"BEWARE" ebay seller Bondsauthentic. Utley Howard Pujols bat

[skyliner59]

Bonds authentic is currently being investigated by federal authorities. I discovered this seller when looking at his supposed game used Utley Phillies bat currently listed on ebay. I own an MLB authenticated Utley bat purchased directly from the Phillies. I noticed differences in his bat vs. my bat. I contacted MaxBat, the manufacturer and it turns this scoundrel ordered 50 bats from MaxBat pretending to be an agent for minor leaguers. He ordered the model bats of Utley,Ryan Howard, and Albert Pujols with only the Model number engraved. He promised to have the minor leaguers name and team engraved below. Instead, he had the major leaguers names engraved and appropriate team. If you look at the Utley bat, http://cgi.ebay.com/CHASE-UTLEY-GAME-USED-BAT-PHILADELPHIA-PHILLIES_W0QQitemZ260153811737QQihZ016QQcategoryZ6 0596QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
the Philadelphia Phillies engravement which is under Chase's name is longer than the 3 inches which is the measurement that MaxBat uses for all of the lines on the barrel. This line is obviously longer than my MLB bat and the italics are definately different.
Jim Anderson, of MaxBat has contacted the feds in referenence to bondsauthentic who's real name is Robert Weitzner. Ebay has also been contacted by Mr. Anderson, but as expected did nothing about it. All of this guys auctions are private so I can't contact each bidder, so if you or someone you know has bid, CANCEL IT.

[brianborsch]

Once again this forum proves it's worth. Thanks for the above post and thanks for the research. I noticed those auctions and I though it was fishy as I check ebay for uncracked gamers daily. Then all of a sudden there are a ton of gamers from Pujols, Utley, Howard, Morneau, etc....and they are ALL Max Bats! I figured it was a sham and never looked at those auctions again. I am still concerned about that David Wright X-bat that sold for over $400?!? I have never seen a pic of Wright with an X-Bat.

[dcrules01]

I emailed the seller 6 times stating about the David Wrigh X tbat asking for some backround info.Not one repley.I have stumbled upon Bondsauthentics auctions and just thought the bats were all fishy.If that Pujols is a fake which I am guessing it is this guy should be going to jail.Something really needs to be done.

[skyliner59]

Jim Anderson confirmed with me that the Pujols was definatley a forgery. Besides the fact MaxBat shipped this guy the bats with only model numbers on the barrel, LOOK at the ball mark pattern. There are ball marks all over the bat. That was the first giveaway that Mr. Anderson picked up. Pujols supposedly holds his bat the same way for every pitch, as I am sure most ballplayers do, therefore leaving a consistent pattern.

[Birdbats]

skyliner59, is this your post on eBay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Albert-Pujols-Game-Used-Bat-item-260153814658-is-a-fake_W0QQitemZ250160945646QQihZ015QQcategoryZ60596 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

In case that posting is removed from eBay, here's what it says:

Bats from "bondauthentic" are fake. Listings for Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pujols game used bats are fakes. I've taken the liberty of contacting the company MaxBat to find out if these particular bats were indeed made for these players. The people at MaxBat did some research and concluded that the three bats in question from "bondsauthentic" are fake. The person listing these bats contacted MaxBat in March of '07 and posed as a player agent. Ordered 50 bats with only the model number to be laser engraved on the barrel. After receiving the bats from MaxBat, the eBay seller going by the name of "bondsauthentic" then had the bats laser engraved with the player names. These bats that are being auctioned off on eBay have not been used by said players. MaxBat has indeed made bats for these players, but the bats in question are fakes. Ebay has been contacted and notified several days ago but have not pulled the items.

There are additional pictures of Albert Pujols holding a MaxBat on the 260153814658 listing, but that is a MaxBat model C4 that he picked out at Spring Trianing camp to compare against 3 other MaxBat models. It did not have his name engraved in it. MaxBat has said that Albert Pujols used a Model C4 in late 2006, but it was a bat that he had received from Aramis Ramirez (engraved with Aramis Ramirez and Chicago Cubs) and that they have never engraved a MaxBat model C4 with Albert Pujols' name in it. According to MaxBat, Pujols has placed orders for the MaxBat Model 243 this year, and not the C4. The knob also shows a white vinyl #5 on it in place of the usual MaxBat knob sticker. That does not happen in the Cardinals clubhouse, as they do not put white vinyl stickers on the knob to represent whos bat it is in the bat rack.

The Chase Utley bat has engraving that exceeds the usual 3" in width. The name Philadelphia Phillies is longer than the 3" that MaxBat uses for team names. Other markings are missing from the bat as well according to info from the Phillies.

The people at MaxBat were VERY helpful in pointing out these discrepencies. They have an incredible wealth of knowledge about their bats, where they are shipped, who uses them, etc.

If you are bidding on these bats from "bondsauthentic" you are being ripped off. These are 100% fakes. If you would like to contact MaxBat for additional information, their website is maxbats.com

I am NOT selling anything here, but I need to put an item amount in order to post this info. Please be aware that you are not bidding on any item here, as this is just to make you aware of the fake bats that "bondsauthentic" is listing. We need to get rid of sellers who are taking advantage of bidders who don't know what's real and what is a fake. I hope that this post is seen by those bidders who have placed bids with "bondsauthentic". This is not only memorabilia fraud that is being committed, but also mail fraud if these items are shipping from Florida across state lines.

Nice detective work!

[allstarsplus]

Once again this forum proves it's worth. I am still concerned about that David Wright X-bat that sold for over $400?!? I have never seen a pic of Wright with an X-Bat.Great research Skyliner!

Unfortunately you can still get XBats that look like the Pro Bats so I guess anyone can buy a David Wright direct from XBat for $135 + shipping!!!

http://www.xbats.com/products.asp?cat=11

6028

I had discussions with a rep at Max Bats at the beginning of the 2007 season as I wasn't familiar with them. Ryan Zimmerman was using them and they gave me the exact dimensions (weight/length) ordered and how it should read on the barrel. They said while they will make giveway bats sometimes with players names for autograph shows, the barrel will read differently from their real gamer which is great to know + they wouldn't be made to the same dimensions.

It also helps to know the real use characteristics of the players you collect.

When I first saw that Pujols Max Bat on eBay, what I didn't like were the ball marks next to Albert's name which seemed unusual so I did no further research just because that was an obvious issue to me and I wouldn't have bid based on that. Given the final price of $946.67 there were others that probably had concerns too. Hopefully the winning bidder reads this Thread prior to paying!

6026

6027

Great job by Skyliner and MaxBats!!!!

Andrew

[skyliner59]

skyliner59, is this your post on eBay?

No it is not my post. If I were to guess it is from Jim Anderson of MaxBats who is obviously frustrated about Ebay not pulling bondsauthentics listings. He is trying to not only have this seller prosecuted but also protect others from being scammed. MaxBats should be commended for their efforts. Me, I just hate cheaters/scammers. Growing tired of them.

[kylehess10]

ok why exactly did 2 people bid on that auction and win it for 6 cents?? :confused:

[dcrules01]

Just on 4 bats around $3000.This guy should be prosecuted ripping people off..I hop we updated on this..