How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

[bigaust001]

I have been a long time collector of sports cards, and in today's hobby, a large staple of collecting is game used relics/patches. These can be works of art, but in the end a piece of memorabilia is desecrated. Do you trust the companies as to what they put in the cards being authentic?

Check out some of these:
Patch Showoff Thread
Flawless Patch Thread

My fellow board member's collection:
Baseball
Football
Basketball

Now, I also have to address this. We, as a forum, have caught the companies using 'fake' jerseys in their products. See here:

Flawless Error
Carmelo Fake (from the company of the collection above)

Has anyone on here ever saw a patch card, and instantly knew it was a fake like the two instances that we have?

[Jags Fan Dan]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I once saw a Jimmy Smith Jaguars jersey card on eBay with a piece of number patch from a Patriots jersey.

[coxfan]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

Most of the complaints about authenticity and sacrilege, etc. concern baseball and football game-used cards. But I've seen race-used cards with pieces if NASCAR bumpers, and the like. I'm no NASCAR fan, despite living in SC, but I wonder if similar concerns have been raised about cards with that kind of thing. How about the ones with presidential hair-cuttings or cut signatures, etc. Are there similar issues with authenticity and sacrilege there as well?

[Jags Fan Dan]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

Most of the complaints about authenticity and sacrilege, etc. concern baseball and football game-used cards. But I've seen race-used cards with pieces if NASCAR bumpers, and the like. I'm no NASCAR fan, despite living in SC, but I wonder if similar concerns have been raised about cards with that kind of thing. How about the ones with presidential hair-cuttings or cut signatures, etc. Are there similar issues with authenticity and sacrilege there as well?

I can't really say how NASCAR fans would feel about that, but my own opinion is that it is different. A bumper or tire is a piece of a car already, to cut it up doesn't seem to be much worse for it. However, to take an intact jersey and cut it up to me is different.

[mad87man]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

If its a new player or active player by all means go ahead and do it. There are 16 games a season and a chance for 16 new jerseys to be worn. It is NOT messing with anything of real value. I am a jets collector, A Geno Smith sold feom last year for 560$. I wouldn't care at all if It got cut up. But take an old player and a real nice piece and tear it up? No way. Why ruin a gorgeous Joe Namath jersey that may only have 10 out there in the world.

[bigaust001]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

If its a new player or active player by all means go ahead and do it. There are 16 games a season and a chance for 16 new jerseys to be worn. It is NOT messing with anything of real value. I am a jets collector, A Geno Smith sold feom last year for 560$. I wouldn't care at all if It got cut up. But take an old player and a real nice piece and tear it up? No way. Why ruin a gorgeous Joe Namath jersey that may only have 10 out there in the world.

This has been done, repeatedly. There was a Rams jersey of his that was butchered recently, and multiple Jets jerseys have been as well.

[NEFAN]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I once had a card with a piece of a Superbowl XX football in it. The logo had the gold foil in it, but that was not used on balls that early.

[bigaust001]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I once had a card with a piece of a Superbowl XX football in it. The logo had the gold foil in it, but that was not used on balls that early.

Can you post a picture of this?

[jake33]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I mentioned this before, but I would like to see someone file a class action lawsuit against the card companies for game used cards that are blatantly wrong - such as that Patriots fabric on a card of a player that never played for them.

Also, didn't Jared O from JO sports state that he at one point sold fraudulent game used memorabilia to the card companies? From the card companies point of view - Owning fraudulent property in itself is nor illegal, but reselling as jersey cards, that might be a different story.

All the cards carry a similar COA on the back, once you see one wrong, it calls into question the authenticity of every card the companies sell.

[Jags Fan Dan]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I mentioned this before, but I would like to see someone file a class action lawsuit against the card companies for game used cards that are blatantly wrong - such as that Patriots fabric on a card of a player that never played for them.

Also, didn't Jared O from JO sports state that he at one point sold fraudulent game used memorabilia to the card companies? From the card companies point of view - Owning fraudulent property in itself is nor illegal, but reselling as jersey cards, that might be a different story.

All the cards carry a similar COA on the back, once you see one wrong, it calls into question the authenticity of every card the companies sell.

If the jersey is sold to the card company as an authentic gamer, I wonder what burden of due diligence, if any, is legally required on their part?

[Preston]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I personally hope they're all fake so that they aren't actually still cutting up REAL game jerseys that we would want to collect and have made available.

[teddy406]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

HATE THEM. Don't cut up VINTAGE jerseys into pieces. Just stupid.

[yankees506]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I never liked them, but then one day realized that unless I hit the lotto id never be able to own a ruth bat or jersey. For modern stars im fortunate enough to be able to buy full pieces but there are people less fortunate than me. So they can take the same stance I take on the ruth items. Does it suck that vintage stuff is being cut up? Yes, but it's awesome to own a piece of history, no matter how small it is.... If they are real :-)

[sportsnbikes]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I don't like the idea of taking vintage jerseys and cutting them up. The more they cut up, the less chance I have of owning one some day. The concept was cool in the beginning, but the fraud and the old jerseys being cut up gives me a real distaste for them.

[Jayworld]

Re: How do you guys feel about card companies and GU cards?

I don't like the idea of taking vintage jerseys and cutting them up. The more they cut up, the less chance I have of owning one some day. The concept was cool in the beginning, but the fraud and the old jerseys being cut up gives me a real distaste for them.

+1 on this. Never have really understood the concept of having a "piece" of a jersey. In the end, something has been destroyed to create a jersey card. It is so common in the modern card hobby (at least since the early-to-mid 1990s I think) but unknown of prior to that. I remember when I got back into baseball cards about 2001 after leaving the hobby back in 1984, and I had to "educate" myself on new terms such as relic, parallel, foil, chrome, jersey card, autograph card, etc.

Much would rather have the complete jersey, cap, pants, etc. Heck, many companies are now cutting up movie props and costumes for cards, too, and facing legitimacy issues as well.