Fakes on eBay

[frikativ54]

Hey Guys,

I am new on this forum, so I would like your opinion on purchasing game-used items on eBay. I have always been skeptical of buying anything besides certified autographed cards and reliable patch cards on eBay, unless I personally know the dealer. So - could you guys estimate the approximate percentage of game-used items on eBay that are legitimate? If not on eBay, where would a person such as myself buy reliable game-used items?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[reed1216]

There are a ton of fakes on EBay. The best thing a new buyer can do is to educate him/herself. This forum is a great place for that.

I've been tempted by many items through EBay, as well as some major auction houses. When in doubt, I have posted the links here and have usually gotten some much needed help from other forum members. In my opinion, if you visit and read the posts from this site with regularity, you are more educated than 95% of the consuming public.

There are some steals on EBay, to be sure. But I would rather spend a little more for items that I know are authentic. This usually means purchasing items directly from teams, or through dealers that you trust. Many trustworthy collectors/dealers/sellers monitor this site on a daily basis and are more than willing to offer the help you might need. Best of luck!!!

http://community.webshots.com/user/Reed97

[commando]

There seems to be much less questionable equipment from "common" players or smaller leagues, versus the massive amount of garbage for current star players in the bigs. Many of us won't touch newer stuff like that unless if has ironclad provenance.

[frikativ54]

There seems to be much less questionable equipment from "common" players or smaller leagues, versus the massive amount of garbage for current star players in the bigs. Many of us won't touch newer stuff like that unless if has ironclad provenance.

Just what do you consider "ironclad provenance" to be?

[indyred]

I think there is quite a bit of really nice stuff on ebay for game used items. You know all the Meigray stuff is real. Also, you see quite a bit of Steiner, LRM, stuff people are selling that has mlb game used holograms ect. Just people who may have bought stuff and are selling to get something new or need $. I will do a team search with game used and in most cases the stuff looks good. All kinds of low end game used bats that most likley are real. Not like you can just go and get these bats at retail. There is some pure crap on ebay, but not all that much and it's mostly superstar stuff and if you know anything about what to look for in game used stuff it sticks out like a sore thumb. What would be the point of someone to even fake most common stuff. A retail authentic jersey sometimes costs more than what scrub gamer goes for anyways, they would end up losing money. I think game used stuff is getting more difficult to fake. With Steiner getting Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers stuff, fakers are going to have even a tougher time doing the resewing of tags on that kind of stuff when most people won't touch stuff from those teams unless it comes from Steiner or has all their holograms and paperwork. The Game worn/used business I think is getting much better. With companies like Steiner and Meigray now on the scene having some controls in place on what can be verified. Most scammers are into the autograph business. Real simple to get 8x10 or mlb balls, authentic jerseys and just slap a fake sig on it.

[cohibasmoker]

Interesting survey. How about a survey of "fakes" being offered by major auction houses.

Get these numbers then compare the two surveys - eBay vs auction houses. Now that would be a interesting comparison.

Jim

[DConLA]

they should call it E-FAKE NOT E-BAY.
DAN

[David]

In all areas of collecting on eBay, there are bad (ignorant to scammers) on eBay, but there are also some darn good ones. The key is to find the good sellers and deal largely with them-- at least check their auctions first before randomly picking sellers. A good seller is knowledgeable, honest and reliable. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, but a good seller will correct material mistakes.

You still have to do your own homework and all that, but a practical product from buying from a well known and respected bat or photo or painting dealer is that when you turn to sell it you can show it was purchased from a well known and respected dealer.

To find good sellers can you ask around. You can also purchase small, inexpensive items and see how the transaction works. If the shipment was fast, description was good and seller reliable on a $6 item, that's a good start at forming a trusted relationship for when you later wish to purchase a $1,000 item. Realize a lot of complaints about dealers aren't about the product itself, but shipping, how payment was handled, delays, etc. Doesn't matter if it's authentic if you never receive it in the mail.

The more knowledgeable you are about the material you collect, the better you are able to judge the integrity and knowledge of the seller. If you are an expert in Frank Thomas bats, you will be able to tell if an eBay seller of a Thomas bat knows what he's talking about or is blowing smoke just reading his description.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Do you guys ever search caterories besides the "game used memorabilia" section? There are tons of vintage gamers in other categories, NOT listed with the proper key words that are harder to find. Many are found at estate sales, and thrift stores from uneducated eBay sellers. You have to educate yourself. As Flavor Flav once said: "read a book...learn about your history".

COMMON PLAYERS MAKE THE WORLD GO 'ROUND! I agree with Cohibasmoker...why is an auction house with a high-gloss catalog any better than eBay? Some eBay sellers actually give refunds.

[beavisrules]

agree with what most have said. . .

<50% of the superstar jerseys are not true gamers
>50% of the common player jerseys are real gamers

bottom line is know your stuff

in my realm of interest, that being Notre Dame jerseys, the most notorious and repetitive example on ebay is the illustrious #3 home blue Notre Dame champion jersey circa 1994-1997 style that is an authentic retail that someone lists as game used - there is one currently on ebay at this moment, and typically one on ebay every 2 months listed as game used by varying sellers. I suspect these are never listed with overt intent to deceive at all, but rather an example of someone just not knowing their facts, or having bought it from someone else and being told at that time that it was a gamer. Nonetheless, these never get much in the way of bids as a true #3 vintage game used jersey would (which is incredibly rare), so I think most folks recognize it as an authentic rather than a gamer.