If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

[aeneas01]

ebayer flipsyr is at it again - for those that don't know, flipsyr loves to put together his own suspension helmets, engrave "riddell" or other helmet manufacturer names on the back and then claim that they are mint, original, vintage helmets from a bygone era. it's pretty easy to spot his homemade suspension units that he rivets to new shells and it's also pretty easy to spot his do-it-yourself heat-stamp engravings (many of which are nothing short of laughable!). and when he is questioned about his handy work, asked why all of his suspension helmets have webbing that is glued and cut to fit, asked why the manufacturer's heat-stamped logo on his helmets appear to be have done with jimmy's wood burning set his replies are always the same - that he acquired all of his helmets from trade shows and collectors and knows nothing about such matters.....

anyway, for years flipsyr has been trying to sell a vinatge riddell husky that he spruced up to look like rosey grier's nyg lid - although he didn't come right out and claim that it was rosey's, he certainly implied that it was an authentic, vintage giants lid from that era - something which he felt deserved a "buy it now price" of $5k, then $2.5k, then $2k and finally $1.5k. the most he was ever offered was $400 so it never sold.

ironically, flpsyr's greed probably decreased the value of this helmet - it is indeed a rare, authentic, vintage riddell "husky" helmet but because flipsyr covered it in paint and tried to enhance the heat-stamp with his crude efforts, serious collectors just passed on it.

well now the same helmet is back but it's now a joe green helmet - at least he is being up front and not implying that it was once a steelers lid. gotta love his engraving, check it out...

top photos: current listing, bottom photos: when it was listed as an authentic giants lid.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RIDDELL-HUSKY-STEELERS-MEAN-JOE-GREENES-ROOKIE-HELMET_W0QQitemZ170197534101QQihZ007QQcategoryZ86828QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mvandor]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

Saw that on ebay, and immediately came here to see if you'd posted about it.

There's more criminal activity on ebay now than there ever was on the streets pre-Internet.

[Neely8]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

Interesting how the Steelers and Giants used the same exact style helmet numbers back then.

[skipcareyisfat]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

Good lord. Too bad ebay likes the pay day too much to do anything about scumbags like this. Nice work aeneas01.

[aeneas01]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

Saw that on ebay, and immediately came here to see if you'd posted about it.

i need to get a life, eh?

There's more criminal activity on ebay now than there ever was on the streets pre-Internet.

i'm not so sure about this - i think criminal activity and memorabilia collecting have gone hand in hand since time began, certainly long before gore (smile) invented the net. can you imagine what the criminal activity might have been, pre-internet, had the market been flooded with the same amount of reproduction helmets, knockoff helmet decals, "game" jerseys, etc. that are available today - a market flooded with authentic looking knockoffs yet devoid of the photo resources, community forums, discussion groups that we now have access to?

[skipcareyisfat]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

I emailed flipsyr and asked him if the helmet had always had a Steelers logo or if it once had a different one. He was nice enough to reply:

"For one, I'm sick and tired of these so called experts who have a hard on over my helmets that I sell. I had an original 1960's Riddell Husky just like this one and it was a N.Y. Giants it also had a butterfly cage on it not a clip on cage and I sold it. Anybody who knows about Husky helmets from that era know they are extremely rare and are very pricey. Go to the Helmet Hut sight and try to buy one of their original Husky's. Lets see how much you'll pay. Try finding old original husky's you will not find that many around if any. And to answer your original question this has always had a Steeler decal. That's all I have to say."

[aeneas01]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

I emailed flipsyr and asked him if the helmet had always had a Steelers logo or if it once had a different one. He was nice enough to reply:

"For one, I'm sick and tired of these so called experts who have a hard on over my helmets that I sell. I had an original 1960's Riddell Husky just like this one and it was a N.Y. Giants it also had a butterfly cage on it not a clip on cage and I sold it. Anybody who knows about Husky helmets from that era know they are extremely rare and are very pricey. Go to the Helmet Hut sight and try to buy one of their original Husky's. Lets see how much you'll pay. Try finding old original husky's you will not find that many around if any. And to answer your original question this has always had a Steeler decal. That's all I have to say."

nice work skipcareyisfat - i'm glad a forum member contacted this crook given that his response perfectly illustrates the type of bald face lying some dealers are willing to stoop to in order to sell their junk. flipsyr could have simply told you that it was the same helmet and that he wasn't stating otherwise in his ad - that since he wasn't claiming that it was an authentic steelers helmet he felt no need to mention the helmet's history.

but no - instead he flatly tells you that this helmet was not the nyg giants helmet that he had previously listed. in short, he flatly lies to you by telling you that he sold the nyg helmet. what a piece of work....

you make the call - on the left is the nyg helmet that he couldn't find any takers for. on the right is the "steelers" helmet he currently has listed. i guess his stab at adding "7 3/4" to the webbing was supposed to fool buyers. as if it's not already painfully obvious that these are the same helmets, compare the faint writing on the two thin strips of webbing, bottom left. unbelievable....




speaking of this guy adding "7 3/4" to the webbing on the steelrs' helmet, here are some more photos of flipsyr's pathetic handiwork - photos of other fake helmets of his where he has also forged the helmet size on the webbing by hand writing in the numbers. what a mess! the first two rows show flipsyr's helmets while the bottom row shows authentic size stampings.

[Neely8]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

I see my red door and I want it painted it black.

[skipcareyisfat]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

aeneas01, I'm guessing flipsyr is on to you and your attempts to get him to admit to anything. So I emailed him again with a few follow-up questions based on the side-by-side shots you posted of the webbing. I asked if the size notation was hand-written or machine stamped. I also pressed him about the Giants helmet he supposedly sold, and offered to email a couple pics of the "two different" helmets that appear to show identical interiors. Here's the reply:

"The Giant helmet that I told you I sold is true, sorry I got confused (shoot me), and it was a husky helmet and I sold it two years ago. The Steeler helmet that you see know was a Giants helmet, it did not sell as that so I had it done into a copy of the husky helmet that Joe Greene wore his rookie year. I wrote the size over the original faded printing to see it better. And like I said in my listing it's an original rare Riddell Husky helmet made in the 1960's so lets not make a mistake on that. I sell allot of helmets that are original 1960's suspension helmets, that's a fact. I explain everything in the listing. So because I changed the helmet from a Giants to a Steeler helmet with the exact thin mil stripe and Steeler decal that's the issue? The issue is it's an original 1960's Riddell Husky helmet. Since when is it against the law for me to sell a vintage helmet that I had made into a 1960's Steelers helmet in which is very rare to find or purchase. Answer this for me find me a original 1960's Riddell helmet made into no matter what team let alone a very rare husky. Do me a favor contact Helmet Hut and try to purchase one of their original Riddell Husky's that they made into a NFL team. I want to sell this helmet and I explained everything about what I'm selling that is my choice and right to do so. And potential buyers have the right to purchase and even ask questions before they purchase. I don't put a gun to anybodies head to purchase. And I will tell you this I don't need to be harrassed by people. So you can tell all who have sent me threatening messages I have reported them."

[aeneas01]

Re: If It Don't Sell, Paint It Black....

funny stuff skipcareyisfat! flipsyr obviously took a peek at this thread and decided that it was best to backpedal on his claim that he had sold the nyg lid - too funny. "oh, i forgot, i sold another nyg helmet"....

"I don't put a gun to anybodies head to purchase." flipsyr

perfect, eh? no, he doesn't put a gun to anyone's head - he just lies about what he sells and hopes that potential customers don't find their way to this great forum! and you're right skipcareyisfat - he is on to me and so is vintageksusports and lambeauleeper, two other ebay crooks.

but that's a good thing - especially given that i've noticed that the prices these "dealers" are now getting for their knockoffs and misrepresented items are considerably lower than what they were a year or two ago. at this rate it won't be long before the financial incentive to cheat customers will disappear entirely for flipsyr (helmet hut repro facemasks aren't cheap) and lambeuleeper. vintageksusports is another matter because his items will always garner interest due to their quality and rarity. but hopefully he will begin to feel less inclined to make up stories about these gems because of this great forum and more inclined to sell them for what they are - beautiful, rare helmets that will fetch a solid price on their own merit.