Jezzball70 is a scammer.

Treakle23

Don’t buy from Jezzball70. I sent him money for this card and he never sent it to me. He also refuses to answer my emails or refund my money.

mrmopar

Did you do a friends/family type payment? That is never wise.

scmavl

Yeah, you send me a photo like that and I'm definitely not buying the card from you.

craig44

that is terrible. I am sorry that happened to you. glad you outed the guy

RufussCkingston

At least he took it out of the screwdown!

blurryface

wait, so he scammed you but was dumb enough to take a picture of himself holding the card to provide for future evidence? seems like an easy one for the police to solve, right?

Historicalwood71

Those " hands" aren't collector hands. Beware!

Treakle23

I know the seller’s name, what town he lives in, and have a photo of him, but I doubt the police can or would want to be bothered doing anything about it. I’ve been scammed twice in forty years of collecting. For the most part, most collectors and dealers are honest. It’s a small percentage who screw people. I had my suspicions. That was why I asked for a photo. I figured who would send a photo like that if they were going to scam me? I took a chance. My fault.

RufussCkingston

So how did you pay? Even F&F if you used a CC do a dispute.

blurryface

@Treakle23 said:
I know the seller’s name, what town he lives in, and have a photo of him, but I doubt the police can or would want to be bothered doing anything about it. I’ve been scammed twice in forty years of collecting. For the most part, most collectors and dealers are honest. It’s a small percentage who screw people. I had my suspicions. That was why I asked for a photo. I figured who would send a photo like that if they were going to scam me? I took a chance. My fault.

blast him on social media. esp w a picture. go on instagram and seek out acct @cardporn. he exposes ebay fraudsters and stuff like this all the time. usually just has ebay messages provided, but he would have a field day w this. especially w visual evidence. youd be surprised how often the sellers have a turn of position just to have the post deleted. or just let him get away w it and have him do it to someone else.

Nathaniel1960

Shirtless no less.

mrmopar

I'm going to guess that this card was not made when Smoltz was in HS either, if that was a possible draw. BL cards would sell to anyone I believe, any pics. I'm guessing that probably made after he started having success at the MLB level. I could be wrong, but I really doubt it.

GDM67

@mrmopar said:
I'm going to guess that this card was not made when Smoltz was in HS either, if that was a possible draw. BL cards would sell to anyone I believe, any pics. I'm guessing that probably made after he started having success at the MLB level. I could be wrong, but I really doubt it.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1003951/john-smoltz

Treakle23

Smoltz’s father had these cards made when his son was in high school, the minor leaguers, and I believe one other when he was first up with the Braves. This is a documented fact. He probably had 50 to 100 made at a time
for friends and family members. I have two of them, but was missing this one. One sold recently on ebay for $10.

blurryface

have you compared the card that sold on ebay to the card jezzball was offering? is it the same card?

Treakle23

I have already looked at the card that was sold on ebay and the signature was different.

blurryface

wait, so lemme get this timeline straight…

8/8/18 - treakle23 creates and posts thread about this smoltz card hes attempting to hunt down. crickets.

(almost three years go by)

7/6/21 - jezzball70 joins cuforums.

7/7/21 - jezzball70 resurrects the thread outta the blue stating he has the card. and its signed.

7/7/21 - several members help jezzball70 about getting that card outta the screwdown holder to prevent possible damage.

7/17/21 - jezzball70 asks and inquires how much his card might be worth.

8/15/21 - a signed example sells for only $10 + $5 shipping.

8/21/21 - jezzball posts in other thread “saw the ebay sale, i still have it though”.

8/22/21 - emails and photo proof of card are exchanged.

8/23/21 - so sometime on or after this date a deal is struck between jezzball70 & treakle23.

…9/24/21. turns out, another card was just sold on open market for only $10. scammer comes here 3 years later, teases op w/ his white whale, gets 10x what the same signed card just hammered at on the open market. op over pays but finally thrilled to lockdown his grail that hes been searching high & low for at least 3 years. the scammer, in turn, sends photo identification of himself, steals the money, never sends the card out that he came on here to resurrect a 3 year thread, teases the hell outta the guys thread he resurrected and then ghosts him? treakle23 is now out money, be ran around the block on an emotional rollercoaster outta the blue and jezzball cant even respond to say he’s sorry all while committing wire fraud, breaking the law & permanently ruining his reputation. all over $100? surely i didnt i get all that right, did i? if so, theres a special place reserved down below to do that to this man.

Treakle23

You have given a pretty accurate synopsis.

mrmopar

@Treakle23 said:
Smoltz’s father had these cards made when his son was in high school, the minor leaguers, and I believe one other when he was first up with the Braves. **This is a documented fact. ** He probably had 50 to 100 made at a time
for friends and family members. I have two of them, but was missing this one. One sold recently on ebay for $10.

You clearly have more time and energy invested in this card than I do (first time seeing one in this thread), so I am not doubting that what you say may be correct. Personally, i'd want something more than an internet story myself if I were buying and paying top dollar though. For my own curiosity, as I love oddball stuff in general, what does "it's a documented fact" mean? Is there some sort of printed confirmation that this is in deed a true story (besides someone saying they think it might have been something they heard from their wife's brother's best friend back in 1985)?

I do know that BL cards would make cards for anyone, pretty sure were in business back then (trying to find when that venture started, but6 having trouble at the moment) and I have seen a variety of MLB players who had cards made by or for them for personal use. It's entirely possible that Smoltz, as a budding player, may have had some made of him by family and he goes on to make the bigs and these are then considered "first cards". I have also seen cards showing a variety of years on them that were not made in the year shown. They were like career perspective cards.

I hope you are right, as that makes a great story. A lot of folks may have had little league "trading cards" made of them or their kids or even something like BLC or the Topps cards you can have made now, but almost none of them are likely to go on to fame later.

This actually reminds me of someone selling a Prince Fielder autograph back when he was a hot prospect, claiming it was the first he ever signed. Apparently, as the story went, the guy met Cecil and his son was with him. Cecil signed and the guy got the kid to sign to, for some weird reason. turns out that was a good call, as Prince eventually made the MLB like his father. I don't remember specifics, but it was a wild story and if I recall, the guy wanted a shameful amount of money for this signature and I am betting it never sold for anywhere near what he wanted, if it was even legit to begin with.

Treakle23

I understand what you’re saying about the Big League cards. No believe Jim Bouton started-up the company in 1981. I’ve seen less than five of this particular Smoltz high school card for sale. If they were produced after his major league career, I would think there would be more of them around. Smoltz’s first minor league card was a Pro Card in 1986. The copyrights of these cards suggest they are from the corresponding years: 1984-Waverly High School and1985-Tigers Tryout with Detroit. There might also be two or three with Lakeland, Richmond, and the Braves. A reliable source said his father definitely had them made. That is all I know. Maybe he had them made before he had any professional cards to document his career. I’ve seen Big League Cards produced by retired players for fan mail autographs, by collectors of certain players, etc. Anything can be reproduced today, but since so few of these are on the market, I genuinely believe they were produced between 1984 and 1987.

Panama Mutiny

@blurryface said:
wait, so lemme get this timeline straight…

8/8/18 - treakle23 creates and posts thread about this smoltz card hes attempting to hunt down. crickets.

(almost three years go by)

7/6/21 - jezzball70 joins cuforums.

7/7/21 - jezzball70 resurrects the thread outta the blue stating he has the card. and its signed.

7/7/21 - several members help jezzball70 about getting that card outta the screwdown holder to prevent possible damage.

7/17/21 - jezzball70 asks and inquires how much his card might be worth.

8/15/21 - a signed example sells for only $10 + $5 shipping.

8/21/21 - jezzball posts in other thread “saw the ebay sale, i still have it though”.

8/22/21 - emails and photo proof of card are exchanged.

8/23/21 - so sometime on or after this date a deal is struck between jezzball70 & treakle23.

…9/24/21. turns out, another card was just sold on open market for only $10. scammer comes here 3 years later, teases op w/ his white whale, gets 10x what the same signed card just hammered at on the open market. op over pays but finally thrilled to lockdown his grail that hes been searching high & low for at least 3 years. the scammer, in turn, sends photo identification of himself, steals the money, never sends the card out that he came on here to resurrect a 3 year thread, teases the hell outta the guys thread he resurrected and then ghosts him? treakle23 is now out money, be ran around the block on an emotional rollercoaster outta the blue and jezzball cant even respond to say he’s sorry all while committing wire fraud, breaking the law & permanently ruining his reputation. all over $100? surely i didnt i get all that right, did i? if so, theres a special place reserved down below to do that to this man.

for some reason this post seems funny, even though it was a a scammer post and scamming is not funny... maybe jezzball got covid or something....

Panama Mutiny

@blurryface said:

@Treakle23 said:
I know the seller’s name, what town he lives in, and have a photo of him, but I doubt the police can or would want to be bothered doing anything about it. I’ve been scammed twice in forty years of collecting. For the most part, most collectors and dealers are honest. It’s a small percentage who screw people. I had my suspicions. That was why I asked for a photo. I figured who would send a photo like that if they were going to scam me? I took a chance. My fault.

blast him on social media. esp w a picture. go on instagram and seek out acct @cardporn. he exposes ebay fraudsters and stuff like this all the time. usually just has ebay messages provided, but he would have a field day w this. especially w visual evidence. youd be surprised how often the sellers have a turn of position just to have the post deleted. or just let him get away w it and have him do it to someone else.

this

Panama Mutiny

@lawyer05 said:

@blurryface said:
wait, so lemme get this timeline straight…

8/8/18 - treakle23 creates and posts thread about this smoltz card hes attempting to hunt down. crickets.

(almost three years go by)

7/6/21 - jezzball70 joins cuforums.

7/7/21 - jezzball70 resurrects the thread outta the blue stating he has the card. and its signed.

7/7/21 - several members help jezzball70 about getting that card outta the screwdown holder to prevent possible damage.

7/17/21 - jezzball70 asks and inquires how much his card might be worth.

8/15/21 - a signed example sells for only $10 + $5 shipping.

8/21/21 - jezzball posts in other thread “saw the ebay sale, i still have it though”.

8/22/21 - emails and photo proof of card are exchanged.

8/23/21 - so sometime on or after this date a deal is struck between jezzball70 & treakle23.

…9/24/21. turns out, another card was just sold on open market for only $10. scammer comes here 3 years later, teases op w/ his white whale, gets 10x what the same signed card just hammered at on the open market. op over pays but finally thrilled to lockdown his grail that hes been searching high & low for at least 3 years. the scammer, in turn, sends photo identification of himself, steals the money, never sends the card out that he came on here to resurrect a 3 year thread, teases the hell outta the guys thread he resurrected and then ghosts him? treakle23 is now out money, be ran around the block on an emotional rollercoaster outta the blue and jezzball cant even respond to say he’s sorry all while committing wire fraud, breaking the law & permanently ruining his reputation. all over $100? surely i didnt i get all that right, did i? if so, theres a special place reserved down below to do that to this man.

for some reason this post seems funny, even though it was a a scammer post and scamming is not funny... its like a scam 3 years in the making

Treakle23

I don’t know what happened, but when someone emails me five times in one day and then doesn’t respond to subsequent emails, it’s not usually good. I can accept death as a reason, but that’s about it. I think at the end of the day, some people just suck.

canyoubelieveit

The only thing that keeps sticking in my mind is why? Why do all this for $100? It just seems crazy that you would risk your reputation for like, two or three tanks of gas or half a week's worth of groceries? I can't see the motivation.

Panama Mutiny

@canyoubelieveit said:
The only thing that keeps sticking in my mind is why? Why do all this for $100? It just seems crazy that you would risk your reputation for like, two or three tanks of gas or half a week's worth of groceries? I can't see the motivation.

thats what im saying

totallyradd

Go to your bank. Explain what happened. See if they can help. You might be protected. Even with a friends/family post you might be able to get it sorted out. Good luck.

Treakle23

Thanks for the advice. I had this happen only once before and the bank wasn’t helpful. It wasn’t even $100. It was $60. I never should have sent the money because I had a small amount of doubt. It’s my fault for trusting the guy.

1951WheatiesPremium

@Treakle23 said:
Thanks for the advice. I had this happen only once before and the bank wasn’t helpful. It wasn’t even $100. It was $60. I never should have sent the money because I had a small amount of doubt. It’s my fault for trusting the guy.

They say tragedy + time equals comedy. So I waited a bit with this one since it seems you’re in a better place with the whole thing…

I mean, you just expect high quality with a name like jezzball70 , you know? I think that’s what makes this hurt so much more…

😁

Treakle23

Sometimes you take a chance and lose out. I don’t know how people live with themselves, but I’m sure he’s not losing any sleep over it.

GDM67

He's too busy getting prepared for his next Seth Rogan cosplay contest.

GreenSneakers

Not to go all trial by internet here, but if the dude ain’t gonna respond and the evidence is there, can we get some bars over jezzball70s aviatar or something?

blurryface

saw this in another thread but the “pic style” kinda resembles each other. this dude however does not have a chit eating grin on his face…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154639244603?hash=item2401379d3b:g:TFwAAOSwjxBhTy2h

Panama Mutiny

@blurryface said:
saw this in another thread but the “pic style” kinda resembles each other. this dude however does not have a chit eating grin on his face…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154639244603?hash=item2401379d3b:g:TFwAAOSwjxBhTy2h

this is jumbo, he grades his cards accurately, don't mind the 0 feedback , he is really good at grading minus the cigarrete marks

blurryface

@lawyer05 said:

@blurryface said:
saw this in another thread but the “pic style” kinda resembles each other. this dude however does not have a chit eating grin on his face…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154639244603?hash=item2401379d3b:g:TFwAAOSwjxBhTy2h

this is jumbo, he grades his cards accurately, don't mind the 0 feedback , he is really good at grading minus the cigarrete marks

if you explore the entire realm of his pics, youll see that cigarettes arent all he smokes.

Cakes

@Treakle23 said:
Sometimes you take a chance and lose out. I don’t know how people live with themselves, but I’m sure he’s not losing any sleep over it.

My old CEO used to say how does he sleep at night. Just fine if you include waking up every 3 hours kicking and screaming.