Fool Me Once, Shame On Me, But Fool Me Twice …

eBay Seller alangbaum offers this Michael Jordan RC:
Item number: 300003523984 - 1986-87 86 Michael Jordan Fleer Rookie Card RC Ungraded ITEM REMOVED FROM EBAY


In the description the following is stated:

“The card is in great condition with great centering and sharp corners. In my opinion this is a 9 or a 10. Please look at pictures. Since the card is not graded, as per Ebay policies, the card must be listed as a reprint. I accept paypal, money order, cashiers check, or personal check. Payment must be received within 7 days of the end of the auction. If payment is not received within 7 days, negative feedback will be left, a non-paying bidder will be filed, and the item will be relisted. I will ship item once payment clears. No returns. Insured shipping will be $8.00. Please let me know if you have any questions.”



Well I have a question, and so should you. If this card is truly a 9 or a 10, then why not get it graded before selling it? One possible answer to consider could be that the card is a counterfeit.

I have one more question. Can someone show me the ebay policy that says if a card isn't graded then it must be listed as a reprint? That isn't a policy. What it is, is a disclaimer. "Hey, I sold it to you as a reprint, so why are you compaining that it is not the real card?"

Also note the “No returns” policy.

Remember that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Now let’s assume that the card is in fact “the real deal” and let’s continue to look on ebay for another one.


eBay Seller picolin2 is also offering a Jordan RC.
Item number: 270004128732 - 1986-87 86 Michael Jordan Fleer Rookie Card RC ITEM REMOVED FROM EBAY
[07/09/2006 UPDATE: After item was removed by ebay, seller immeidately relisted it as a one day auction. Sellers trying to avoid removal of their items by ebay will often use one day auctions over the weekend. Item number: 270005863434 ]


Now let’s look at how the seller describes it.
“You are bidding on the item pictured. This is a 1986 Fleer #57 Michael jordan. This is your chance to own an item of the greatest player! Put your bid in now!! Dont miss your chance to own this item!! .
The card is in great condition with great centering and sharp corners. In my opinion this is a 9 or a 10. Please look at pictures. Since the card is not graded, as per Ebay policies, the card must be listed as a reprint.
Payment must be received within 5 days of the end of the auction. If payment is not received within 5 days, negative feedback will be left, a non-paying bidder will be filed, and the item will be relisted.”
Notice the similarity, or should I say the exact duplication of the red bolded text. Apparently somebody copied someone else’s listing description. But what else may have been copied? How about the photos?

Notice that the images from this auction are identical to those of the first auction except that they have been cropped, including eliminating the original ebay watermark in the lower right corner that would be a sure sign of copying when the watermark showed up twice on the image. The lighting accents and reflections are identical. The seller here tells you to look at the pictures, but why? They are pictures taken from someone else’s auction. Now you need to ask yourself, does this seller even have any card at all, whether it is real or counterfeit?

Well actually, the seller just may have some counterfeits. Looking through the seller's recent feedback you can see that he recently bought 3 counterfeits here: Item number: 200003552782 - MICHAEL JORDAN 1986 FLEER ROOKIE X3 REPRINT

If you are going to spend the time to earn the money that is required to purchase a card like this, shouldn't you invest a little of your valuable time in doing some research?

Before You Bid Arm Yourself With Knowledge!