Its Fake Season: Do YOU Have Your Hunting License?

I dont know what it is about March, maybe its the spring thaw or the ending of the cabin fever that winter forces in the cold areas of the country, but Fake Season is upon us. Dont get me wrong, every season is technically fake season, but things get kind of crazy in March for some reason. Everywhere I turn, more and more ridiculous fakes are popping up. The difference with most fakes and this one, is that PSA isnt grading them as authentic.

I have covered this maybe a hundred times, and each time I just cant understand how PSA markets themselves as an “Autograph Authority” when it is so easy to slip fakes past the goalie. What makes this instance such a money shot to the face, is that its not one that looks even REMOTELY close to a real one! Who in their right fucking mind would think this was real unless you bought it and got had, or are selling it to make money? Obviously, PSA didnt even bother checking any resource or they would see that this card looks closer to the signature of my 85 year old grandmother than Peterson, Johnson, Lynch or Ginn. What a fucking joke.
Just remember, just because its in a holder, doesnt mean its real. The real ones go for close to a thousand bucks now because the fakes VASTLY outnumber the reals. In fact, im having a tough time trying to find a real one to use on this post. Thats how tough it is to find one that is legit.
Ive also added a new golden rule of Topps:
STAY AWAY FROM ALL ROOKIE PREMIERE CARDS UNLESS YOU SAW IT PULLED FROM THE PACK.

This? This is What I Come Back To?


Thankfully, I am out of the hospital and home for the first time since thursday. It was a complete nightmare, but at least I have some time now to get some stuff done on the site while I recover.

While I was at the hospital, I got my usual daily ebay email updates, and one had this HORRID fake listed as a 1/1. I laughed so hard that I almost busted my stitches. How are people this fucking stupid?
Obviously, this is not a 1/1, but really a fake auto slapped on a normal 2007 Bowman box loader Peterson RC. In fact, the guy is SO bad at being a complete douche, that he didnt even use a non-serial numbered card. He actually just left the serial number on there and is advertising it as something completely unseen by the public…
…until now.
I am also loving that he randomly used card 968, probably the one he pulled out of his box of Chrome.
So, so, glad to be back folks. What a pleasure to see this shit sell for 400 bucks. At least the auto looks better than the normal fakes we see.

The Last Card Show I Will Ever Go To

This past Saturday, I was bored. By bored I mean I was pacing around the house just to give myself something to do. Eventually I decided it was time to get out of the house, despite the fact that my pregnant wife was not happy about it. I ended up at a show near where I live, and all I can say is that I think it was my last one I will ever go to.
First off, the people who set up at these shows are rarely the dealers I consider to be informed collectors. All they care about is making more money than it cost them to come, and they will stop at nothing to make sure that happens. What that means is that many tables were like the phone kiosks at the mall, where the workers shout at you to come over and look at their wares. Most of the tables were filled with junk jersey cards and autos, some had wax, others had vintage. Some guy had Ultimate for 75, but I knew what would happen if I bought in, just from looking at his booth. He had about 30 Ultimate autos and 60 Ultimate 6 and 8 jerseys, and I had a feeling that the two boxes he had left were not going to get me more than what he missed.
Secondly, I quickly got the feeling that shows had become the sleaze of the hobby. Fakes were EVERYWHERE. Every other table had fake rookie premieres or a fake patches littering their case, and I was debating whether or not to stop. I saw three or four fake chrome auto stickers, and two fake quad Peterson rookie premieres at one table, and I made a bad decision to talk with him. He had bought a lot of the stuff off eBay or from other patrons, and he was not going to accept that he had fakes because his looked “just like” all the others he saw on eBay. Well, no fucking shit, dumbass, as the fakes greatly outnumber the real ones. After about 10 minutes of me trying to show him what was what, I referred him to the site and walked away as someone came up to trade him for one of the fakes. Sucker.
I know, I know, im too much of a crusader, and no one in their right mind would ever try to do what I did. Either way, I wanted to see what they would say as kind of an experiment, but there was nothing even close to a rational thought that he conveyed as a reason the fakes were real.
Funny enough, I was recognized three times by readers of the site at the show, but wasn’t able to talk much due to how I was feeling. I was not in the best of health, and I hope they did not take that as a snub. Regardless, it was eerie and weird to have people know me, and yet, somewhat satisfying. I guess I should have expected as much with how many people have seen my ugly mug.
When it came to the prices of the cards, I think I only asked for price on one card. The sellers were obviously charging a whole lot above eBay as not many people were buying more than commons and junk cards. The vintage booths looked busier than anything, but I guess it was because the modern people had nothing to sell. I saw very few pieces out of Ultimate Baseball, National Treasures Football, or even SPA, and I just couldn’t understand why people were avoiding selling singles of the new hot products. When I was standing at one table, three people were asking about both ultimate and SPA, and the guy said, “oh, sorry, those usually don’t sell well.” Umm, are you fucking kidding me? You just had three people ask you, and I am a fourth keeping silent. Nice job, idiot.
Basically, there are no need for card shows anymore, as selling with an overhead is pretty much an unsurmountable chip on your shoulder. When customers have eBay on their iPhones and can compare prices, selling by book value is ridiculous. I don’t think I saw any card there that I couldn’t get on eBay, and the people who were available to chat about cards were way below my comfort level. Thanks to message boards, I can get more interaction with informed people than at a show, and I don’t need to pay 50% more than eBay just because someone needs to make money. Yeah, I know how much these idiots have into their cards, but that is their fault, not mine.
I drove almost 45 minutes to get to the venue and it was a complete waste of my time. I was expecting at least something I would want, but the dealers made that hard to get past. There are surely exceptions to every rule, but this show seemed to be without one person who made me want to go to their table. Disorganization, high prices, shady ethics, all of which were present at the show, some tables had all of those in one place. Its like going to a dingy strip club, as you know that most of the time the girls are girls, but the place kind of makes you feel bad for the true customers. That’s exactly how I felt, as I really felt bad for the people who came there with backpacks full of cards. They were the true victims of this outdated bazaar, and after 35 minutes of walking through the show, I left them to their distopia.

We Have Our First SP Authentic Fakes


If there is one thing I have always preached, its that completed auctions are damning evidence when trying to figure out if a seller is a douche. There has been some big discussion lately on blowout and among the readers of this site about whether or not sports_royalty’s cards are fake. After looking through his items for sale and his completed auctions, I would definitely file him under that category.

The most unusual thing about this is that the guy has a ton of hot packs for sale. This is almost always a sign that something isnt right. Although Im sure the hot packs contain what they say, its obvious that they will all contain the rookie scrub autos and not the patches. Its not the nail in the coffin, but his resume is getting worse. This could also mean that his crazy patches are all coming from the cases that he busted, but with the hobby, we have been forced to assume everyone is guilty until proven innocent. That is pretty sad.
When you factor in that the guy is already engaging in one thing like hot packs, and then you see his patches, the bad stuff floods your mind and becomes very tough to ignore.
Here are some examples of questionable SPA’s:

Josh Freeman

Knowshon Moreno Again

Pretty questionable cards, but that is only the beginning. Check out these AWFUL fakes that he has sold. When I say AWFUL, I mean Paris Hilton acting bad:

Mark Sanchez Tag Patch
Eli Manning/Mark Sanchez fooball
Manning/Favre Worst Dual Football Ever?
Manning Family Football

Anyone who sells autographs as fucking terrible as those should be automatically added to your bad list. This guy is nothing but problems. STAY AWAY.
EDIT: Kurt just sent me this from the same fucking asshat, look what else he just HAPPENS to be selling! He even has 10 of them for sale, wow.
Thanks to Justin, Brandon, Leonard, and Tim for the heads up.