The patch cards in Ultimate Baseball are one of the main reasons why the product was so successful. They are also to a point now where the line has been blurred past the point of where one can tell fake or real. Although there are people who have undoubtedly faked these cards, there are also so many real logo patches that its almost impossible to tell.
Check out these cards that have been posted and sold on eBay over the last couple of days. Some I can tell, some are way too hard to determine.
Carlton Fisk
– The patch is weird on this, too weird to consider it to be fake. It still makes me uncomfortable.
Paul Konerko – I dont trust this guy at all. There is already speculation around the boards that all are fake, and this card definitely looks that way.
Brandon Webb – A great patch, but it does look real because the window looks good and has non-patch material in the window.
Tom Seaver – 100% fake, this guy has already been covered on this blog before and his cards arent even questionable. UD was meticulous in matching player pics with uni swatches, which disqualifies this card all the way.
Roy Ozwalt – Another questionable patch, but too tough to make a sure determination.
Brandon Phillips – A cool patch with too much detail to seem fake, but again, this is a cheap pickup to fake if needed. Im not sure.
Carlos Beltran – another patch from this seller that is almost 100% fake. Just look at the separation between the swatch and the patch. Like he slipped it in over the crappy swatch.
Basically, Ultimate was the one set that needed a database, and its too bad it wasnt done ahead of time. Its just too easy to fake these cards, and it brings back memories of the faker favorite set of the century – 2005 Donruss Prime Patches. The difference between Prime Patches and this, is that its easy to tell fakes from that set because of card labeling, but Ultimate is ALL patches so its almost impossible.
I would employ a few rules that should start becoming applicable soon:
1. Dont buy Ultimate Patch cards where the logo patch takes up the whole window. Its not worth the risk.
2. Look for window damage. Its tough to get a patch out of the card without nicking the edges of the swatch window.
3.
Avoid NEW patches. The jerseys that UD used seem to be at least a few years old, and the new sleeve patches from last season are easy to come by on ebay.
4. Avoid World Series, Commemorative, and All Star Patches. Its too easy for scammers to sell you on your salivation over such a unique patch. Its almost unheard of for any of them to be real.
5. Avoid sellers who have a ton of logo patches for sale. This is pretty much the case for everyone regardless of the patch card, as scammers will sell a never ending stream of crap to make maximum dollars.
Let me know if you have any questions about authenticity and ill do my best to scope it out.
