Detecting Resealed Tiffany Sets
ReggieCleveland
Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭✭✭
I just posted this somewhere else but I thought I would share it here, as well.
I don't purport to be any kind of expert or anything like that but I became aware of the resealed Tiffany sets problem about two years ago and have been doing my best to stay on top of it and educate myself ever since. I'm a big fan of the Topps cards issued in the years that Topps made Tiffany sets (1984-1991) so I like the added challenge of finding a high-grade Tiffany example for my favorite cards.
For decades, we all just operated under the assumption that the sticker Topps used was permanently fixated to the cardboard and that all you had to do to check a Tiffany set was make sure the sticker was intact and whole. This whole premise came crashing down one day when I was searching eBay and came across a Traded set that was being sold "open" and with a card or two missing. When I looked at the scans, the box lid was open but the sticker was completely intact and completely without damage. I couldn't believe it. There was no sign of picking on the edge or even partial rolling, it was a perfectly flat and clean sticker that was still affixed to the top lid but no longer attached to the box, and there was zero residue on the box where the sticker had once been.
Needless to say, this was a bit disconcerting. Someone had figured out how to perfectly remove the sticker without damaging it or leaving signs of tampering. It was at this point that I broke out all of my Tiffany boxes -- the ones that were empty from sets I opened and the ones that were still sealed -- and began going over them with a fine tooth comb. I started keeping track of specific characteristics that tended to happen to a Tiffany box when it was opened.
It's important to note, I'm not sure there's any way someone can 100% guarantee you that any one particular set is unopened. If people can do what they can do with the sticker than I imagine a dedicated individual could find a way to open the box without leaving tell-tale signs. This game is all about reducing your risk to as close to zero as possible. Luckily, most of the resealed sets are pretty obvious if you know what to look for.
First place you want to look are the yellow circles. You're looking for signs of fraying, tiny tears, and bending upwards. There's a few ways to open a Tiffany set and the points of resistance are right there at those two corners where the front flap needs to get past the side flaps. The most common way these sets are opened are by applying pressure at these two end points. However, getting your finger in there and getting the side flap to give way are extremely difficult to do without leaving evidence. You want all sides to completely flush to the cards and straight along the side, as well showing zero signs of wear.
Some examples of corners you DO NOT want to see.
Along the same lines as the yellow circles are the orange edges. Those should be clean, completely straight, and flush to the cards. There should be no signs of bending upward or stress marks where they might have been pulled on.
Another easy tell-tale sign is the red edge. You'll see a lot of these that puff out except where the sticker holds them tight to the front. Once a box is opened, the lid that gets tucked into this edge can get bent out, which pushes on this front side which has a lot of extra slack to give. You want this edge to be completely straight, flush to the cards and with no signs of damage.
The green edge, or the hinge, is equally important to check. Starting with just one opening, the hinge can begin to show cracks that break away part of the box's color and show as white. You can see it here in this photo of a resealed set that was being advertised as new.
Obviously, check the sticker. The sticker should be flawless. But when I go searching the first things I'm looking at are the yellow circles and orange edges. Those are your canaries and the most likely places you'll find evidence of tampering. I have a zero tolerance rule when it comes to those areas. If anything is even the tiniest bit bent upward I pass. It's all about reducing risk and there's enough of these sets around that there's no point in no waiting for a clean one.
Arthur
Comments
I was told that some sets can be opened from the bottom like the 87 sets leaving the top and sticker in perfect shape.
Good thread Arthur. Keep up the good work. It's up to collectors to be vigilant about possible fraud after everything we've seen come out in the last year.
Good info, thank you for sharing
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Thank you!
never really paid attention to that. I bought my 84 and 86-91 sets sealed and did not see any evidence of resealing.
This would not surprise me as I have seen sets that were being sold as opened that had severe damage to the bottom as though someone tried to open it from the bottom and it was a catastrophic disaster.
I still contend that there would be no way to open it from the bottom without leaving evidence (cardboard creases, tiny tears, warped cardboard, etc.). Basically, it all boils down to this: get good pictures of every single side of the box and really examine them. If something doesn't look right, walk away.
Keep in mind, there's really only two reasons to buy a "sealed" Tiffany set: opening it to look for graded cards or leaving it sealed to let it appreciate. If you're opening it, the odds are already stacked against you with the key cards. But to then realize that you just got beaters that someone threw into the set after they opened it is just a horrible feeling. And if you're buying to leave sealed, keep in mind, people are only going to become MORE educated on what to look for as tell-tale signs and how rampant the problem is. What many are getting away with today isn't going to fly down the road. Don't be the one left holding the bag.
Be patient. Take your time. Don't take chances.
A heat gun will allow you to peel back the sticker and replace it with little to no damage to the sticker.
I returned an ‘86 Tiffany Traded I won at auction because it was clear the box had been opened on the bottom. Top of the box and sticker were fine, however the bottom was very loosely closed and could be fully opened with little effort.
Ok, I have made some changes here. Let's see if we can get back to the discussion at hand without attacking each other.
I sent you a message a couple of weeks ago. Can I please get a reply??
I saw this painful video a couple weeks ago and figured it belonged in this thread.
I watched 3 minutes and had to stop. Folks, please do research on something before spend hundreds of dollars on it.
I would say anytime somethig is shrink-wrapped that didn't come from the factory shrink-wrapped, that's a HUGE red flag.
Arthur