Big Blue Disk 49/bbd49.zip/CARDSHRP.ASC

Text File | 1990-09-18 | 4KB | 54 lines

     If there was any one catchword at the 11th annual National Sports
 Collectors Convention, it was "fraud."  Counterfeiting has become such a
 problem for sports card collectors that dealers discussed the possibility of
 forming a national association to police the industry.  But the problem isn't
 restricted just to the card industry.  Memorabilia dealers at the convention
 last weekend in Arlington said fraud has found its way into every phase of
 sports collecting.  "Whenever there's a buck to be made, somebody's going to
 try to cheat," said Murf Denny, one of the top mail-order memorabilia dealers
 in the country.  "Some of these people are just scum."  Authentic player
 jerseys, autographs and player equipment are all subject to fraud, Denny said.
 "It's nothing to go out and buy a replica jersey for $100, sew a player's name
 on the back and sell it to someone as having belonged to that player," he said
 "It happens all the time."

     "There was this one guy in Canada that just got sent to prison for
 fraud," Denny said.  "This guy did mail order business from about 10 or 12
 different addresses so it took a long time to catch him.  One of the really
 rotten things he did was to sell his fakes to all those Last Wish charities -
 you know, the people who grant wishes to dying kids.  These kids would ask for
 a jersey from their favorite player and this scumbag would sell those people a
 fake."  By selling the fakes for as much as $100 - $200 less than what an
 authentic player's jersey might cost, the frauds are cutting into the
 business, said Robb Wochnick, a dealer from Portland, Ore.  "Let's say, for
 instance, I've got a Rickey Henderson jersey for $900," he said.  "Well, one
 of these frauds might have one for sale for $300.  If you don't know any
 better, which one are you going to buy?"

     Fortunately, Wochnick said, there are ways of knowing if a jersey is
 the real McCoy.  "You have to check the tagging," he said.  "Authentic
 gamewear has the proper tagging, designating it by the team or the player."
 The tagging, usually found on the tail of the jerseys and inside the pants,
 will either have a set number, the player's name or the team's name, Wochnick
 said.  But the big key, he said, is to know who you're dealing with.  "What
 really irks me is the guy who will spend $500 for a jersey but won't spend $5
 on phone calls to check out whoever he's buying it from," he said.  The same
 advice holds true for equipment and autographs.  Jim Roy, an autograph
 collector and dealer from Kansas City, Mo., said the only way to know you're
 getting an authentic autograph is to make sure you're buying it from a
 reputable dealer.

     "If you don't know him, ask a lot of questions," he said.  "A dealer
 who knows his business will know, for instance, that a Babe Ruth autograph
 isn't that hard to come by.  Babe liked to hit the bars and he signed a lot of
 autographs for a lot of people.  "On the other hand, a reputable dealer will
 know that a single Lou Gehrig autograph is real hard to come by.  Gehrig was a
 real private guy who stayed at home with his wife."  Denny agreed that one of
 the best ways to separate serious dealers with possible frauds is to test
 their knowledge.  People who are in it for a quick, dishonest buck usually
 don't know much.  "Ask them what were the Shreveport Steamer's colors," he
 said.  "Serious dealers know the items from the old World Football League are
 in demand.  They'll know that you can get as much as $1,100 for an old Steamer
 helmet.  "A fraud probably won't know who you're talking about."

          ***  From The (Shreveport) Times, Shreveport, LA  ***