ebay seller lambeauleeper and "game issued"

[mvandor]

Suave, have you reviewed his currently for sale and sold items? You seem to be rather quick to call him a crook and judge all his items "retail".

In the few weeks I've been hanging around here I've photo checked alot of supposedly game used jerseys and easily was able to disqualify a ton of them by a simple photo check. However, I've been unable to disqualify this ebay seller's helmets so easily, for example his Reggie White matches every available photo on gettyone.com for the SB in question, as does the Favre. The Marino I discount as I've spoken to individuals at HelmetHut (if I recall correctly) who know the equipment manager for the Dolphins during the Marino years and has opined that virtually none of Dan's helmets got out of the team's control. Nevertheless, from the exterior, it looks very good (I do note he doesn't show pics of helmet interiors which might be giveaways as to authenticity if shown, don't know).

It seems to me if someone is gonna be a memorabilia crook, they'd go for the big money, wack on the helmets, and auction em as game used - AND push some volume. It seems odd someone would auction so few helmets, refer to them only as "game issue" and not lie as to proof of provenance if it was an ongoing scam.

Do I know his helmets are legit from teams? Nope. But he doesn't represent them as such, only that they match the game helmets as far as specs, and that he commits the sadly common sin of using the "game issue" term.

My principal focus in collecting over the last year has been helmets, and I can nearly always spot flaws in supposed "game issues", yet this guy's stuff I can't. So either he's got some legit helmets or he's better at his effort than volume helmet copiers like RealStuff.

Can't comment on his jersey(s), not my area of expertise.

I guess my point is it's easy to take cynicism to an extreme given the degree of fraud in the hobby. However, for the most part this guy's use of the term "game issue" is no worse than anyone else selling these types of helmets on ebay.

[mvandor]

BTW, beantown, you refer to a Brady helmet he sold, but I see no such item either in his feedback or completed listings. Where are you getting that one from?

[reed1216]

Ignorance is not and should not be a defense. Citing the fact that this is a "competitive market" is even worse. Taking it a step further would be to justify selling retail jerseys that were worn in a pickup game by the seller as game used. I think we would all be in agreement that that would be fraudulent, but if the "competitive market" arguement validates the misuse of the term "game issued," why not take that next step??

The bottom line is that people that sell their items have an obligation to be truthful in disclosing the history behind them. If they really are unaware of the history of their item, they should state that up front. At least the seller that Eric questioned responded to his inquiries. While the responses were lame, many sellers simply ignore such requests for information in the hope that some unsuspecting buyer will take the bait. It sucks, there's no excuse for that and hopefully, by discussing these items and those that sell them, slowly these incidents will occur less frequently.

[kneerat]

Hey guys,
I am not calling this person a crook, but how can he not know the history of something that may be the most important helmet of Brett Favre's career?

If he obtained this via purchase or trade, it would make sense that he would ask the person how it was originally obtained.

Also, I have seen many helmets that have been used in a game. They almost always show hit marks, scratching, field paint, something... If there is absolutely no wear at all, then I don't know if you can even raise the possibility that it might be game-worn. Game-issued would be possible, but not game worn.
If that Favre helmet was actually a backup to his original used in Super Bowl XXXI, I would think that it is still worth 6-8k...

One last note: I have been tracking this user id for some time now... He has some amazing helmets that he described as game-issued or maybe game-used. I would assume that he gets most of his stuff from the same source. This guy has been listing helmets like this for at least a year or two. You would think at some point he would find out where they are all coming from.

[hblakewolf]

Chris-
Not to get off of the subject, however, why has SCD turned from such an informative publication in the past, now to a 55 page vehicle for auction houses to self-promote and advertise while you and the staff stay away from reporting any type of controversial activities in the hobby?

Personally, when my subscription runs out, I'll need to take a good hard look at renewing. If your current format and editiorial support of your advertisers continues, I'll be hard pressed to renew.

I suggest you start a thread and possibly ask for input on ways to improve your publication.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[beantown]

While we're on the subject of "team issued", "game issued", etc., with Ebay seller lambeauleeper, this Ebay seller. flipsyr doing the same thing with more vintage helmets....

http://cgi.ebay.com/1960s-NEW-ORLEAN...QQcmdZViewItem

I have been informed by two helmet experts, that ALL these helmets this individual is selling/sold are not what they claim to be...prospective buyers beware of this sellers claims!

[mvandor]

While we're on the subject of "team issued", "game issued", etc., with Ebay seller lambeauleeper, this Ebay seller. flipsyrs doing the same thing with more vintage helmets....

http://cgi.ebay.com/1960s-NEW-ORLEAN...QQcmdZViewItem

I have been informed by two helmet experts, that ALL these helmets this individual is selling/sold are not what they claim to be...prospective buyers beware of this sellers claims!

Well, my first impression of these is that they look awfully new for 40 year old helmets, but who knows, maybe the guy came across an old box of unused 1960's shells.

However, the lack of any facemasks, the identical shells, and the fresh exteriors, leads me to believe these were painted and decals applied by this guy. Perhaps he couldn't score a box of 1960's facemasks.

[kneerat]

Hi Howard,
Thanks for the questions... If you would like to start another thread about SCD, feel free.

The reason why we write so much about the various auction houses and the items they sell is because auctions have been such a huge part of the hobby in the past few years.
If you have any articles in particular that you would like to see in our magazine, please shoot me an email.
Eric Stangel actually wrote a column for a future issue, which we are very excited about.
Also, I have been writing about some of the more controversial issues of the hobby in my blog. You should check it out sometime.
We are in the process of adding audio and video interviews to our website, so hopefully we will be providing some things that have been missing in the past.
Also, I saw a show special for a $25 subscription to SCD. That is less than 50 cents per issue. It's true that our publication is not the same 300-page monster as it was before eBay existed, but what magazine is? Hopefully you will renew...
Regards,
chris

[Eric]

I would ask that we stick to the subject of this thread. Howard, if you have something to post about SCD, I would suggest starting another thread.
On a separate note, Chris, it's nice to have you chime in here. I know you're a Packers guy and I too have noticed lambeauleeper has had a lot of high-profile Packers issued pieces.
I have also read your blog, including the entry about your concern over team issued jerseys showing up elsewhere as game used. Keep up the good work.
Thanks,
Eric

[rose14]

Chris, I for one would like to see a report in SCD that goes into detail all of the authenticating problems with Lou Lampson and why these auction houses still use them. I know it's a double edge sword for SCD, but your publication should not turn a blind eye on what has been happening just because these auction houses buy advertising from you.

I also think SCD should do an in depth piece on the way auction houses conduct business with consigning their own items, having access to raise bidders proxy bids and most important changing or altering items in their auction without disclosing the facts of the alterations.

Thanks
Todd