PSA's Response To The Fake Rookie Premiere Slab

Kevin Ledwith, Division Operations Manager for PSA/DNA offered this response to my email on the fake card. I am utterly speechless:

When an autographed trading card is submitted to PSA for card grading, that is the only service being performed since it was the only service being requested. Autographed cards that come direct from the manufacturer, from 1998-present, are handled as such. The manufacturer is warranting that the autograph is authentic and that autograph is part of the make-up of the card so, in turn, we will grade the card without commenting on the autograph.

We do offer both services, card grading and autograph authentication, but you must request both in order to receive both. In this instance, the original submitter of the card requested only for the card to be graded and not for our opinion on the autograph.

There are a few things that need to be discussed with this response.

1) The card is fake as well as the auto, so his point is moot.

2) PSA is admitting that they slabbed a fake card, yet they are refusing to take responsibility for the possibilities it creates. So, if I send in a real auto card with a replaced fake auto, I can get it graded? That is fucking crap. Lets say I have a Tom Brady auto card. I take off the real sticker and replace it with a fake one. I then take the sticker and put it on another card that is more valuable. I can get the fake one graded because it is a manufacturer's auto card, and it will be sold as real. Fucking wonderful.

3) Why is PSA offering this loophole? Its basically inviting people to exploit their grading policies.

Well guys, I would stay away from PSA from now on, if you arent already.

Some People Deserve It...

Today I was reading on FCB about a guy who bought this 1952 Mantle "PSA 6" for 8 thousand before realizing it was a fake. A few months ago, I posted on the fake slabs and was talking about how hard it could be to spot one, this is one of those instances. To the trained eye, there are lots of things wrong with this auction, but for some people, they come out firing without doing any reasearch WHAT-SO-EVER.

Now, if you are buying a card like a 1952 Mantle, you need to know your shit. There is no way around that, especially when you are buying from a seller with single digit feedback. Then you see the auction title, and you feel your face slowly moving towards your palm. Yet, even with all of those red flags about this auction, there still happens to be one rule that should never....

...EEEEEEEVVVARRR...

...be broken. This card SCREAMS too good to be true, especially at 8k for a fucking PSA 6. Does anyone in their right mind think that this card is worth as little as 8k? PSA 4s go for more than that, though a good example hasnt come around in a while. Obviously, this idiot had no idea about anything before dropping the price of a compact car on this card, and really after all of these things I have mentioned, you gotta go the other direction instead of bidding.

The last part is the funniest, by far. On the thread on FCB, the OP also posted the seller's feedback profile. This guy LEFT POSITIVE FEEDBACK. I have no idea why, but he did. He then spoke with PSA after getting that little voice in his head that said he is a huge mark and found out the card wasnt real. Really? Wow, I had no idea.

Most of the time, I feel bad for people who get taken, I really do. However, when you dont see the signs right in front of your fucking face, I gotta put most of the blame on you.

Oh, and for the record, the PSA profile from this slab does read Mantle 52 PSA 6. Duh, of course it would, thats the point.

Fake PSA 9 1952 Bowman Mantle On Ebay

A very hot button issue has come up lately on a number of different message boards around the net and I wanted to post about it here. Apparently, a douchebag from Southern California or Mexico has found a way to counterfeit the PSA holders and labels. He has a bunch of fake 1952 Mantle Bowman cards, and is using his "talent" for making the fake holders to sell them on eBay and Craigslist. It may not be easy to spot for the untrained eye, but many people have the cards in hand and know they are fake. Someone even compared bar codes and they all looked eerily similar.

The first time this was put up for auction, eBay removed it after a bunch of complaints came in. There were also four or five collectors from around the net who purchased similar cards from the guy but immediately realized they were fake. I mentioned a few days ago that its becoming very hard to trust any of these people any more, mainly because the scam level is so fucking high. I also mentioned that no matter what the technology is, someone will find a way to take advantage of it. The fucking idiots who throw ethics and the law out the window are the people that have made this hobby one of the least trustworthy pastimes there is.

According to the boards, PSA has been contacted a number of times, but has yet to do anything about it. Typical.

Guys, it comes down to the golden rule of collecting: IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS.

Penning The Life Of The Hobby

When you look to get autographs, its pretty easy to believe that most people want to obtain them in person. Cards are a different story, because we can almost assume that they are real, even to the point where badly done ones are still considered genuine without a thought. But, what happens outside of those two avenues? Where is it okay to start and stop with autos and the authenticity of the ones available on TWGM and other sites?

Lets start at the bottom, and trust me there are a lot of autos I wouldn’t bid on unless someone paid me to take the item off their hands. These types of auctions are where you don’t get any type of COA, the auto is questionable due to inconsistencies in the sig, and it is from a seller/dealer that has many of these type or only a few or one. These are pretty easy to spot, and they are never real. They sell for minimal prices and PSA would laugh at you if you sent for a quick opinion. Common targets are footballs (big and easy writing space), helmets (easy to write on, big space), and 8x10s (most commonly faked item in existence due to cost of production). These people fall under the "donkey rapers" category of business and should be put in front of a firing squad, balls first. Its absolutely crazy that there are people stupid enough to buy this crap. Give these people a copy of an auto and a silver paint pen, and they go to town. Kill them all.

Moving up the ladder, but not that much upwards, are the dealers that have caught on to the COA craze. They provide an item with a COA from some crazy sports store and they almost always guarantee authenticity when submitted to PSA or JSA. Obviously this is a risk/reward situation for them as most people who buy wont pay the 50 or so dollars to have it certified. Again, these are almost never real, and are most likely a lazy attempt at crapping out money. There are exceptions to this rule, unlike the others, as some stores DO have private signings/public signings to obtain items. Also, a lot of these shitty excuses for sports collectors have started using awful, awful looking holograms to recreate what the big boys do. As said before, spare the future from their shitty nature, kill them.

Next are the places where it may be obvious that at one point they sold real stuff, and possibly still do. Their autos look genuine, and some may be. I might buy from one of these places with a PSA quick opinion and a good price. They still offer worthless COAs, but in this case, it wont matter. There are also places that have built up good reputations and have gotten lazy, so watch out.

Before explaining places I would actually buy from, I think its time to mention that there are a lot of sellers who display photos of the player signing items with the auction. Unless it is a one of a kind item, this means nothing. Autos are easy to sell online and fake ones are easier to sell than real ones. Photos make some people confident, but I wont bite.

As we get to more reputable sources, prices obviously skyrocket. For instance, Ironclad and Dave and Adam's have taken to securing exclusive rights to players. Of course their prices are quite high because authentic items are expected. I have bought from both, and even dealers selling stuff from them, but I guess I should have been more careful. Places like this have online authentication and you can bet its real if they are attached. The good thing is that if you see something from an exclusive player being sold somewhere else, its probably not real.

The next place I want to discuss is the PSA and JSA cert'ed autos you can buy on TWGM. Its understood that these encapsulated items are real, and you can usually rest easy. However, we have seen fake ones get through the "experts," but its pretty much good stuff. Prices are higher from this, and I think it sucks. PSA costs an arm and a leg unless you go to a show, where its still expensive, and JSA is the same thing. There is also GAI and other places, but you are basically paying for a second rate opinion. Stick to PSA and JSA as they are the most reputable sources.

There are also stores like field of dreams in some malls that sell autos. I would say that 80% of their stuff is real, only because I saw what operation bullpen did to places like this. Field of dreams is a little different as they obtain a lot of their stuff in person, but don’t get them confused with local shops, unless it is obvious that they have genuine ways of obtaining the autos they sell.

Lastly, Steiner Sports has made a name as THE MOST reputable auto dealer around. They have many exclusive contracts and they have some really spank items to sell. The problem? Triple to quadruple what you would normally pay. These are 100% legit 100% of the time, and all autos are witnessed at the many private signings they do. I will file MLB authenticated stuff under this type because the league is present at all of their signings too, but again, they cost a shitload. MLB has also partnered with Ironclad, so items purchased through them are dual authenticated. I would definitely buy from both of these people if I had the money. Plus, on a good note, Steiner autos make for good comparison pieces as they have the best scanner in the history of scanners. Trust me.

As with any part of the hobby, if its too good to be true, it isnt real. Dont get scammed into buying crap when for a little more cash, you can get the real thing. I hate when people dont take this into consideration. Why spend $10 bucks on something questionable when for $25 you dont have to worry? Yeah its more than double the price, but $15 isnt going to break you. Same with bigger stuff. Why spend $100 on junk when you can get awesomeness for $175? It seems like a lot, but it is better in the long run. Dont be an idiot.

Sweetness!

Since I am not wasting my money on busting boxes these days, I am more focused on padding my auto collection. Trust me, it is so much more fufilling than pulling a Quentin Jammer Auto out of a $120 box. I feel so much better knowing that this was only 95 dollars worth of JSA certified goodness.



Who needs wax?

This is Beyond Ridiculous Pt 2: Even More Ridiculous?

After reading the second part to "For the Love of Sitting Around and Flipping Through a Price Guide" I might just stop going to baseball card shops all together, just to spite this guy. Holy fucking shit, man! The Baseball Card Blog (no link on purpose), has created a world where Baseball Cards have ceased to exist all because, wait - sit down for this, price guides have stopped their publication. It begins with the descripion of a pure utopia in collecting (my commentary, fire joe morgan style in italics):

"Here’s the situation. The list prices in price guides have been deemed useless on such a massive scale that Beckett and FW have ceased their publication. With no widely available prices, the majority of collectors now consult eBay for accurate card prices."

I love it. No longer will a douchebag ridden magazine set the prices for the 50% of uneducated idiots that still consult beckett for prices.

"Dealers do the same. And after they view the umpteenth autographed patch 1/1 card go for less than $20–pulled from a box that dealers paid a premium on to sell–they stop ordering high-end products from the manufacturers. The dealers understand that if they’re seeing these auctions on eBay, their potential customers are winning them."

Ba-what? Dealers who see the card pulled from a 500 dollar box stop ordering wax because their customers cant sell their pulls for a lot of money? How hasnt the customer part not happened already? I guarantee that the dealers will not stop ordering boxes because people are going to eBay to sell what they get. You know why? It already happens every fucking day, you arrogant ass. Dealers like Northridge Sports Cards and Santa Monica Sports Cards make their bread and butter selling boxes where people pull nothing and sell them for nothing. Do they fucking care that their customers cant sell them for shit on eBay? Sure, but only on a personal level. What they care about is that it has become more convenient for their customers to buy WAX on eBay rather than paying INFLATED prices at a shop. Once again, Im sorry that it sucks you cant spend 30 minutes bullshitting with Blowout Cards, but it is a necessary evil. Despite this trend, both the shops are doing fine. Seriously, if your shop is relying on singles to function, they NEED to go down with the ship.

"So many dealers stop ordering these cards that the manufacturers have a difficult decision to make: finally listen to dealers and put more value in each box of product, or dismiss dealers altogether and work exclusively with big box stores like Target, Kmart and Wal-Mart. It comes as no surprise when the manufacturers go with the latter choice."

This could be the worst paragraph ever written in the history of sports card blogs. Manufacturers will never go with the second choice because Target, Kmart and Wal-mart will NEVER, EVER, EEEEEEEVAAAR pay 500 bucks for a box of cards. They have flat screens and plasmas to sell rather than that bullshit. I would see UD and DLP sell to eBay directly before they do this.

Upper Deck to Target: Umm, yeah, we want to market Exquisite directly to Target.
Target: Sounds great, how much does it cost?
Upper Deck: At cost, about 400 bucks a box. You would probably want to mark it up to 599.
Target: *Click*
Upper Deck: Hello? Hello?

You dont think they have enough problems with security and shrink on their current stock? Now they gotta worry about protecting this shit, let alone SELLING it to collectors like me that would MUCH rather buy it from a trusted source without weirdo 50 year old men fondling our prized investment every 5 minutes...Ugh, it gets worse.

"Because the majority of shops deal primarily in new cards, they start to close. Collectors don’t notice right away, as most of them are tuned to eBay. And besides, the hobby’s gone through this before and survived, so what’s the big deal? Also, everybody’s got a Wal-Mart near them, so who cares if one more shop goes out of business? Shops sell off their inventory and shutter."

Again, this has already happened, but guess what? Shops are still open. Ebay is currently the hobby's biggest card shop. Other shops survive because they have found innovative ways to stay open and because they know what to sell: WAX and lots of it.

"Dealers at baseball card shows don’t feel the same pressure right away, though many of them do feel their brethren’s plight. Instead, without book prices to consult on every transaction, desperate, frenetic dealers result to using their best judgment. Collectors, fully aware of the situation dealers are in, refuse to be charged “judgment call prices.” Many dealers, citing lack of meaningful sales at shows, stop booking booths. What few shows remain shrink in attendance until they cease to exist. The National is the lone exception, chugging away, though it’s a magnet for news media to lament the hobby crisis. “Ain’t in the Card$,” is the New York Post headline."

Or better yet, dealers use eBay prices and collectors finally find a great marketplace - outside of the scam ridden internet - to buy their cards. Or even better than that, Dealers, who have paid eBay prices to get their cards, stop marking it up and decide to open shops rather than booking tables at shows and sell their cards back to the collector on ebay. Now, because the New York Post would never write such and awful headline, nor post an article on collecting with this as its subject, I wont even address it.

"Without dealers, the manufacturers are no longer in the dominant bargaining position. They’re at the whim of the big box stores. Product’s gonna be late? OK, we’re diminishing your shelf space. The manufacturers are not used to their role as ‘just another product.’ What happened to all those dealers they used to push around?"

I dont understand the point of this. So without dealers they decide to stop producing despite having a perfectly good marketplace in eBay where they can still make the same, if not more, money? This is pure dribble. I dont even know where to go. Oh, but wait, there's STILL MORE!

"If I haven’t given my critics enough fodder already, here’s some more:

• The future of the hobby most certainly will not play out the way I’ve got it, though certain aspects of it are very close to happening now."

Trust me, you have given me a gold mine of material. However, thanks for acknowledging that your above written was basically a practice in stupidity and was not worth the space it was printed on (nothing).

"• No matter how much we distrust the prices within price guides, they’re essential to the well being of the hobby. If you’ve got a plan for injecting realistic card values into the hobby without killing hobby shops and show dealers off, please, I’m all ears."

First of all, they are FAR from "essential." They are a way for a magazine to justify their worthless existence on the planet. Other than that, price guides are worth less than nothing to the hobby. As for the second part, do you enjoy paying inflated prices for your cards? Why are you set on keeping shops and dealers in this hobby if they continue to sell you cards at twice the price you can get on a true free marketplace? I love the way you support dealers and shops PAYING eBay prices to get their cards but selling them to you at double.

My plan? Hobby shops should get out of singles. Period. Then, they should focus on selling two things: guaranteed autographed memorabilia and wax. I say this because wax prices are the only thing that eBay cant guarantee as the lowest price. With shipping prices at 10 dollars plus, stores can compete with using their own mark ups. As for guaranteed memorabilia, eBay cannot compete due to scams. Fake autos are so rampant, Im weary of even buying PSA/DNA authenticated stuff anymore. Shops have the ability to get their own materials and and get them auto'ed. Buy from PSA and other authentic sources and save me the trouble of going through places I dont trust for my auto'ed stuff.

"• One last thing: I wanted to work graded cards into this somehow, but never found a good spot. If raw singles aren’t really worth their book value, what about graded cards? I know that entire price guides cater to graded specimen, but will/should these prices be combined with prices for unslabbed cards? Or would that negate the values assigned to those that have been slabbed? Also, why does it feel to me that dealing in graded cards is going to be what saves shop owners and show dealers?"

This whole "one last thing" makes no sense, but what else is new? Graded cards are pretty much one big conflict of interest to begin with. Besides, it was solely created as a mechanism for, *gasp*, eBay and the like. It protected the buyer from unforseen........oh forget it. Just look here and here.

I know its against my better judgement to take on one of the biggest blogs out there, but still, who wants to put up with this shit? I hope the sheep dont take what he says as gospel. Just to set a precedent: after this, I will not be reading his blog without a very strong bias, and I encourage you to do the same.

As collectors we are thrown to the wolves almost daily by the very sources that are sworn to be our advocates. Why is this guy supporting everyone's enemy? His platform supports paying higher prices because it keeps the good ole days in tact, it supports price guides because they supposedly provide a non-existant backbone to the hobby, and lastly it supports underhanded dealers and shops who do their best to scam you out of your hard earned money because they dont have any.

Thank you, Woody Paige of sports card collecting, you have opened my eyes!!

The Grading Service Vs. The Grading Business

Grading cards started as a practice to help collectors identify things they may not see with the naked eye when buying cards over the internet and in person. Basically, it protected the buyer from unforseen condition problems when they don’t have the card in their hands (eBay) or when the card is not necessarily available to look at outside of a case (high end buys at shows). In my opinion it went from a service geared towards protecting the buyer to a service geared towards helping the seller make money.

High grade cards carry a huge premium, as expected, and are the staples of many seller's inventories. I don’t really have a problem with people buying high grade cards, because it is only natural that the high grade ones sell for more money. I have a problem with the services themselves. The reason I say this is because I see certain sellers on eBay with a plethora of pristine graded cards from PSA and BGS when the population reports for those cards show that a high grade is usually outside the status quo. I also see BGS selling their own cards as discussed before, which creates a conflict of interest, and I start to wonder how much of grading is being the best at grading a card and how much is being good business people.

Being a good business person means you reward your good customers and still maintain your quality of product and your ethics. This makes me think that services who receive thousands of submissions from a person are more inclined to reward them with higher grades because they spend thousands of dollars on the service. Now, im not saying they take cards that should be a 5 and make them a 9.5, but I question whether they look at every card close enough to determine whether it is a 9 or a 9.5. Once its in that case, no one will question the authenticity of the grade because collectors know that it isnt worth the idea in their head. Yet, I can see that a collector submitting 1000 cards per week would be more likely to get a 9.5 on those 9s because he/she is spending so much money. I also see that the guy who has nothing but PSA 10s cant possibly have THAT many high end cards in THAT condition. It spreads beyond possibilty that every card he gets is a PSA 10, especially when most of them are bought from other collectors.

Im sure a lot of you are wondering if I have ever graded a card or if I own graded cards. The answer is yes and yes. I own two graded cards, an 8.5 2002 Joe Mauer Chrome Auto, and a BVG 4 1953 Eddie Mathews Topps. The Mathews is graded because it was losing condition sitting how it was in my collection, and the graded case protects that. The Mauer I bought graded because the set is so condition sensitive that I knew I couldn’t trust eBay to provide me with a good card. 8.5 was cost effective so I bought that one. As for grading cards I have only used it once for profit. I graded my Topps Finest Santana Rookie and got a 9.5, then sold it for a ton.

Do I say that grading should go away? No, I think it is a necessary service. Do I think that the sheep collectors should maybe question the business part of it before buying? Hell yes, all is not what it seems. In fact, I think that "Sports Card Buying: All is Not What it Seems" (AINWIS) should be the slogan of the industry. There is so much deception, that I think we have just accepted it. Its like the OJ Mayo situation in that we all know its going on behind the scenes, but we will wait for that big story before taking action. Until then, its all swept under the rug.