards. This was an impostor, no doubt about it.

Here it is trying to hide in a stack of real 73s...




It's the one on bright, new card stock. And no, it's not Oh-Pee-Chee or anything like that. Just a fake.

Crap. Now I gotta go through the hassle of getting a refund. I'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt and not accuse him of being aware of it. Hopefully he just lets me keep it so I don't have to throw away $2.50 on return postage.

Grrr.
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12 comments:

  1. BrianAugust 22, 2015 at 3:47 PM

    Lame. Best of luck with the refund and with getting the real deal!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Captain CanuckAugust 22, 2015 at 4:13 PM

    nasty.

    on with the hunt!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SpastikMoossAugust 22, 2015 at 4:43 PM

    Balls!

    ReplyDelete
  4. night owlAugust 22, 2015 at 5:20 PM

    They're faking second-year Ron Cey cards???? I want to see the manager!

    ReplyDelete
  5. defgavAugust 22, 2015 at 7:31 PM

    Thanks, guys. The seller did give me a hassle-free return, so it's fine. I'll send the fake to N.O. for his Cey PC!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. defgavAugust 22, 2015 at 7:31 PM

      *refund, I mean.

      Delete
    2. Tony L.August 22, 2015 at 7:53 PM

      Does a counterfeit count as being a different card than the real one? I guess so, right?

      Delete
  6. CorkyAugust 23, 2015 at 1:52 AM

    That sucks, luckily you are getting a refund.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mark HoyleAugust 23, 2015 at 8:59 AM

    What a drag. At least you got refunded

    ReplyDelete
  8. Steve at 1975BaseballCards.comAugust 23, 2015 at 10:14 AM

    While not surprising fakes of this are getting around, it's weird to see one so poorly designed (off center) - you'd think someone who spent time making one would go for a better looking card. I wonder what their goal was (practicing, leading people to think it was real because it is off center).

    Still it's unsettling to have these fake low quality cards in the mix to infiltrate our sets. Probably another reason why Kevin Saucier bailed out of card collecting...

    ReplyDelete
  9. ZvonAugust 23, 2015 at 9:30 PM

    Wow, that's scary. Good thing you know your business. And good thing the guy gave you a refund.

    ReplyDelete
  10. FujiAugust 24, 2015 at 10:06 PM

    Glad you recovered your money. It still is a nice placeholder until you replace it with the real thing.

    ReplyDelete

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