Here's what I'd love to know.

Who's acting as the accessory in the game used fraud being perpetrated in today's hobby?

Someone is taking clean game cut jerseys of today's star players and rookies and adding customizations which are close but not right. Teams who keep a tight hold on their equipment are now represented in every auction these days with 2005 and 2006 jerseys of the money players.

They are flooding the hobby. Items like this rejected from one auction house end up in others. It's not good.

It's not just one person involved here. Unless they happen to be a dealer and a master with a sewing machine (which I suppose is possible, but unlikely) there are other guilty parties as well.

Here are all of the steps involved in this scheme:

Someone is getting game cuts of star players (from Reebok? from the teams?) How do they get these pieces? Does Reebok/NFL/Players Association know that someone is using their product to defraud the public? Actually, I can tell you they do, but will they do something about it?

It seems that some of these game cuts either didn't have nameplates and patches (since some of the fonts on the final product are wrong AND some of the patches are in the incorrect place.)

So that means our scammers have to find false nameplates and/or patches. Patches can be found on ebay. Where can nameplates be made?

They have to have someone willing to sew on these nameplates and patches. How many places so restorations/customizations like this? Is it hard to find?

The scammers have to know what the proper customizations are supposed to look like and then order them up with their tailor.

Side by side with the real thing, you can tell the differences, but with no photo comparison, one can be fooled.

The authenticators are fooled too. You see these in many of today's high profile auction houses.

And hey- as long as your in there sewing, Mr. Tailor, how about some repairs? You see some pieces with the wrong font nameplate which has been punished with wear.

Then there are the auction houses who take these in as consignments? Are they guilty here? I'm not sure of what the answer is. If they don't know they're being had, then I'm not sure they're guilty. If they are playing dumb to get the buyer's fee, then round them up with the rest of the thieves.

What am I missing here? What do people think about all of this?
Eric