Warning About Cal Ripken Jr. Minor League Counterfeits

ripkenintheminors

Greetings all. I wanted to post a warning for anyone that is looking to purchase a 1980 Charlotte O's or 1981 WTF Rochester Red Wings card of Cal Ripken, Jr. I was burned on a counterfeit and decided to find out as much as I could on his minor league issues. When I realized how difficult information is to find on Cal's minor league issues, coupled with the fact that multiple counterfeit issues have been sold online, I decided to build a website with information on Cal's minor league issues. The site is http://www.ripkenintheminors.com Feel free to contact me at any time if I can answer any questions. In addition, feel free to let me know your thoughts on the site.

The website is not for profit whatsoever. I am simply a fan that wants to share what I have learned to help others from losing money on counterfeit cards. In any case, I have looked over the boards off and on from time to time and have enjoyed your insights. Have a great night!

FifthScaleRacer

thanks!

very nice site!

Bunker

Welcome to the boards

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>thanks!

very nice site! >>



Thanks for the response! The site is still in the works, but I wanted to get what information I did have made available as fast as possible. In the last 4-6 weeks I have seen 3 of the counterfeit 1980 Charlotte O's cards sold online, with the average price hovering around $800.

Thanks again for the feedback!

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>Welcome to the boards >>



Greetings, and thanks for the welcome. BTW, very nice pictures in your sig. I am a huge fan of the JDRF and the great work they are doing.

ripkenintheminors

Hey folks, sorry for the bump, but I thought I'd mention the following auction for the benefit of those that may have missed my initial warning minor league cards of Cal Ripken, Jr. that are unauthenticated:

ebay link

XanaduNow

Great site! Thanks for sharing ripken!

Out of curiosity, what are the tell-tale signs that you spotted from the scan on that auction that leads you to believe it's a fake? I think this is fascinating.

Thanks again!

Arthur

Jersey

I echo the others. Great website. The tips for spotting a counterfeit are helpful and interesting.

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>Great site! Thanks for sharing ripken!

Out of curiosity, what are the tell-tale signs that you spotted from the scan on that auction that leads you to believe it's a fake? I think this is fascinating.

Thanks again!

Arthur >>



Thanks for the information on the site. I'm really excited about it and have had some great help from several collectors, including Bill Haelig. I have been contacted by three publications about the possibility of an article on the cards as we get closer to Cal's HOF induction.

The first warning sign of the card is the fact that the white lines on the card are too perfect. When you compare the card to an authenticated copy, you can see a distinct difference. The other warning sign is in the color of the O's logo on the bottom of the card. The logo on an authenticated card is a very vibrant orange. I was burned on a counterfeit a year or so ago of this card. I didn't know the warning signs and thought I was getting a good deal because it was "graded" by GEM Grading. When you look at the fake and then look at the authentic copy it's really easy to pick out the real copy from the fakes. The blue of the card and the weight of the card are other warning signs, but you can't really pick up on that through a computer screen.

On another note, the fact that the card is being sold ungraded should be the biggest tip. There have been 0 copies of this card graded higher than an 8. In a market of graded cards, why would someone not take the time to send the card and get it graded? I don't have the total in front of me on questionable Ripken minor league cards sold in the last 2 months, but it's somewhere close to $3,000. The 1980 Ripkens usually sell for anywhere from $700-$900.

Here are some pictures that might be of assistance:

Authenticated 1980 Ripken:



O's Logo on authenticated Ripken vs fake:

Fake:


Real:


Top Line on the authenticated Ripken:


Feel free to share any of this information at any time. Information on this card is extremely difficult to come across and I want to do what I can to help others. Especially as we get closer to Cal's HOF induction, this problem is only going to get worse unless something is done. Granted, people will still have to do their homework!

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>I echo the others. Great website. The tips for spotting a counterfeit are helpful and interesting. >>



Thanks so much! Hopefully even more information on the detection of counterfeits will come about in time. The plan is to not only focus on Cal's minor league cards on the site, but to add pictures and even conduct interviews in the next few weeks with players that played with Cal in the minor league system. Thanks again!

XanaduNow

ripkenintheminors, I know I already said it but I've spent the last 20 minutes on your site and I really must say that it is an invaluable tool for Ripken collectors and gives everyone a decent idea of authentic/fake discrepancies for all cards.

I hope you stick around and integrate yourself to the boards. Between you and 1989BillRipkenCollector we'll have a monopoly on Ripken family card info.

Welcome aboard! Make yourself at home.

Arthur

XanaduNow

One more thing ...

When you spot those fake Ripkens on Ebay do you contact the seller and let them know (I suppose it's always possible that they didn't know)? Also, based on what I read from the article on your site there seems to be (or was) some investigations going on into fake sports cards. I'd have to assume that the authorities would be involved. Any course of action for these types of auctions on eBay?

It kills me to think that someone is going to drop some serious coin on that auction with the seller's "guarantee of authenticity" and get a worthless piece of paper.

Thanks again!

Arthur

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>ripkenintheminors, I know I already said it but I've spent the last 20 minutes on your site and I really must say that it is an invaluable tool for Ripken collectors and gives everyone a decent idea of authentic/fake discrepancies for all cards.

I hope you stick around and integrate yourself to the boards. Between you and 1989BillRipkenCollector we'll have a monopoly on Ripken family card info.

Welcome aboard! Make yourself at home.

Arthur >>



Thanks so much! Feel free to sign the guestbook (if you have not already)! I have enjoyed these boards for quite awhile and decided it was time to start posting. I have had some stuff graded by PSA over the years and plan to send some additional cards in the very near future. I did notice that the site has been picked up by some search engines so hopefully the word will get out. Granted, people still have to do their homework on the cards before buying them but at least the information is available.

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>One more thing ...

When you spot those fake Ripkens on Ebay do you contact the seller and let them know (I suppose it's always possible that they didn't know)? Also, based on what I read from the article on your site there seems to be (or was) some investigations going on into fake sports cards. I'd have to assume that the authorities would be involved. Any course of action for these types of auctions on eBay?

It kills me to think that someone is going to drop some serious coin on that auction with the seller's "guarantee of authenticity" and get a worthless piece of paper.

Thanks again!

Arthur >>



In regards to ebay, I have reported every one of the auctions where the card looks questionable. In the reports I have included links to past sales and a link to my site so they can have a reference for what I'm talking about. In regards to the blue Ripkens that I would call a fake, one seller has sold multiple copies of the card and the other seller has sold just one copy. To be fair, I didn't report the auctions to ebay until I contacted the seller. Unfortunately, I have never received a response when I expressed concern, nor did the auction get pulled. What makes things frustrating for me is that I am never able to get in touch with the winning bidder after the auction to let them know they should get the card authenticated. For one, ebay won't let my messages through since we have not done business and two, the people buying htese are not currently selling to give me a chance to get in touch with them. In each of the reports I have received a message saying they're evaluating the situation but nothing has ever happened. Once I find my notes I'll post some information on the number of fakes sold on ebay since I've been tracking them. All we can do is hope te information gets out. Like I mentioned before, I've had three publications discuss the possibility of doing a story on the cards. Hopefully that will happen in the next few weeks before the market gets flooded and lots of people get ripped off.

In regards to the article, the investigation was conducted by SCD. How I became informed of the situation was due to the fact that my card was graded by GEM Grading. At the time, ebay was flooded with copies of the blue Ripken in a GEM case. I wasn't aware of the counterfeits and purchased a copy. I didn't get burned as bad as others, but the lesson still cost me over $200. By the end of the investigation, ebay disabled the account of the guy who was selling the cards. Unfortunately, anyone with a card in a GEM case can just break the case and sell the card. In addition, who knows how many of these fakes are in existence. PSA has graded more copies of this card than any of the reliable grading services and know what to look for. They have also more copies of the rare orange version than any other service. BGS and SGC have also graded copies of the blue card and know what to look for. For the record, SGC is the only other service that I am aware of to grade an orange version of the 1980 Charlotte card.

ripkenintheminors

Wow, I just learned something from the Beckett forums. I learned that a seller who recently sold a bogus 1980 Ripken ($919- Ebay 170045012406) is no longer a registered user on ebay.

ripkenintheminors

It's only right if I commend a seller on ebay who had a 1980 Charlotte Ripken that I would define as having questionable authenticity. Without accusing him of knowingly selling counterfeits, I provided a link to the site. He sent me a note in response saying that he was immediately pulling the auction and would attempt to verify the authenticity of the card.

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

I am in the same boat with the B/W test card of 89 Bill Ripken. On every auction I see I contact the seller and the bidders to tell them its a fake but usually they ignore me.

Great Site. I like the past auction prices. Very good idea. Something to add to mine.

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>I am in the same boat with the B/W test card of 89 Bill Ripken. On every auction I see I contact the seller and the bidders to tell them its a fake but usually they ignore me.

Great Site. I like the past auction prices. Very good idea. Something to add to mine. >>



Greetings and thanks for the information. For the record I saw the article on your site and made it a point to check out the site. I was just starting to collect in 1989 and remember all of the hype over the '89 Ripken. My mom bought me one of those baseball card pack lots you see in holiday catalogs for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago. In one of the 1989 Fleer packs I pulled one of the Bill Ripken cards. I can't remember which version it was, but I still have it somewhere.

I thought the past auction prices link would be a good resource since information is tough to find. Our sites have something in common in that we're both putting emphasis on a card where information is pretty tough to find at times. In addition, most of the information available is not as reliable as it could/should be.