FAKES??? Questions

[Kadamscards]

Hey Everyone,

I recently read about fake cards. I saw the word Shilled.. what does that mean??

Also, people a really do this?? HOw common is this in the industry?

I've been collecting again since 07-08 and never thought this would be a problem. I remember hearing about fakes back in the day, with Jordan, but I guess I believed humanity had improved and this was not happening anymore.

this upset me!!

I then realized that I had just made my biggest purchases ever recently. Do people fake cards #'d to 10? or just 1 of 1's or any cards??

I bought a Donruss LArry Bird masters Autograph off of EBay and am a little scared now. I also bought a triple auto with bird, pierce and Al Jeff, but that was through this site so I am pretty confident it's real.

ANyone have any information on this disgusting, despicable, immoral topic of creating fake cards?

[boombaby_rm31]

from what i heard, there are some 08-09 topps photoshoot cards that has been faked.. usually the red auto's

normally from what i have seen, most of the faked cards are the high ends since people pay premium on sick patches. so if the patch is too good to be true, it really aint(unless it came from a set well known of putting up sick patches)

just be aware of the product and the sets where the card came from and you'll be good

[Velvet Hoop]

A shill is essentially someone who inconspicuously acts on behalf of another. In the context you used it, a seller will either have another account or have someone else bid up his auctions to drive the price higher for legitimate bidders. It's a way of gaming the system on eBay.

As far as fakes go, autographs aren't usually the target. Most companies put language on the back of the card that indicate whether or not it should be autographed. It's fairly easy to spot fake autographs. The big problem with fakes is when sellers remove a bland patch from a patch card and replace it with a (fake) colorful patch to make the card more desirable. That's much harder to tell in general. And yes, people do it. Two of the most notorious faked cards are Adrian Peterson's Exquisite and SPA rookie patch auto. Those cards sold for a ton of money when they weren't tampered with, yet people still ripped out the patch and inserted one they thought was better.

[hairyangryfella]

This is a great example of shill bidding -
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...STRK:MEWA:BIDN

First bidder (a***3) bid up to $40. The shill bid up and up and then when they bid $41 and were leading, they withdrew the bid so the legit bidder was at their max. I knew this was shilling and so to prove it I bid $59. Again the shill bid and bid and then when leading withdrew his bid.
He has 99% of his bidding activity with the seller and multiple bids placed and multiple retractions. One of the most obvious shills in a long time, so when I win it I'm going to leave him negative feedback :D