A Card Talker recently contacted me about some Superman Returns autographs he got a great deal on. They came from eBay seller coolstuffhere, and as soon as I saw the scan I was concerned as all the signatures were in blotchy black ink. The Superman Returns autographs I am familiar with all are signed in smooth blue ink.
Cult-Stuff’s Jason did a bunch of photographic analysis and posted about it on Card Talk. He could see fibers or hairs that looked as though they came from under the sticker, as well as inconsistencies with the autograph — close visual inspection showed the signature wasn’t signed in proper order. You can actually see some of the fibers in the following scan:
Unfortunately the buyer is just outside of the 45 day window to get Paypal/eBay involved in the situation. He contacted the seller, who essentially blew him off. I hope to have updates on these cards as the buyer continues to attempt to resolve this situation. Here is a scan of the Kevin Spacey:
And all of the cards in the set are viewable here.
Have you pulled a black ink Superman Returns card? If so please send a scan! Any ideas to help this buyer get restitution?
Jon
I’m curious about some of the other autos that the seller has listed, and some of their completed listings (like the set of Transformers autos – which they received a negative for, but not about the authenticity).
I wonder if any of those are fakes?
Comment by Miss Lizzy — December 14, 2010 @ 2:07 am
if its fraud its fraud. the police/trading standards can deal with it . i would report it and get an incident number. if nothing else it should rattle their cage . if someone is selling fake autos they may also be into other more serious crimes? crime is a habitual pattern so they will keep going till someone stops them. I would also contact topps and ask them [a reply is a long shot i know :)]. Or even contact the official fan sites/agents of the stars in question. they might know and at least get them talking about it. they would want to protect their asset?
the way to drive them out is have a clear list on one page of all questionable ebay ids and make sure everyone knows about it. i have a ‘do not bid on’ list and a ‘do not sell to list’.
Or, if one wanted to be more positive, have a real dealer list. ie people who buy cases/boxes, who are in it for the long term and have a pride in their service. Given being a dealer is one of trust a ‘trusted dealer’ scheme with a logo would go a long way in restoring confidence in the current ‘wild west’ of autos?
Comment by richard — December 14, 2010 @ 5:41 am
Hi Richard, I am the buyer, im from london by the way. doubt i can go to the police as they wouldnt be able to do anything as the seller is over the US. i already contact the topps about this as you said its a long shot if they ever reply, do you have any other ideas? or anyone? i would be grateful
Cheers!
Comment by Raz — December 14, 2010 @ 11:33 am
hi raz
the police should deal with it in the sense of giving you a case number? one could also try http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/ which is the [govt] UK’s national fraud reporting centre.
Comment by richard — December 14, 2010 @ 11:46 am
this is what the askthepolice website says in answer to ”I am the victim of a crime that has happened in another country, what do I do?”
https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q603.htm
internet auction sites
https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/@71.htm
A_Z FAQ
https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/default.mth
Comment by richard — December 14, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
Thanks Richard for that link :)
Comment by Raz — December 14, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
My guess is they took autograph stickers off low-end cards, removed the ink and forged these signatures, then attached the newly “signed” stickers to counterfeit cardstock.
Comment by Ted Dastick, Jr. — December 15, 2010 @ 9:30 am
Jon,
Hey! I didn’t see your contact info but this is Bryan from the Chicago show…just checking in about the Veronica Mars cases…send me an email!
Thanks!
Comment by Bryan — December 15, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
Well, I’ve emailed Topps twice.
And you guessed it, no response. They really don’t give a frak.
Comment by Miss Lizzy — December 28, 2010 @ 3:43 pm
Well, I got a response from Topps (2 weeks later). And guess what they had to say?
“I would send them in to BGS or PSA/DNA for further certification.”
That’s it. That was the whole reply.
Comment by Miss Lizzy — January 5, 2011 @ 4:12 pm
Sad cause i got con`d on a Superman #1 comic over 8 yrs ago payed 1000.00 and never seen my money or the comic from a prick in the UK..I hope Karma will get this SOB and good..
Comment by Kal — May 20, 2011 @ 11:59 pm