IMPORT-EXPORT-CO cancels all of their ebay pack listings!!!

summerof68 · May 20, 2009 3:55AM

In an unexpected turn of events Import-Export-Co has cancelled ALL of their unopened packs listed on ebay. I somewhat expected they would cancel the 1968 topps football wax pack that I highlighted in my "BUSTED" thread but I am very surprised they cancelled all of their pack auctions.

They ARE however still selling packs under one of their other ID's--(worldtradeco). Obviously they are not yet aware that board members have uncovered a total thus far a total of five user ID's used by this same person from Burbank, Ca. to create and sell counterfeit vintage packs on ebay.

For you board member's information these five user ID's are:

Import-export-co (used to sell packs)
sfexchange (used to buy wrappers)
worldtradeco (used to sell packs)
worldwidecollectiblesllc (used to buy wrappers)
sportscardsnart (vast reservoir containing over 11,000 high grade (raw) vintage singles from all sports)

MULLINS5 · May 20, 2009 4:00AM

After reading the other thread for the first time yesterday I called my sister, who is an attorney, a friend from school who works with the FBI, and my father who knows a lot of how these situations should be handled, and spent a few hours on the phone with each about this potential fraud.

My first reaction to reading this thread was, “oh man...this should not be here” and that was both my sisters and my friend’s reactions.

Good job, you caught the guy red handed, but then you posted it here (again with good intention) and then the word got out. Someone on this collector’s universe board went to the eBay board and posted the information. The complaint then gets to eBay and more important the seller(s) in question, and now they can and will cover their tracks better next time.

All you did was give them a heads up. Police would have to catch the guy red handed and if they were to get involved now they cannot. The seller(s) may word his/their auctions better next time, legally he was wrong when he listed the pack as “factory sealed” but next time he can just leave that information out and sell the pack as “sealed”. Most would accept that description especially with the guys feedback score as being legit. Now there is no proof beyond reasonable doubt of the fraudulent activity. While I applaud the original posters intention of informing the collector’s universe forum of this fraud activity, I do wish that he had not.

Patrick

JackWESQ · May 20, 2009 4:20AM

"You are bidding on a sealed pack of 1952 Topps Baseball" versus "You are bidding on a factory sealed pack of 1952 Topps Baseball." One word, but what a world of difference.

/s/ JackWESQ

ploobims · May 20, 2009 4:30AM

I wouldnt buy a pack of anything off of ebay unless it was psa slabbed or came from bbce
at least the guy got hit in the wallet and is causing him pain, itll all catch up to him in the end anyways, cops or not

storm888 · May 20, 2009 4:47AM

"You are bidding on a sealed pack of 1952 Topps Baseball" versus "You are bidding on a factory sealed pack of 1952 Topps Baseball." One word, but what a world of difference."

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

If the FTC was taking action on the matter, they would say "a distinction without a difference."

Lingo clearly designed to defraud consumers.

Even a civil court judge would not likely be amused; especially in Small Claims.

.............

IF the perps have money, this is a good one to try for a class action.

One lead-plaintiff would be easy to find, and EBAY's records would
define the class.

........

(I have had good luck getting the umbrellas of owned/rented property
insurers to pay me to go away when I used to chase such scum.)

The technique is especially effective if the perps are using a third-party's
property to do biz from. Parents, landlords, other relatives' property is
vulnerable to artfully drafted complaints; all such partys have insurance.

RonBurgundy · May 20, 2009 4:50AM

"After reading the other thread for the first time yesterday I called my sister, who is an attorney, a friend from school who works with the FBI, and my father who knows a lot of how these situations should be handled, and spent a few hours on the phone with each about this potential fraud.

My first reaction to reading this thread was, “oh man...this should not be here” and that was both my sisters and my friend’s reactions.

Good job, you caught the guy red handed, but then you posted it here (again with good intention) and then the word got out. Someone on this collector’s universe board went to the eBay board and posted the information. The complaint then gets to eBay and more important the seller(s) in question, and now they can and will cover their tracks better next time.

All you did was give them a heads up. Police would have to catch the guy red handed and if they were to get involved now they cannot. The seller(s) may word his/their auctions better next time, legally he was wrong when he listed the pack as “factory sealed” but next time he can just leave that information out and sell the pack as “sealed”. Most would accept that description especially with the guys feedback score as being legit. Now there is no proof beyond reasonable doubt of the fraudulent activity. While I applaud the original posters intention of informing the collector’s universe forum of this fraud................."

Meh. That assumes law enforcement would actually do anything about it. History suggests they don't in most cases. Props to the OP.

summerof68 · May 20, 2009 4:58AM

Mullins5, over the last eighteen months import-export-co has sold well over a thousand vintage wax packs on ebay described as "factory" sealed. During this same period they have purchased well over a thousand vintage wrappers through two of their other id's (sfexfchange & worldwidecollectiblesllc).

Even I, not being a trained detective, easily came across dozens of wrappers with unique surface flaws (such as the '68 fb wrapper in my opening post) that were purchased by sfexchange and were then subsequently used by import-export-co to create a wax pack.

I would guess that Ebay can still access all the listing pictures of all the wrappers purchased by sfexchange & worldwidecollectiblesllc and that ebay can similarly access all the listing pictures of all the packs sold by import-export-co.

If this is the case then the FBI can crosscheck all these raw wrappers with the pack wrappers and they will be able to find countless more "fingerprint" matches than I was able to do with my naked eye!

So I'm assuming the evidence is still all there if the FBI or any authority wants to pursue it. Nothing that import-export-co and their aka's do from this point on will change that fact.

I had thought all of the above out very carefully and felt it was now time to expose them---especially since two weeks prior import-export-co had really became brazen and listed a 1952 bowman 5-cent large football raw pack with an opening bid of $999. This pack is very rare. The Baseball Card Exchange currently has one for sale for $4000. Fortunately the pack didn't obtain the opening bid. The rear seal configuration on this pack was completely wrong--not even close to the type of unique seal used by Bowman in the early 50's. This pack had the traditional "christmas package" type seal used by Topps in later years.

They were entering into much more expensive packs now and I felt compelled to jump in before someone was burned badly...

ploobims · May 20, 2009 5:03AM

i like it

maybe the worldtradeco will get shut down now if people ask enough stupid questions about them and the link to the other ids,the guy would never be really hard to find , not to many people have this kind of stuff on there- a 52 bowman fb sealed pack

itzagoner · May 20, 2009 5:07AM

it's a blessing that you are experienced enough to detect such flaws summer, and i would venture to guess that the most experienced collectors would be able to differentiate between what's real and what's fake, especially at that price....those people did not become proficient without learning and making mistakes that they promised themselves they would not make again, and to a large degree i'd bet they've been successful.

the person who suffers here is the inexperienced buyer who feels compelled to shell out big money for the privilege of ownership and that kind of ignorance can't necessarily be overcome.....these people need to educate themselves better or it doesn't matter what discoveries are made.....someone needs to get mad, a BUYER needs to get mad and pursue this.....the detective work here has been thoroughly remarkable, OUTSTANDING!

but the sad truth is, we are rather helpless unless one of us here has been harmed.....if it's happened to one of you, step up.

and find a witness protection program.

summerof68 · May 20, 2009 5:17AM

Well said itzagoner and I thank you for the kind words. It's the uninformed, uneducated pack collector that I am trying to protect here. We live in a tough economy these days and want to see my fellow collectors get a fair return on the money they spend.

Its just a simple matter of ethics--something so lacking in today's society!!

MBMiller25 · May 20, 2009 5:27AM

<< <i>I wouldnt buy a pack of anything off of ebay unless it was psa slabbed or came from bbce >>

Summer, I applaud you for the work you did on this. I was looking at a 49 Leaf Musial these guys were selling. I am not sure I would have had a bad experience or not, but because of this, I am not going anywhere near these guys.

TheTalkingWalnut · May 20, 2009 6:03AM

Not sure if this is on topic, but I salute you Summerof68, even though you may not make much of a ripple.

I am an honest real estate appraiser and I have in my possession over 1000 fradulent appraisals collected by myself and my partner over almost 20 years. Appraisers are supposed to be held to high standards, laws, regulations, blah blah blah; as far as the public knows we are as honest as Boy Scouts with state licenses.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way in the real world. I have naively written reviews, letters, complaints, affadavits, called Congressmen, you name it, trying to get fraud investigations started and furthered. I was legitimately shocked when I got not only apathy but resistance.

I disagree with anyone who says that you or I shouldn't take a gander at exposing these scumbags or any scumbags, in fact, I applaud you for a very well researched and executed case. If the banking industry gave a darn about quality in lending I'd offer you a job at my appraisal company.

The world needs people like you no matter the outcome of any particular case. I got terminally frustrated when after the mortgage and banking meltdown of last year, NOT A SINGLE NEWS STORY identified fraudulent appraisals as the keystone in this whole housing and banking collapse. So whatever that phrase about ignoring history and having to repeat it is probably applies here.

Keep up the good work, if only to sleep better at night. Sometimes when I'm drinking alone and feeling sorry for myself I pull out some of my "Greatest Hits", fiery and articulate complaints against this appraiser bozo or that fly by night lending company. They really are works of art and in a better world they would be more widely appreciated.

ndleo · May 20, 2009 6:24AM

<< <i>After reading the other thread for the first time yesterday I called my sister, who is an attorney, a friend from school who works with the FBI, and my father who knows a lot of how these situations should be handled, and spent a few hours on the phone with each about this potential fraud.

My first reaction to reading this thread was, “oh man...this should not be here” and that was both my sisters and my friend’s reactions.

Good job, you caught the guy red handed, but then you posted it here (again with good intention) and then the word got out. Someone on this collector’s universe board went to the eBay board and posted the information. The complaint then gets to eBay and more important the seller(s) in question, and now they can and will cover their tracks better next time.

All you did was give them a heads up. Police would have to catch the guy red handed and if they were to get involved now they cannot. The seller(s) may word his/their auctions better next time, legally he was wrong when he listed the pack as “factory sealed” but next time he can just leave that information out and sell the pack as “sealed”. Most would accept that description especially with the guys feedback score as being legit. Now there is no proof beyond reasonable doubt of the fraudulent activity. While I applaud the original posters intention of informing the collector’s universe forum of this fraud activity, I do wish that he had not.

Patrick >>

This reminds me of the guy who wrote a 21 page paper to the SEC called "Bernie Madoff is running the world's largest Ponzi scheme". That was in 2000. Madoff "only" had $10 billion under management then, it got to $61 billion before it came down.

I'm sure the investors would have appreciated this information while the "authorities" were busy doing nothing about it for 8 years.

summerof68 · May 20, 2009 6:27AM

Thanks Walnut and you are indeed right on topic. Whether it be real estate or sportscards the world operates much more smoothly and efficiently if driven by ethics....

storm888 · May 20, 2009 6:35AM

"...They really are works of art and in a better world they would be more widely appreciated. .."

//////////////////////////

I am not into tilting at windmills, but have had GREAT success
using the system to nail scamsters in sundry fields.

The key is not to give up. NEVER.

.........

Regarding RE Appraisers:

I have served on several state sanctioned blue ribbon panels
that studied and reported on the proper implementation of
USPAP in leasehold renegotiations.

I have been involved in extensive litigation regarding elements
of USPAP. I have drafted - and lobbied on behalf of - dozens of
legislative bills regarding USPAP, in several states.

There are black-hat appraisers and white-hat appraisers, just
like in every biznez. MOST are good as gold; MANY are CROOKS.

I have benefited from the crooks' bad acts as a builder, and I
have likely been harmed by such acts as a general consumer.

Sadly, if all of the appraisers had been honest from 1998 - 2005,
we still would have had the meltdown. The melt just would have
started at a lower baseline.

In general, I have a high level of confidence that appraisers will
act prudently and honestly. Especially these days.

TheTalkingWalnut · May 20, 2009 11:05AM

Then you need to tour my basement. And I mean that in a NON-Pulp Fiction sense.

nightcrawler · May 20, 2009 11:22AM

I can't help but wonder if the fact that they removed all their listings can actually be more evidence against them??? Especially because they were removed after the start of the busted and ebay threads. That probably wouldn't be easy to explain reasonably if they had to.

storm888 · May 20, 2009 11:25AM

The removed listings will be back under their other IDs,
unless EBAY tells them to lay low for a bit.

Bottom9th · May 20, 2009 11:40AM

Summer,
I applaud your efforts. I think now that their transgressions have been brought to light in this forum they might eventually get what's coming to them.
Keep up the good work!

Bob...

IMPORT-EXPORT-CO cancels all of their ebay pack listings!!!

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