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I have noticed a lot of
these popping up on eBay, and other auction sites, so I thought I would post a
web page to spread awareness.
I recently bought a 1988 Burger
King Emmitt Smith card, graded a GEM MT 10, off of Yahoo Auctions. When I received the card I was very excited,
and the card looked awesome! Skip to a
few months later…I’m at Wal-Mart and I pick up a Spring 2004 Beckett Football Card Plus. I flip to page 4,
and my heart drops…there is a detailed article on how to spot a counterfeit
1988 Florida Burger King Emmitt Smith.
I rush home, pull out my card, and was very disappointed to see that my
card was indeed a fake.
This is a new version of the
counterfeit Burger King card. I have seen
a dozen or so of these fake cards on eBay and Yahoo Auctions, and all of them
have been graded. The new cards have
fooled several different grading companies, including PSA! In fact, most of the fakes I have seen have
been graded by PSA. The moral is: Don't
be comforted by the grading company...not even PSA is perfect. Most grading companies are just finding out
about this new counterfeit, that’s why they weren’t able to catch the fake
cards in the first place.
Below are pictures of the
article for you to read:
If you have already placed a
bid on one of the fake cards, I suggest you cancel your bid before the auction
ends, and notify the seller and eBay (or other auction site) that the card is
counterfeit.
If the auction has already
ended, and you have not yet paid, then the first thing you should do is write
eBay and let them know that the card you just won turned out to be a fake. Tell them about the article you just read
exposing this, and that you would like them to cancel the auction. If eBay cancels the auction, the seller
can't leave you negative feedback.
I would also contact the
seller, and let them know that according to the article you just read, the card
is counterfeit, and illegal to sell. If
he insists that you still pay, tell him you will, but you want him to ship the
card to Card Collectors
Services for authentication,
promising to pay the cost of the card if it comes out ok. Card Collectors Services is among the
companies that offers this service.
Call the company at (586) 978-8243 or (586) 978-8298, or email them at CustomerService@ccs-cards.com,
for more information on this service.
You can get the seller to send the card to them first, and they will
certify if the card is real or not. If
the seller knows the card is real, then there is no reason not to take the step
of sending the card to CCS since you are the one paying for the service. If the card turns out to be ok, you pay for
it. If it turns out to be counterfeit,
CCS reports the card and the seller to the FBI. CCS works closely with the FBI to catch counterfeiters.
Whatever you do, DON'T resell
the card. It is not only deceitful, but
more importantly, it's illegal! You
could end up getting yourself in a world of trouble if someone were to turn you
in to the FBI.
Well, I hope this page helps
you avoid getting scammed. I hate
seeing this stuff happen to honest collectors.
Having gone through this myself, I can certainly sympathize.