Why are patch fakers so dumb

[piper1]

The Patch fakers aren't dumb. There are however plenty of dumb or ignorant customers out there for them to exploit.

[sparty07]

Saw on twitter this morning, a Japanese card manufacturer in the realm of the benchwarmer actually pinpointed where on the bikini the "patch" came from. While it's not a product for me, that level of precision would be awesome to have in the sports card world.

Patch fakers can get away with using incorrect patches for two main reasons:
1. People don't pay attention to the details. Nice Patch! I want it!
2. There are enough mistakes in the patches that are NOT fakes, that seeing the 'wrong' patch on a card doesn't even really mean it's been tampered with.

Expanding on that second point: There have been plenty of instances of memorabilia being mixed up between players over the years. You don't see the backs of cards saying that "this piece of jersey was used BY THIS PLAYER in an NHL game" any more, you just see that it's been used in an NHL game. Could this be to keep the manufacturer from liability issues if it's proven to be wrong due to an error? Maybe... but it's probably also a sign that in some cases jerseys from no-name players are being used to make GU cards of bigger name players.

When that's being done, eras are going to get mixed up once in a while.

Then throw in the super patched rookie photoshoot jerseys. There could be anything on them.

[30ranfordfan]

It's a level of precision / care that hockey card manufacturers seem to have no interest in taking.

Part of the problem, I would suspect, is how they acquire the jersey. Unless someone from the company is there so the player hands them the jersey off their back.... then they're going based on what they've been told. If UD guarantees something to be true, and it's later proven to be wrong, then they're in trouble - even if the cause is that they were misinformed (lied to?) by someone else.

There is no reason why you couldn't cut up a hockey jersey and say that a piece came from the sleeve, the chest, the back, etc - but then you'd have to keep track of it, and you'd have to print things different on similar cards. Makes the whole process more complicated, and I just can't see the manufacturers wanting to go down that road.

Saw on twitter this morning, a Japanese card manufacturer in the realm of the benchwarmer actually pinpointed where on the bikini the "patch" came from. While it's not a product for me, that level of precision would be awesome to have in the sports card world.

[sparty07]

There are ways around the guarantees with indemnification agreements with the teams responsible for providing the game used jerseys. And I wouldn't expect this from every product (champs would not need it). But for Premier or Cup that is already charging a premium price, that level of precision should be able to be accounted for. Panini has done this with 2014 Absolute (https://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Absolu...MAAOSwUd9aaOgJ)

It's a level of precision / care that hockey card manufacturers seem to have no interest in taking.

Part of the problem, I would suspect, is how they acquire the jersey. Unless someone from the company is there so the player hands them the jersey off their back.... then they're going based on what they've been told. If UD guarantees something to be true, and it's later proven to be wrong, then they're in trouble - even if the cause is that they were misinformed (lied to?) by someone else.

There is no reason why you couldn't cut up a hockey jersey and say that a piece came from the sleeve, the chest, the back, etc - but then you'd have to keep track of it, and you'd have to print things different on similar cards. Makes the whole process more complicated, and I just can't see the manufacturers wanting to go down that road.

[jjdicaprio]

I agree that the fake patchers are super lame and are bad for the hobby.

But can we take a moment to enjoy the real patches? https://www.ebay.com/itm/15-16-Upper...5/401240991469

[Manny]

I like how in the absolute football, the color of the patch does not match the color observed on the jersey within the indicated circle at all :)

[subban7677]

I wouldn't say they're dumb. Some of them are quite good at what they do. What they do sucks, but that's a different conversation.

[Absolutebeauty]

I wonder how much is patch faking by a scammer and how much is error/laziness on behalf of UD. Examples:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-10-THE...S/222823298357 - Ilya Kovalchuk Cup patch card with obviously parts of Nashville Predators logo (who he obviously did not play for)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UD-THE-CUP-...D/222861372572 - Tyler Bozak Cup auto with obvious Florida Panthers patches (again, never played for them)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-16-UD-...C/192484500734 - Connor McDavid patch with the letters "NT". An exhaustive search has shown no Edmonton jerseys having the word "EDMONTON" splayed across it so the only other conclusion I could come to is that this is from the only player on the team at the time with an "NT" in his name - Matt Hunt.

[canucksfan007]

I wonder how much is patch faking by a scammer and how much is error/laziness on behalf of UD. Examples:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-10-THE-CUP-ILYA-KOVALCHUK-AUTO-DUAL-PATCH-2-15-EMBLEMS-OF-ENDORSEMENTS/222823298357 - Ilya Kovalchuk Cup patch card with obviously parts of Nashville Predators logo (who he obviously did not play for)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UD-THE-CUP-2009-10-TYLER-BOZAK-THE-CUP-AUTO-PATCH-FOUNDATION-ERROR-CARD/222861372572 - Tyler Bozak Cup auto with obvious Florida Panthers patches (again, never played for them)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-16-UD-Black-Diamond-Connor-McDavid-Rookie-LOGO-Patch-Auto-BGS-9-10-15-RC/192484500734 - Connor McDavid patch with the letters "NT". An exhaustive search has shown no Edmonton jerseys having the word "EDMONTON" splayed across it so the only other conclusion I could come to is that this is from the only player on the team at the time with an "NT" in his name - Matt Hunt.

#1 - UD mistake

#2 - UD mistake

#3 - UD rookie event worn jersey

[30ranfordfan]

I wonder how much is patch faking by a scammer and how much is error/laziness on behalf of UD. Examples:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-10-THE-CUP-ILYA-KOVALCHUK-AUTO-DUAL-PATCH-2-15-EMBLEMS-OF-ENDORSEMENTS/222823298357 - Ilya Kovalchuk Cup patch card with obviously parts of Nashville Predators logo (who he obviously did not play for)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UD-THE-CUP-2009-10-TYLER-BOZAK-THE-CUP-AUTO-PATCH-FOUNDATION-ERROR-CARD/222861372572 - Tyler Bozak Cup auto with obvious Florida Panthers patches (again, never played for them)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-16-UD-Black-Diamond-Connor-McDavid-Rookie-LOGO-Patch-Auto-BGS-9-10-15-RC/192484500734 - Connor McDavid patch with the letters "NT". An exhaustive search has shown no Edmonton jerseys having the word "EDMONTON" splayed across it so the only other conclusion I could come to is that this is from the only player on the team at the time with an "NT" in his name - Matt Hunt.

The first two are clear mistakes, and the 3rd is from a Photoshoot jersey. They could be wearing jerseys that patches say "UPPER DECK MAKES THE BEST HOCKEY CARDS, LOL!!!!!1" and then cut those up. What patches they wear in real games, and what patches go on those jerseys... not the same thing.