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.