Blowout Cards FORUMS: THE WORST SPORTS CARDS HOBBY SITE EVER!!!

Blowout Cards FORUMS: THE WORST SPORTS CARDS HOBBY SITE EVER!!!

If you want to hang out with the most immature children (many born before 1960???) this site is for you! If you are a dealer who has never done a single thing to improve this hobby for the future, yet berate anyone who does: this site is for you. This is the first and last time I will ever devote a word regarding this TERRIBLE website in case any decent collectors come across LIES about me on Google from this website. THE TRUTH AND THE FACTS ARE HERE and what is not, I gladly invite you to contact me directly. My same email addy of over TEN YEARS is below... I berate no one unless they senselessly attack me first: without any provocation. So please, there's never been any reason to be afraid of me, I LIVE TO HELP HONEST COLLECTORS!

    It's time is long overdue that I tell the truth about this website. But if they are allowed to continue the way they have been, they are contributing GREATLY TO THE END OF THIS HOBBY! This site harbors the WORST of the WORST eBay dealers who are MAD AT THE WORLD because they are not making even 10% of the profits they were making off of collectors since around 2001. So they turned their anger and delusional thoughts on collectors on eBay by OVERCHARGING Shipping & Handling OR FAR WORSE (to pay their eBay and Paypal fees) because in their twisted minds they feel eBay and Paypal SHOULD COST THEM NOTHING, so they are the sellers who start with a S&H fee of $3.50-$4.00 (for a 3-ounce package OR LESS where postage is $2.61 MAXIMUM) as of 2017 (which costs them a TOTAL of under $3.00 for up to EIGHT cards in top-loaders including all eBay allowable fees), plus many add an additional fee (some are HIDDEN fees Which they only ADD AFTER AUCTIONS END, but is never mentioned in their listings!) of .50 cents to $1.00 for each additional card you win. 

THIS IS A DISGUSTING PRACTICE AND IS STILL AGAINST EBAY'S REASONABLE S&H FEE RULES. But eBay TOTALLY STOPPED ENFORCING THOSE RULES AGAIN (they first did this in 2010-11) SEVERAL MONTHS AGO (because they only make profit from SELLERS!). You can call and report these sellers and file complaints against these sellers (wasting 30+ minutes of your time on the phone with eBay), but NOT ONE OF THESE SELLERS ARE EVER PUNISHED IN ANY WAY. So eBay made even bigger Narcissists out of these jerks! MOST OF THESE JERKS HANG OUT ON THE BLOWOUT CARDS FORUMS FOR MANY HOURS EVERY DAY! Then they will gang up on anyone who has devoted their lives to helping collectors - BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE DOES! This is why I do what I do for free no matter how much these idiots think they are upsetting me! What a bunch of clowns...

If just one of these people had a backbone, they'd contact me by email directly and we'd have a mature one on one conversation so they could find out THE TRUTHFUL FACTS! BUT THEY DON'T WANT THAT! These are all low self-esteem people who gain esteem by putting others down no matter how wrong they are. They are the CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News going after Donald Trump- just like they go to the WORST WEBSITE to go after me... Before one of these morons takes this OUT OF CONTEXT (like everything else), I'm not comparing myself to Donald Trump in any way, shape, or form. But he's being put down WRONGLY by idiots in a similar way that I am.   

I was blocked in 2013 from ever being allowed to sign up (or ever post- I snuck two in within 4-YEARS...) for Blowout Cards Forums, because I BUSTED Blowout Cards on eBay for OVERCHARGING S&H when eBay used to care and Blowout Cards was punished! Since I could never DEFEND MYSELF, all of these sellers ganged up on me because I was doing everything I was able to do TO STOP THEM from breaking Ebay's Rules (which is what eBay's Founder stated he wanted all members to do: POLICE THE SITE BECAUSE EBAY DOES NOT POLICE THEIR OWN SITE.). 

In other words eBay does not ever look for fraudulent listings or sellers who blatantly breaking their rules: THEY COUNT ON ALL THEIR MEMBERS TO DO THIS FOR THEM. The shame is that almost no one does this. So if you are looking for someone to blame for ripping you off on eBay: LOOK IN THE MIRROR! I don't wish to be mean to buyers, but you MUST REPORT ALL THE REALLY BAD SELLERS YOU COME ACROSS, because if it's only myself and a small handful of others; eBay WILL NOT CARE! So I had to use an alternate method to post a message on their board on 6/28/17 using a pseudonym.

This was my post:

"I agree totally with Ron Loblaw" (the ONLY person defending me on BlowoutCards Forums: I'm shocked they haven't blocked him yet as another Cardcop faker, which they still might. I've seen others disappear after defending me also)! 

It's too obvious that everyone is on the "HATE or KILL this guy" bandwagon only on blowoutcards forums (I searched Google thoroughly and there's not one bad thing mentioned other than on these boards specifically- but tons of good things about him on Google??? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?), yet not one person provided one shred of evidence that he did anything wrong on these boards. 

And again on the flip-side there's plenty of proof of all the good things he's done for the hobby. Instead of automatically believing the big mouths on this board, I emailed him directly and he showed me unquestionable proof of all the good he's done for everyone in this hobby going back to 1989. How many of you have done this?

Is it possible a few narcissist eBay sellers were busted by him and they've been bad mouthing him only on these boards for so long that it's an automatIc preconceived notion that everything he does or says are crooked fraud and lies? 

I think anyone who questions his integrity should simply contact him and have a mature discussion. He's likely to change your mind too (unless he busted you for fraud on eBay already). 

John"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HeltonFan" on Blowout Cards was me, which I of course I used an ID that would be easily linked to me (because people on those boards are DENSE)- I mean it took them over TEN posts before they knew it was me??? I wanted to ask questions of these members to see if ANYONE could engage in simply answering any of my direct questions. Yet NOT ONE of these child-like immature morons on that site answered ONE question I asked in my post PROVING their group mentality.  Nearly all posted such childish remarks, they are not even worth repeating: WHY IS THAT? I mean my direct email is and always has been cardcop04@gmail.com, SO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY! This is at least my FIFTH time inviting direct contact, yet NO ONE ever contacts me direct because they feel safe hiding behind the Blowout Boards where they LIVE! If you actually saw how many USELESS posts most of these people bashing me and others post, you'd assume they do live on these boards and are all immature children... I though Sports Card Forums were to identify HOBBY PROBLEMS, find ways to fix them and everyone does what they can to help. 

WHAT KIND OF WEBSITE (Blowout Cards Forums in particular) ONLY ALLOWS ONE SIDE OF THE STORY AND SO MANY CHILDISH, HURTFUL, AND LITERALLY DISGUSTING POSTS I WOULDN'T EXPECT TO HEAR ON THE STREETS OF BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN WHERE I HUNG OUT AS A KID IN THE 1980's?

So I'm going to answer and/or correct all of the vicious statements by everyone who posted on Blowout Cards Forums (just search Cardcop in their Forums and you'll see all the HATE they have for me without any evidence AT ALL!!!)- following my post.

Most short, one sentence posts are ignored here because those are just FOLLOWERS who don't have the mental ability to have an independant thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACTUAL OTHER MEMBER POSTS ARE IN BOLD.

This was quoted: Originally Posted by tonedef2oo8 (one of my biggest HATERS for absolutely no reason):

  

"He has time to blog but not return cards he demands full refunds on that are for his fake charity work.". 

My Blogging is done very sporadically (maybe once every three weeks on average, ONLY when I'm physically able). I HAVE NEVER "demanded" a REFUND FROM ANYONE. I speak here like a professional; like I speak to anyone on eBay, UNLESS you say something VERY OFFENSIVE to me first. Then NO HOLDS ARE BARRED, but I still don't use "curse" words because in case you weren't aware (because you weren't born yet) there's such a thing called INTERNET ETIQUETTE that I memorized in 1997 and followed ever since online. Sadly, Internet newbies talk on the Internet like they are talking to their crook friends on the street which is disgusting. 

When I buy a card that is listed as NM/MT or NM/MT+ and receive it with a CREASE, this just wasted my precious time (and later in this response you'll understand why my time is precious; if you have an average brain that is). The ONLY cards that I buy to keep for myself for now are cards that I saved money from cards I SOLD first (so to all of those with comments like "he has no money to eat, but he buys sports cards" THAT IS ALL TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT!). The other 99.9% of everything I buy is to add to my card donations. Here's some fairly recent proof:

I'll explain my illnesses after the doctor's written diagnosis (and I have MANY MORE I'll send you directly by email if you request it- I do have some right to privacy, right?) which you can confirm on WebMD. If you can't understand my explanation AND WebMD's explanation, you are TOO DUMB TO EVER GET IT, so stay out of it then, PLEASE! There are far too many people who became so engrossed in "technology" that their brains had no room left to learn anything else. These people LIVE online, not learning ANYTHING but posting on message boards or blogs all day long and they do nothing else so how could they possible understand what's going on with ANYTHING ELSE? Yet a complex hobby such as sports cards and all the fraud being committed without one Price Guide that truly educates anyone since 2005 is a VERY BAD THING!!! So I do my best to help those who have been hurt by card companies or big sellers. 

The average IQ is 100, my IQ after (5) tests over a 20-year period is 130. I mention this only because far too many people in the USA today are simply MORONS! I'm far from that and I'll take "The Pepsi Challenge" one on one with anyone in-person any day.     

I removed my SS#, ID numbers, and DOB for obvious reasons.

My actual diagnoses in normal speech is General Myasthenia Gravis (MG) w/Hyperthymusism, Degenerative Disk Disease (with SIX massively herniated/ruptured disks in my neck C1-C4 and lowest back L4, L5/S1), and Fibromyalgia causing severe nerve pain all over my body 24/7, but most severely in both calf muscles in both legs which started in mid-2001. These are just my severe (or worse) pain & fatigue diseases and Hyperthymusism blocks all meds from working right if at all. The ONLY pain med that helps just a little is the VERY HIGH dose of Methadone which has no side-effects on me (it affects me like Tylenol effects a normal person)! I showed certain symptoms of all of these diseases all throughout my life, but no one ever diagnosed anything before because the symptoms would eventually go away and they'd call it "growing pains". But all medications never working right on me isn't explained by "growing pains". I worked with doctors for 16-years of my life as an EKG Interpretation Technologist, so I know how doctors think better than most. If they can't pinpoint a diagnosis, they'll use a generalization diagnosis to keep their patients "believing in them" even thought that diagnosis could be totally wrong. There'sa saying in the medical field amongst Medical Professionals that goes like this "If you go to TEN different doctors, you will get TEN different diagnoses.. Sadly for the most part that is 100% correct, or at least a good part of their diagnoses will be different.   

NONE OF THIS REGARDING MY MEDICAL PROBLEMS HAS CHANGED THE SLIGHTEST BIT SINCE 2006: CONTRARY TO THE MORONS ON BLOWOUT CARDS FORUMS WHO INCORRECTLY STATED THAT MY "ILLNESSES KEEP CHANGING". And they should be VERY ASHAMED of themselves making fun of a very disabled person. But the Millennial Generation doesn't know what empathy is because they grew up on a machine and think like a machine: cold as ice! Those older than that generation there's simply no excuse for other than greed, so they all belong in prison (and many of them have been there before) but most of you are too lazy to look up who you are giving your money to. 

A seller of FAKE National Convention 1/1 cards on eBay with a big Gold sticker on the cards (of all companies, and all recent years) that I went after brought up a stupid case I was involved in almost 25-years ago (where I did nothing wrong and proved it by taking a polygraph at the prosecutor's request). So I did a FULL background check on him. Turns out he was busted in Operation Bullpen with hundreds of Greg Marino forgeries in his possession at the time of his arrest, and he had just been named as co-conspirator in the O.J. Simpson Las Vegas arrest which caused his prison sentence. He was O.J. & crew's limo driver (and drug dealer and pimp) who did not come forward at the time because he knew he'd go to prison. Once I found that in less than 15-minutes with only his name, he BACKED RIGHT OFF. All I could do was report him to the National Convention (NSCC) people.  

I was told in 2009 when these diseases progressed BADLY making me totally homebound and mostly bedridden (all are progressive diseases and all are INOPERABLE - general anesthesia will stop my breathing due to my MG) that I am Terminally Ill and that these diseases should kill me by age 50 (THREE DIFFERENT NEURO-NEUROSURGEONS TOLD ME THIS!). I'm 50 NOW. 

But I have high hopes, NOT FOR MYSELF, but that I can still do good things to help perfect strangers, especially the sick children I help who never had a chance to live life at all. I lived a wonderful (broke but wonderful because I NEVER cared about being rich which TRULY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!).  This is why I never feel sorry for myself (and do not want that from anyone else), but with the majority of "MAD AT THE WORLD" sellers on eBay, when I get a damaged card I'd rather get a $2.00 refund, than waste all the time it takes to prepare a labeled bubble envelope all because these sellers think they can sneak a CREASED CARD past a 30-year collector (and a 17-year Certified Autograph Insert only collector). TI have to walk it two blocks to my corner outgoing mailbox which I can't always do, or my mailman will take the outgoing mail when my mail is delivered around 3PM EST. YES MY MAIL IS DELIVERED LATE WHICH WON'T GUARANTEE MY OUTGOING MAIL WILL PROCESS THAT DAY WHICH ONCE CAUSED ME TO LOSE TOP-SELLER STATUS BRIEFLY!  

As far as the Post Office being screwed up, if you don't know it now you rarely get mail, or don't care. But if you buy and sell on eBay and CARE about your buyers (sadly most sellers COULDN'T CARE LESS, no matter how they pretend in emails) you know fully how bad the Post Office has become as far as misdelivering mail, losing mail, etc. over the past five years, most know it's been this bad for two years. I KNEW OF THIS PROBLEM OVER FIVE YEARS AGO BECAUSE I READ THE POST OFFICE EMPLOYEE MESSAGE BOARDS. The Post Office was firing competent employees like crazy to deny their pensions, AND to rehire morons for half their pay! Then there's the REPLACEMENT delivery people (when your GOOD regular mail person is on vacation or had days off) who are TOTALLY WORTHLESS and very poorly trained. My old postal Supervisor once told me "We deliver 1,500 pieces of mail to your area, if we LOSE 3-4I think that's pretty damn good!".  

AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY I'M LONG WINDED IN MY POSTS??? Because MORONS ASSUME the opposite (or taking everything OUT OF CONTEXT to make themselves look good to the CARDCOP HATERS!) of what I'm saying instead of keeping their DUMB mouths shut AND FIGHTING ALL THE FRAUD THAT HAS GROSSLY INCREASED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS: like the person who said on the BlowoutCards Forum in question: "Wow, he's a 17-year collector like that's a record or something.". I'm paraphrasing here, but he said something VERY similar! 

I NEVER SAID I WAS A 17-YEAR COLLECTOR??? I said I was a 17-YEAR Certified Autograph Insert ONLY collector!!! Before that I was a general card collector since 1987.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ONE PERSON may or may not have defended me! ID mcgahee21nfl - eBay ID goldbarcards said:  "All I can say is that I genuinely feel terrible for this guy. I wish we could do something for him to help him turn his life around.". NOW'S YOUR CHANCE, SO CONTACT ME!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NickM posted at 3AM: "When cardcop dies, will anyone miss him besides bill collectors and the staff at the free clinic?" Nice... also interesting that he posts no personal info whatsoever so anyone can trace who he is (other than Blowout Cards)!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JMG318 postedat 6AM: "This guys done a lot in his lifetime. Pushing through these diseases and being a medical assistant. Haha . Dudes a clown and I'd be willing to bet he's a pill head."

Yes, I have done a lot in my lifetime and I'm very happy I did, because if I didn't (like most people like yourself) I'd likely would have taken the Kevorkian way out a LONG TIME ago because it is extremely difficult living with severe-excruciating pain AND fatigue 24/7 knowing I wasted my whole life until I became so sick!

Put your money where your mouth is knucklehead! But I know you won't... 

I voluntarily went to Queens County Neuropsychiatric Institute seeing psychologist Phil Clancy and Psychiatrist Dr. Shriver from 2005-1013 (until they cut off my Medicaid and could no longer go) so I couldn't get addicted to any medications that were very strong narcotics which I needed to live with Chronic Intractable Pain (look it up!). As I already stated (and ONLY anyone who has ever had to live with Chronic Intractable Pain can back me up on this, so PLEASE DO) once the RIGHT pain medication has been found and you've been on the same high level for 13-years like I have, it has no more affect on me than Tylenol has on a normal patient's headache. If you took less than 1/2 of my morning dose: YOU'D BE DEAD IN 15-MINUTES! But it doesn't affect me like that at all. I feel no difference from the time I take the full first daily dose (of two) even an hour until 12-hours later after I take it. It simply keeps my pain from going to EXCRUCIATING in most cases. 

Hydrocodone (5, 10 or 15mg), Oxycodone (5 or 10mg), Morphine PO, IM, OR IV, Hydromorphone, or Oxymorphone has NO EFFECT ON ME AT ALL, nor did it BEFORE I went on the med I'm on now! Only super high doses of Fentanyl worked. My last Pain Management QUACK put me on a total of 2mg (not mcg) per day! I got out of there ASAP and found the GREAT doctor I've had now for 5-years. 

Scum degenerate DRUG ADDICTS who use pills or medications made ONLY for Chronic Intractable Pain patients should be strangled by Pain Patients until dead as their punishment. It is because of ILLEGAL use by these scum that make life so hard on patients like myself and others like me who have to go through HELL (like 21-days of full withdrawal, not the pussies who complain about 4-5 days of alcohol withdrawal, or 7-days or heroin withdrawal) to get a doctor who simply cares about his patients vs. caring about getting on the DEA's "radar" which might cause them to not be able to buy their wife a Lamborghini Testarossa for the holidays this year! 

I FIGHT FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT PATIENTS WITH THE LITTLE TIME/ENERGY I HAVE LEFT AS WELL, OF COURSE FOR FREE- BUT THAT'S A LOSING CAUSE BECAUSE ONE PERSON CAN'T FIGHT THE GOVERNMENT! AT LEAST I GIVE PEOPLE FAR LESS SICK THAN I AM RESOURCES OF HOW TO FIGHT! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 gpenko826 (my 2nd biggest troll, who also shows no discernable info to track him) posted these all on the same thread after my 6/28 1AM "JOHN" post:

9AM: "Everyone needs to stop what they're doing immediately and read his most recent posts. He claims, in one looooooong post that :

- He PERSONALLY got Pacific's BB license removed and sent them to bankruptcy

- He discovered that every single item in Pacific Private Stock was fake

- He was appointed as a columnist on Tuff Stuff, but it got bought out before it could be official

- He has e-mailed Topps and eBay about every single reprint card found in the listings

- Beckett removed grading and fraud guides because they are in on the conspiracy

- Almost all PSA/DNA and JSA items are fakes and they know it

- He's personally investigating Hits memorabilia for... reasons?

It's honestly a look into the maw of madness. I almost feel bad for him - he's a dangerously sick individual that probably needs to be hospitalized before he truly hurts himself or someone else..."

AND at 9:19AM: "I am legit obsessed with this blog now. 2 more things that stand out:

1) He was banned from eBay because he kept trying to report sellers for overcharging for S&H. Do you understand how many times this guy would have had to pester those poor eBay reps to get banned for it? He was legit just searching through "sports cards" and reporting every single person that he felt was "overcharging" for shipping!

2) He claims repeatedly that he lives on around $1200/month thank to disability and some vague illness (the one he keep changing the name of and the date he was diagnosed), yet he is apparently spending THOUSANDS on sports cards? He talks of tons of different boxes and packs he's broken, and all of these redemptions he's owed, yet he has no money for food?"

AND he woke back up at 4:02PM:

" I mean, it's not unheard of, but...

He's had this disease since either 2004, 2006, 2008, or 2009 depending on which post you read. And it became fatal in 2011 to the point where he couldn't get out of bed or stand up. Except that he could type 1000+ word posts, break wax, e-mail and call Topps and eBay daily, and donate cards to hospitals. And it depends on which disease he claims to have, as that has changed at least 3 times.

This guy is a tenure-worthy case study for any psych professor out there." 

AND 4:08PM:

"I literally spent my entire lunch hour reading his blog and came up with these other gems:

- put Playoff and then Donruss/Playoff out of business PERSONALLY

- started the crusade against scams in 1992 when he brought down a Topps Gold theft ring

- was told by eBay customer service reps that he was a "hero" but they couldn't say it out loud because they'd be fired

- was told by the president of Playoff (the one he got fired) that he was basically a saint

- was the one who got Fleer to send out thousands of free autos to collectors when they went bankrupt

- tried to convince Beckett to give him a free issue of a price guide because it would help their reputation in hobby to do so and he would give them free press

- repeatedly harassed and threatened Chris Olds at Beckett, then slammed him when he wouldn't return an e-mail or hire him.

I could literally go on and on for days.... it's fascinating!! It's like A Beautiful Mind, except with cards and not beautiful...

The best, tho, is this alleged quote from Beckett:

"You do the things we could never do and we could never tell the necessary truth like you do because we are afraid of losing advertising dollars" "

??????????????????????????????????????

This one needs SERIOUS needs professional psychiatric help that I cannot provide. He took EVERYTHING OUT OF CONTEXT, even though much of what he stated is true and I can prove it. I'm not proving it to this nutcase who's obviously got a sick fixation on me. However, IF ANYONE WISHES TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS NUMBERED ONE BY ONE DIRECTLY BY EMAIL, I'll be glad to answer EVERY question and provide IRON-CLAD proof of the things I have.

James  My email again: cardcop04@gmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And one more:

Triggwildcat (eBay ID Chrius_kskvk42sh, COMC ID Chrisyork33 from Greenboro, NC) posted at 1:09PM: "How can someone "terminally ill" still be alive for that long except for some type of miracle. If he has been since 2009 that he has had this disease, then it would seem doubtful that he would have survived this long"

This is a medical dictionary meaning: Terminal illness is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer or advanced heart disease than for trauma.

Terminal illness simply means for my specific diseases that the diseases that I have will eventually KILL ME way before I would have died of anything else. I was told I will likely die by age 50 in 2009 (when I was 42). There is a 70% chance that my Thymus Gland tumor will eventually metastasize (become cancerous- which will spread FAST because it's under the sternum in the center of the chest next to the heart AND lungs), and there is an even greater chance that I will stop breathing in my sleep from the high dose medications I need to live now. Again, I CAN HAVE NO SURGERY AT ALL BECAUSE GENERAL ANESTHESIA WILL STOP MY BREATHING FROM my Myasthenia Gravis!

Maybe it is a miracle that I lasted this long, who knows??? But many people are far better off for it that I'm still here volunteering to help ANYONE who asks for my hobby help. I became a Forensic Document Examiner in 1999, and did two hour+ examinations in the last two weeks and was told that I was correct in both of my detailed explanations. THIS IS ONLY FOR FREE TOO! And I'll still help anyone who asks. Plus I tell every seller of Ebay forgeries that they are selling FORGERIES! 

If they don't like that they get the TRUTH from me, good! That means I'm doing my work right!!! If no one was ANGRY with me for life and wished I was dead then I wouldn't be very good now would I? 

VERY Sincerely and I wish everyone the best (unless your goal is to hurt as many people as you can to improve your life because you're too DUMB to do anything but sports cards for a living!),

James McCay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SECRETS EBAY NEVER WANTS YOU TO KNOW!

SECRETS EBAY NEVER WANTS YOU TO KNOW!

I've been wanting to cover this topic for quite some time now, but my discovery of this secret had nothing to do with myself (since I haven't been on eBay for a year or more) and my eBay Member helpers weren't involved in this specific fiasco either. So I waited to totally protect the person who reported this NIGHTMARE to me with absolute proof (copies of eBay e-mails, copies of the CROOK seller's eBay e-mails, etc.).

 

This story starts with a semi-expert female Tiffany collector and her grown children who chipped in to buy a $500.00+ Tiffany item from an eBay Seller. The children also did all of their homework before buying this Tiffany item for their mother's birthday. This is a very honorable woman whose been more in her life than anyone deserves because quite frankly this world is full of scumbags who couldn't care less about anyone but themselves and they are more an enemy to decent people in this country that the IRS, the Government, and the 1% of Super Rich people COMBINED. I say this because 99% of the time these SOCIOPATH scumbags have had a lifetime of practice stealing from people, so the average person would never have a clue that they were being scammed until it was way too late. If you think you are immune: YOU ARE JUST AS IGNORANT AS YOU ARE EGOTISTICAL AND DESERVE WHATEVER HAPPENS TO YOU! Fraud is at an all time high in all areas of collectibles and you all need to wake up and accept this as fact!     

 

I have been investigating fraud at all levels in the sports card and memorabilia hobby at my own expense to help others since 1992 with as much vigor as if I was being pain a Million Dollars per investigation, but I do every one for free. I know no one else does this, but then again I never met anyone like myself before and neither has any hobby expert (as per their words if they took the time to get to know me).

 Either I do something to the absolute best of my ability, and/or will learn everything I can possibly learn before doing any investigation- OTHERWISE I WON'T DO IT AT ALL. I admit there are several things I REALLY wish I could fight since 2005 but my illnesses just won't allow me to and that bothers me every single day.

 

So this woman gets her Tiffany gift and red flags are seen. So the woman starts questioning the buyer and the answers don't fit, or change with time. Then the seller lists ANOTHER ONE of the EXACT SAME Tiffany item (which was SOLD OUT by Tiffany for a LONG time) that she was given as a gift from her children that bought it from this same eBay seller.

Of course the buyer files an eBay Buyer Protection case at this point. Anyone would have been confident that they had an iron-clad case against the seller, BUT NOT ON EBAY!!! eBay tells her she needs a letter FROM TIFFANY (not a Tiffany expert, or Tiffany Retail store) but from Tiffany itself ONLY! Tiffany sellers who are experts likely know that Tiffany will not issue letters stating one way or the other whether their items are authentic. But why would an average knowledgeable Tiffany collector know this?  

 

This woman did not know that: as why would she? This is not something Tiffany advertises, nor is it something eBay advertises anywhere either. It's something collectors ONLY find out AFTER THE FACT the hard way.

 I call this FRAUD, plain and simple!

It turns out that eBay has UNWRITTEN RULES as rules that TRUMP their BUYER PROTECTION POLICY (and Seller Protection Policy too!) in all collectibles categories!

If you pay more than $500.00 on eBay for anything that can be construed as a collectible and it turns out to be FAKE: you are ON YOUR OWN! eBay's Buyer OR Seller Protection Rules or Policies no longer apply.

SO IF YOU ARE A COLLECTOR OF ANYTHING; THIS APPLIES TO YOU AND YOU HAD BETTER READ CLOSELY OR YOU'LL BE STUCK WITH A WORTHLESS PIECE OF JUNK AND YOU'LL BE OUT $500.00 (or your children will as was in this case).

 

I have never been more sickened by learning such information, NEVER! The ONLY WAY you may be able to get around this and force eBay to enforce THEIR RULES is if you are willing to pay an attorney THOUSANDS of dollars to win your $500 back??? This of course is something only the top 1% of the USA population might do, but then again even the ridiculously rich in most cases are not stupid enough to spend thousands to win $500??? It just doesn't hold water, which is EXACTLY why eBay does this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a Sports Card and Autograph story that falls right in with this Tiffany story, but on the other end of the spectrum.

First I need to say that I do not think anyone should be allowed to sell ANY autographs on eBay unless they are On Card Certified Autograph Inserts from established card companies since their Authenticity rate since 1990 is over 99.99% AUTHENTIC! No one can claim an Authenticity Rate anywhere near that number.

I personally would allow Steiner and Tri-Star Autographs to be sold on eBay because the have spent decades building a reputation for selling autographs that they have only personally obtained in-person at private signings. They don't sell autographs they bought from others (at least that's what I know) if it's proven otherwise for either company- then I'd make sure those autographs would NOT be allowed to be sold on eBay.   

 

Now I'll quickly explain WHY I said this.  It is far too easy to forge autographs: I've forged autographs and sent them to PSA/DNA or James Spence (or someone in my group has with other members present) and they were Authenticated as real EVERY time!!! I feel safe to say that there are as many Authenticated forgeries on the market as there are real Authenticated autographs. Is 50% Authentic a justifiable reason to pay as much (or more) for an Authenticated autograph vs. an On Card Certified Autograph Insert from a large card company? Well that's what's happening on eBay for over a year now!

 

Too much time has passed since Operation Bullpen from the FBI out of San Diego was fresh in people's minds and a whole new generation of IGNORANT BUYERS are buying forgery after forgery on eBay simply because they are TOO LAZY to do just a little research on Google!

ANY AUTOGRAPH COLLECTOR (other than ONLY On Card Certified Autograph Insert collectors like myself) NEEDS TO GO TO GOOGLE and type "Operation Bullpen FBI San Diego" and read until your eyes can't take anymore. Then wait a couple of days and start where you left off until you read the ENTIRE Operation Bullpen report!  OR you can go to Amazon and buy: Operation Bullpen Paperback – October 15, 2006 by Kevin Nelson  -

ISBN-10: 0978634004

ISBN-13: 978-0978634001

eBay has ANOTHER UNWRITTEN RULE for sellers of autographs and any collectibles. Regardless of whether you accept returns OR NOT (which is a "CHOICE" EBAY give every seller). If the buyer complain that they want a refund, eBay will AUTOMATICALLY GRANT THAT REFUND! So why does eBay give sellers a choice to check off as to whether they want to accept returns or not? TO GIVE SELLERS A FALST SENSE OF SECURITY, that's why!

 

eBay doesn't know, nor do they care that there are many buyers on eBay (mostly the young generation who learned FRAUD from the last generation) who buy MINT cards purposely so that they can switch it for their damaged card and then they will request a return. When the sellers says what ALL their listings say: "WE DO NOT ACCEPT RETURNS", they simply contact eBay, open a case saying they received a damaged item (a lie), and eBay will AUTOMATICALLY ISSUE THE BUYER A RETURN. To add insult to injury eBay makes the seller pay the return shipping fee for the lying buyer!!!

 

THE SICKEST PART OF ALL OF THIS IS THAT NO ONE HAS ENOUGH MONEY, BRAINS, OR ABILITY TO START AN AUCTION ONLY SITE THAT FOCUSES ON COLLECTIBLES ONLY WITH RULES THAT BENEFIT EVERYONE EQUALLY TO GET ALL OUR COLLECTIBLES OFF OF EBAY WHICH WILL BANKRUPT THEM???

COMC is a joke if you need to sell because you need money, like many do for medical bills thanks to F-------- USELESS OBAMACARE AND BUDGET CUTS TO THE DISABLED AND ELDERLY!!! If you cash-out of COMC THEY GET 40% (if you are owed $100- you only get $60??? Come on now...)!!! I have a very high level of INTEGRITY AND HONOR, so I can't sell my items through crooks on eBay by consignment (WHO ALL SELL AUTOGRAPH FORGERIES THEN BLAME THEIR CONSIGNEES), I don't need to mention any names. So what option is there??? NONE!

 

I live on Social Security Disability (since 2003- I "WON" it in 2006 after 3-yrs of fighting) which hasn't increased yearly in SIX YEARS! Then my mother stole over $10,000 from me to gamble with (she's the worst gambling addict I ever thought existed & ONMLY on slot machines). HER ENTIRE HOUSE IS OWED ON LOANS FROM GAMBLING!!! Sure the Government try to make it LOOK like they raise SS & SSD by $40-$60 a year, but then my Food Stamps are LOWERED by EXACTLY THAT AMOUNT OF MY INCREASE EVERY TIME OR THEY RAISE MEDICARE PREMIUMS TO THE EXACT AMOUNT! Do they really think we are that stupid, NO they just know we are too sick to do anything about it.

 

Try living on $1,180 a month in this economy. I am legally homebound and 99% bed-ridden and thanks to 'budget cuts" I can't get any help from the government (city, state, or federal) at all. I can't stay on my feet for more than 5-minutes or I will collapse. Try being 6 ' 7" tall & 255 pounds and collapsing with no strength in any of your limbs. Each time I fall it's life-threatening. Plus I have no family, my mother's mind finally snapped after living with severe mentally illness and she's in a Nursing Home with no mind left, and my father who abandoned us when I was 18-months old passed away in April, 2015. So now I have literally no family left being an only child OF an only child. Not that my family ever did much to help me, but it was more important just knowing they were there- even though they were little to no help. And forget about "friends" when they realize how sick you truly are they are GONE- that was 2007.

 

Just know I'm still fighting for all collectors no matter how sick I get. Maybe this will eventually inspire SOMEONE to do what I did when I was healthy from 1997-2004 online with a website fighting hobby fraud when I won EVERY case I investigated at one level or another. Don't forget I put TWO card companies OUT OF BUSINESS by myself (Playoff and Pacific) for fraud most wouldn't believe and had NO ONE helping or guiding me. Think what you could do if you get a group of a dozen or so hobby experts who are collectors only- fighting only for collectors?

PLUS YOU HAVE ME TO GUIDE YOU!!!

James McCay - cardcop04@gmail.com

 

   

Hobby Fraud/eBay Lies/Fighting Back!: How Sports Card/Autograph Crooks Return on eBay

March 2014 UPDATE:

3/11/14



Well it's pretty much official: once again most things I predicted or knew before almost anyone else came to pass on eBay. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back- practically NO ONE else does...



eBay changed more stupid rules with more stupid/more confusing crazier rules in one shot from Feb-Mar 2014 than EVER in the history of eBay! This is because as I predicted, their lack of empathy for any of their members (mainly buyers) since 2009 caused them to bankrupted themselves! You can no longer see who bought what from any particular seller (the ID is scrambled randomly), so members can NEVER AGAIN bust a seller for shill bidding. Plus so many page formats were changed needlessly which just confuses everyone. Ever confuse a dumb person? Well, more eBay members are dumb that not = CHAOS!



I also stated in 2011 that I found out that eBay wanted to be a better Amazon. I knew that would never happen. So eBay pushed & pushed sellers to the point where 75% of all items on eBay became BUY IT NOW instead of auctions- that was 2012. Now that ratio is 90% BUY IT NOW/10% Auction and many auction prices START way above what anyone in their right mind would pay.  I only check Sports Cards & Memorabilia on eBay, but I'm pretty sure every other category had a similar change.

Sadly there are many more people NOT in their right minds than most of us care to admit or want to know. This was caused by: society in general, overpopulation, corrupt financial institutions, a corrupt government (that we lost ANY control over many decades ago) and more liars in the USA than not is what caused this mostly from the 1970's-present. 

If I can knock others, then I should turn that on myself. I'm the first to admit that I have General Anxiety Disorder & get occasional Panic Attacks, but I'm in my "right mind" ALWAYS. I think anyone with a 126 IQ who used EVERY ONE of those points to learn as much as I possibly could about anything that interested me and then shared that info to help others for free (only) would develop an anxiety disorder after dealing with knuckleheads for decades. I was the first kid in my WHOLE family (mother & father's side) to get some college education. Being stuck with a Sociopath mother as my only parent from age 2-18 (I left home literally the DAY I turned 18 on 1/7/85) made it all the more awful. I've been autodidactic my whole life (self educated), but I learn well from others as long as it's a subject I'm interested in. For instance, I passed three Regent's exams in Science in Junior High (Earth Science, Biology) and High School (Chemistry). I HATED CHEMISTRY because of a teacher who taught it HIS way! Once we got passed the Periotic Table, and basic chemistry which I loved, my NERD teacher decided to teach Chemistry with Advanced Algebra WHICH I ALSO HATED. At age 47 now, I can honestly say that I NEVER ONCE used one formula from the Advanced Algebra class (forced to take in High School as well) in my whole adult life- just as I told my teacher!
Advanced Algebra in Grade 10 caused me to start cutting classes to go to the computer lab in 1983 and teach myself how to program in basic. After a couple of months the computer teacher had me teaching his classes as a substitute when he had to take a day off. So I never got in trouble for cutting class and passed a few classes I NEVER WENT TO!!!  
By Grade 11 I wanted to kill my mother for so screwing up my head by basically using me as her slave. I cooked our dinner EVERY night and cleaned the house (I did HER chores). At age 17 I had to be home by 10PM on WEEKENDS (8PM on school days)!  Just a few years ago I asked my mother "what did you teach me to prepare me for everyday life on my own". Her answer" I taught you how to cook and clean." AND THAT'S IT! But in fact she didn't even teach me those things, I figured it out by myself. My mother wanted a daughter BADLY, so in her sick mind she raised me as much as one as she could. I blame my father for having a child with that nut-job to this day & he knows it. I never really saw him until I was 15-years old or so. He was no help at all. As a good older female friend once told me- "lucky you didn't wind up gay.". So I had to spend a good three years after leaving home teaching myself how to live in society as a man. At age 20 while living with my grandparents who I helped take care of- I was very lucky to be hired by Medtronic (a Fortune 500 company) as a Pacemaker Test Technician and Advanced EKG Interpretation/Education eventually became my 16-year career. I was the very first non-college graduate hired to be a Pacemaker Tech. by Medtronic. Ironically, the guy who took a chance of me (Bill) in 1987 became my best friend (Craig) from childhood's father-in-law as Craig married his daughter which I didn't find out until many years later.
I'm lucky I got to live the life that I did even though it was shortened by a terminal illness (severe Myasthenia Gravis).  So I have absolutely no regrets.

HOW BUY IT NOW KILLED eBay SPORTS CARD SALES!

 

Since it costs sellers nothing to just post an item, 75% of BUY IT NOW sellers put prices on their items that are so high (with no MAKE AN OFFER either???) that not even the biggest rich moron would pay those prices under most circumstances (99.99% of the time). What these Sociopathic/IGNORANT sellers never think about is the effect their actions have on the general public in our hobby: they are making novice collectors believe their cards are worth WAY MORE than they truly are. Then when they go and buy many more similar cards for say 25% less than BUY IT NOW prices elsewhere (thinking they are worth so much more than they truly are). Then they eventually learn THE TRUTH and QUIT this hobby! Do you realize this happened to many THOUSANDS of collectors in our hobby thanks to eBay sellers? UNFORTUNATELY, THE MAJORITY OF ALL COLLECTORS ARE NOVICES! Here's the PROOF:

 

Back in 1999-00 the Senior Editor of Tuff Stuff (Rocky Landsverk) who is also a collector took my advice and went on eBay to help get more accurate pricing information for his Price Guide that HE was in charge of. I explained that there are more accurate SOLD sale prices on eBay than he could ever get from just store owners who LIE to get the prices listed higher so they could make more money. At the time, there were literally hundreds of eBay ENDED AUCTION prices for nearly any popular card you could think of. Compared to today on eBay, there were well over TEN TIMES the number of sports cards selling on a daily basis & they sold for HIGH prices. I LOVED THAT EBAY! But thanks to all the BAD changes eBay made & the greed of the Hobby Elite, they are a shadow of the site they used to be & so is this hobby. And back then there was no MAKE AN OFFER OR BUY IT NOW on eBay. So these were TRUE sale prices that couldn't be fudged. So Rocky in his infinite wisdom took the STARTING BID PRICES and thought that was what cards were selling for and printed that info in Tuff Stuff for one issue??? CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW STUPID YOU'D HAVE TO BE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. Rocky had my help yet he NEVER mentioned anything that even hinted to me that he had NO IDEA how eBay worked! How can a Senior Editor at a Price Guide have no idea how eBay worked in eBay's PRIME in sports cards? Well that's exactly what happened and I tore Rocky a new back hole. He never spoke to me again and I'm glad. I don't talk to people that are THAT stupid and/or ignorant.

 

I don't know how eBay hung on as long as they did, but they'll be gone in a year OR they'll totally re-tool the entire site (AGAIN) and maybe it will work/maybe it won't. All in all I think all card & autograph collectors would be MUCH BETTER OFF if eBay went bye-bye FOREVER!!!  So those relying on eBay sales better start to ePray (if religious) because you'll need to find a "REAL" job soon!

 

Now eBay sellers almost never state how much they charge per extra single card won because eBay REMOVED that rule and reworded something that was supposed to replace that rule but to anyone with half a brain: the interpretation can be taken TEN different ways. Obviously lawyers wrote these new rules! It used to be a listed RULE on eBay that sellers: "MUST LIST HOW MUCH EXTRA ITEMS WON COST FOR SHIPPING & HANDLING OR IT IS CONSIDERED HIDDEN FEES WHICH IS AGAINST EBAY RULES AND CAN RESULT IN SUSPENSION.". I spoke with several actual eBay employee Specialists in 2010 when I was still cardcop05 and they ALL told me same thing once they realized the weight of a card in a top-loader: it is against our Overcharging S&H rule to charge more than .25 cents for each additional card won AND no card seller can charge more than $5.00 as a maximum fee if the entire purchase fits in a flat rate small Priority Mail box where boxes are free and so is home pick-up. Then there's all the stupid eBay sellers who still go to the Post Office to get postage put on their packages. They don't know that the PO has been charging TWICE ($3.07 for a 2-ounce package) what eBay's PRINT SHIPPING LABEL service charges ($1.69 for a 3-ounce package). eBay's Specialist told me this regarding that in 2010: "it's the seller's responsibility to find the cheapest/safe way to ship and it is an iron-clad rule that sellers can never charge for trips to the Post Office, gas, their time, or more than .25 cents for bubble envelopes because they are easily bought right on eBay for that price for almost any size with S&H calculated in". I found out that this particular Shipping & Handling Specialist worked for eBay for over TEN YEARS and was fired in 2011 because she (LIKE ME) refused to follow the new STUPID & CONFUSING RULES that never needed to be changed!!! My cardcop05 ID with a PERFECT Buyer & Seller Rating was suspended for life. Their reason "we wish to part ways with you.". Then chicken-spit sellers like tntnorthnj who I went after for severely overcharging S&H fees or had high hidden fees started leaving bad lying follow-up feedback only AFTER I was suspended so I couldn't leave responses to their feedback.

I got a free copy of the April issue of Beckett Football (because I don't pay for issues more than twice a year- if that). Seems like they changed a lot of prices WITHOUT using arrows again. So collectors have to do extensive research to see what changed which is the one of the STUPIDEST THINGS I EVER HEARD OF! How is it that 2010-2012 Absolute RPM RC ON CARD Autographs #'ed to 25 are only worth 1.5 times the version numbered to 299 or less? There are only TWO versions of these cards, so the one #'ed to 25 SHOULD BE at least 2.5 times the base card. Yet UD SP Authentic RC Patch(which aren't REAL patches)/Autographs WITH NO LICENSING FROM THOSE YEARS (IN THEIR COLLEGE UNIFORMS ONLY) are 3X (THREE TIMES) for the cards #'ed to an avg. of 25 while the base RC/Autos are #'ed from 299-699??? THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL BECKETT!

But then again Beckett's Senior Editor (Chris Olds) is a fat, lazy, boring, turd because no one better wanted to work for Beckett Media apparently. I tried e-mailing this lazy jerk TEN times since 2010 and he never responded. So I sent him a "LAST CHANCE" e-mail and he told me "I never received an e-mail from you" (HE'S SUCH A BAD LIAR- I keep copies of everything and he received EVERYTHING I EVER SENT HIM!) & he said I should be nicer. Of course I'd be nicer if I GOT PAID like he does yet I do much more than he's ever done FOR FREE so I'll be as angry as I feel- like I told him. He never replied again- that big fat useless chicken. And Susan L. another Beckett Editor who's stories could be seen in all sports issues of Beckett QUIT in JAN. 2014.  So their only writers are people I NEVER heard of (OR NO ONE EVER HEARD OF) so why buy Beckett EVER??? Plus they stopped printing "READER'S WRITE" which was the only Beckett section where you might actually get some real hobby truth. This was cut from Beckett months ago from what I learned. 

Remember- I told everyone who would listen since 1999 to only collect ON CARD Certified Autograph Inserts from trusted card companies (with the Authenticity printed ON THE CARD) of current established semi-star players or better, or retired semi-stars or better and collect them for the quality of the autograph, NEVER for the low serial number. I suggested always paying LESS than Beckett's low price. If you did that you now have a collection to be proud of that would cost you much more to replace now.
 

James

 

Can This Hobby Get Much Worse & What Will It Take for Card Companies to WAKE UP?

Sorry I've been unable to update for so long. My health just keeps getting worse. My healthy mind is trapped in a badly damaged body & this is beyond frustrating. You don't know how badly I wish I had the strength to do this daily and fight card companies/price guides directly. Because I know if the Executives got the TRUTH about what's truly going on in the hobby, they would make changes. They did it in the early 2000's when I caught Pacific and Playoff red-handed for committing fraud and it lasted until 2005 or so. When they all realized I was pretty much out of the picture they slowly but surely started up the FRAUD I stopped them from committing like selling left-over redemptions OUT THE BACK DOOR to their biggest direct buy dealers and withholding up to 25% of the most ex0pensive inserts from going into packs. Those are just two of dozens of terrible things that now ALL card companies have done at one time or another from 200-present INCLUDING TOPPS!

The Executives have always been shielded from the truth in this hobby. Now that many of the executives are new in this hobby, THEY HAVE NO CLUE WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON IN THEIR OWN COMPANIES & since most of their e-mails are BLOCKED from the public we can't even tell them. I am absolutely certain that I know more about what goes on behind closed doors in any card company than their CEO's/Presidents- even though I haven't worked for a card company since late 2001 because some things change, BUT MOST DO NOT in this hobby. This especially goes for Topps that is run by Corporate Assholes who NEVER knew anything much about this hobby. I just proved that several months ago fighting for redemption replacements that were up to A YEAR OLD! Out of over (31) redemption autographs I was owed- that are now ALL past their 15-week replacement time, I only received THREE of the actual cards I was owed in the last 18-months.

In the December 2013 Issue of Beckett Football the front top cover states "TOPPS TALKS REDEMPTIONS". So of course I wasted my money and bought the first Beckett issue I bought in MANY months (because Beckett is so USELESS). So what did Topps say about redemptions, or what did Beckett ASK about redemptions that had anything to do with the MAJOR PROBLEMS I mentioned above? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  Nothing was mentioned about the tens of thousands (or HUNDREDS of thousands???) of redemption autographs owed to collectors that are over a YEAR old! Nothing was mentioned about all the LIES their Customer Service employees have been telling collectors since at least January, 2013 (that I personally have documented).

Topps used to ALWAYS send collectors an e-mail when their redemption was owed for 15-weeks. It was called the "LATE NOTIFY E-MAIL". They stopped doing this in late Jan. 2013, but never said why. It turns out their was a major scandal with employees STEALING LIKE CRAZY from their Duryea, PA offices. To anyone who receives a redemption or replacement- look at the return address: it's from Old Forge, PA. Apparently Topps tried to FIX the problems in Duryea, PA which took ALMOST A YEAR. When that failed, they just fired everyone and moved their PA offices to another town!!! Meanwhile Topps told NO ONE what was going on (ESPECIALLY BECKETT, the ONLY PRICE GUIDE LEFT) and many redemption holders are still waiting for their cards to this day!

THAT IS 100% BS AND YOU ALL NEED TO FIGHT TOPPS BEFORE THEY GO BANKRUPT & YOU GET NOTHING!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How many of you are still owed 2012 Allen & Ginter Relic Redemption cards which are well over a year OVERDUE now?

I made what I thought was going to be a MASTER SET of these for a terminally ill little girl who I've been buying more cards for than I've bought for myself in the last 5-years. I was owed ALL of the redemption relic cards I needed to complete this set. I was also owed several 2012 Ginter Autograph redemptions. One I was especially looking forward to getting was the Guy Bluford (1st African-American NASA Astronaut) Autograph. I never got that autograph, AND NEVER WILL! Then Topps started sending me ABSOLUTE JUNK replacements that I DID NOT ASK FOR! They were sending RANDOM COMMON PLAYER AUTOGRAPHS IN REFRACTOR FORM FOR $15 LISTED STARS YOU WERE OWED! In the past it used to be Topps' policy that they will not send replacements until you ask for them. I had waited over two years for redemptions from Topps before because I needed that particular ON CARD autograph for my collection. But now Topps isn't even giving collectors a choice anymore!
<<<<<I started this on another post>>>>> I even got a Topps Executive involved and his assistant Claudia. Then they sent me about HALF of what they told me they were sending on the phone and they send me sticker autographs as replacements for ON CARD redemptions I was owed even though I told them I HATE AN Y STICKER AUTOGRAPHS. It's possible that these two were so DUMB that they couldn't tell the difference between an ON CARD autograph & a sticker!!! These are CORPORATE ASSHOLES who do not know the first thing about our hobby. Boxes they sent me were missing inserts: so these were either dealer returns, or end of print run boxes that they eventually sell very cheap to BIG dealers like Dave & Adam's Card World. End of print run boxes are missing inserts because the inserts wound up on the print room floor and are given to the card companies to send as replacements. This is how card companies get some of the cards they'll send you if you say you are missing certain inserts "guaranteed" per box.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

 

I decided to give Chris Olds (Beckett's President Or Senior Editor or whatever they call their boss these days) ONE LAST TRY getting any answers from him via e-mail in Jan. 2014. He responded for the FIRST TIME out of almost a dozen tries in three years and he said "I NEVER RECEIVED ANY E-MAIL FROM YOU.". He added that I should be more polite and I might get more replies. So I told him to check his e-mails again because either he doesn't know how to work e-mail, or he IS LYING (the truth) because I never once received an e-mail returned from the "Mailer-Daemon" to him from me & I keep copies of ALL my SENT & RECEIVED MAIL. I told him he needs to MAN-UP (that fat, lazy, boring bastard!) and if he wanted politeness maybe HE SHOULD PAY ME like he's paid for doing NOTHING helpful to collectors!!! Of course he never replied again. He's just plain useless. I tried contacting his partner Susan L. as well (who is a voluntary watcher of my Twitter page) and she didn't BOTHER to respond either.  THEY ARE BOTH USELESS! 

 

I contacted the NFLPA asking for any left-over promo cards they may have from any events like the decent Panini promos I've seen over the last couple of years. I told them I'll be donating all but one of each of the cards. Since I'm homebound and mostly bed-ridden I haven't been able to go to a card shop, show or event in over 7-years. 

Even though it was the LAST thing I expected: they sent me over a dozen Panini and Topps hobby boxes from 2011-2013 which was VERY NICE of them. It seems the card companies send freebie boxes to NFLPA Executives, and some executives didn't want to open their boxes. I learn something new every year! I know for a fact that Playoff did not do this in 2001. In fact Ann Blake told me "the less the NFLPA knows about what we do- the better". That's most likely because of all the fraud I busted them for doing.

So I can review current NFL hobby boxes: THEY ALL MOSTLY SUCK (nearly every autograph is an UGLY sticker), and the boxes were nearly all not worth buying for HALF what they sold for except maybe 2011-12 Panini Absolute, 2013 Topps Chrome Football, or 2013 Panini Contenders (if you can get a hobby box for $60 or less- which you probably can't). At least SOME autographs from those are ON CARD (Absolute RPM RC Autos, Chrome RC Autos, & some Contender Autos). I got a total of five redemptions and three were EXPIRED... the unexpired redemptions were from Topps that I may never see either. I didn't get one of the Top 3 RC autographs from any year. But did get a RARE ERROR Dual Auto card from 2013 Topps Platinum. It's an Giovani Bernard/Eddie Lacy Dual PATCH/AUTO numbered to 25. The problem is that the Giovani Bernard has a JORDAN REED (Redskins TE) STICKER autograph where Bernard's sticker is supposed to be. I never pulled an error sticker with the wrong player before (because I don't buy boxes with sticker autos), but I have heard of it happening: QUITE A BIT! PLUS the Lacy autograph was signed with a dry pen. Topps "supposedly" has a company representative view "ALL SIGNINGS"- then why did this representative not hand Lacy A NEW PEN?
Actual card:

 

I contacted Mike at Topps Customer Service over a week ago (last couple of days of Jan. 2014) and he told me to send him scans of the card to confirm the ERROR. I did that, and considering the way he was speaking- I should have heard back from him already but DID NOT??? I may wind up keeping this card whether I want to or not. I'll figure a way to sell all the other sticker autographs to buy more cards to donate this year.

 

It's about time Upper Deck gets the publicity IT DESERVES FOR ALL THE PAIN IT HAS CAUSED OUR HOBBY!

The Village Voice (a famous NYC newspaper) will be doing a story about Upper Deck and the fraud they've (Richard McWilliam especially) been involved in since the start of Upper Deck in 1989. I was contacted and told them everything I know. They will be using me as a contact as they continue to investigate their story as I'm sure there are things I haven't thought about in years but will recall as soon as a topic is mentioned. I can't wait to see it published.

 

As I've stated many times before: collect ON CARD Certified Autographs of cards you like. Those will always hold their value. I was buying dozens of 1993-94 Nabisco Autographs for $2-$3 each on eBay to give as holiday gifts to my Ambullette drivers, hospital employees and doctors who were good to me. Every one of those cards now easily sell for $10+ on eBay. I have a full set from each year and am glad I bought them when I did. There are MANY players that are Hall Of Famers that can still be bought for under $10 each for nice ON CARD autographs. Beckett FINALLY stated this so I was told & I've been telling everyone this exact thing since pre-2000. If that doesn't show you how USELESS Beckett Media is now that Jim Beckett has been long gone, nothing will... 

 

Good luck my friends!

 

James

The Contradiction that has Become eBay.

In the past I did stories about eBay going BUY IT NOW only. Thanks to overwhelming user response, eBay seems to have scrapped that idea! YEAH!

But the computer take over of so many eBay functions continues & big brother on eBay has never been worse. If you ever want to talk to someone you bought from or someone who bought from you- REMEMBER- Paypal lists the ACTUAL e-mail for these people on your receipt. So DO NOT use eBay Mail unless you absolutely have to. eBay has a computer program read EVERY e-mail you send through eBay Mail!!! If I wanted that, I'd move to Communist Russia!

EBay simply does not make any sense any more. Places have rules- and if you study those rules over and over so that you can become an authority on those rules, you can help enforce those rules- right? That sounds like correct logic, doesn't it? BUT THAT'S NOT HOW THINGS WORK ON EBAY!!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't lie and I don't exaggerate. You know why? This hobby and companies involved in our hobby of Sports Cards & Memorabilia do such crazy things that I never have to lie or exaggerate because the truth is even stranger! 

Once again I'm at war with eBay. The ID I've been using for 5-months now: cardsharks ( I changed one letter to avoid eBay identifying me) has built up over (600) feedbacks and according to every regular eBay employee I spoke with by phone I was told many times "YOU HAVE AN OUTSTANDING REPUTATION AS AN HONORABLE BUYER & WE THANK YOU FOR THAT".
Remember I'm permanently suspended from eBay for well over a year now for basically fighting eBay's stupidest rules. All I did was calmly discuss the rules that contradict each other with "specialists" (eBay's term for supervisors) & since I wouldn't agree with the specialists I was permanently suspended. I SWEAR TO YOU THAT THIS IS THE REASON & I WILL GLADLY TAKE A POLYGRAPH TEST TO PROVE THIS!

The main issue was buyers that complain about the absolute worst sellers they encounter to eBay & by feedback and in retaliation the sellers call eBay with frivolous complaints about these buyers. The way eBay's Policy Violation system is set-up is this: ANYONE GETS A POLICY VIOLATION JUST BY EBAY GETTING A PHONE CALL ABOUT THE BUYER/SELLER REGARDLESS OF THE BASIS OF THE CALL OR COMPLAINT! THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE FACT PEOPLE, I PROVED IT OVER & OVER WITH THEM!

Now, the default Seller block for Policy Violations is (4) four in one month. So if you are a buyer who is fed up with newbie sellers who charge $4.00+ to ship one card and then your card arrives: in a plain white envelope with $1.05 postage, or if you bought (4) cards & were charged $1.00 for each additional card & the postage was $2.00 in a .25 cent bubble envelope, or you complain politely to the buyer & they immediately snap back saying "it's none of your business what I charge", or "my eBay/Paypal fees were $1.00, and it cost me most & time for gas to go to the Post Office". MEANWHILE ALL OF THESE EXCUSES ARE AGAINST EBAY'S RULES WHICH ARE CLEARLY STATED! So you call eBay and the employee you speak with tells you that you did the right thing by calling and you should continue to call & leave negative feedback for such things and you shouldn't worry about retaliation because we will help you: IS A BUNCH OF LIES!!!
Once you get a "specialist" on the phone they'll never disagree with the person who told you all those things- BUT they will say: "you must have misunderstood them", or "they wouldn't have said that". SO THEY BASICALLY PLAY GOOD COP/BAD COP!

Over the last two months I've been buying 2011-12 Panini Preferred ON CARD autographs like crazy because one of the hospitalized children I buy cards for wants these sets. The family of this child have given me as much money as they could come up with and I am donating the rest to make this dream come true.
There once was a time in America where you could contact a company and explain the details of a dying 14-year old child who collects cards and even provide the medical records (which the family will gladly do) in order to get a donation directly from the company. However, thanks to the unstoppable greed in this hobby and the current state of this country's economy- those donations DO NOT happen anymore! I did ask Panini for help THREE times over the last two years & they didn't even bother to respond (I contacted five different departments)! So it's up to individuals like myself to make these dreams come true.

BTW- I've been buying cards for this 14-year old dying girl for over 2-years and her doctor told her parents several times in that span that she has a couple of months to live- so I'd like to think that the cards are helping her stay alive.

So far I have spent over $1,500 out of my pocket (literally on my credit card which I don't know how I'm going to pay back) after the $2,000 the family gave me was gone. The good news is that the Crown Royale & Panini Choice sets are over 90% complete!!! We agreed that we would not include any individual cards that cost over $100 each. But in exchange I've been getting as many versions as possible of each Panini Choice cards (Red, Blue, Silver & Gold), Gold Versions of Crown Royale and have over (20) different Silhouettes JSY/AUTO cards too. I have at least two versions of 75%+ of the Panini Choice players. I have (86) of the (100) cards in the Choice set, 75% of the Silhouettes (which I'm adding as a bonus) and have (36) of the (39) Crown Royale cards. The only player that has eluded me in both sets (Crown & Choice) has been Oscar Robertson. I'm willing to pay $40-$50 for each card, but less than (4) of either card has ever shown up on eBay! So there are 35+ of each card still in packs or in other people's sets.

I've found that patience definitely pays off with these cards. The Devin Ebanks redemptions for ANY of his cards were $18-$25 each before the actual cards started shipping 10-days ago. Then I bought the actual Crown card for $12.00 & $12 for the Silhouettes card. SO WHY WERE THE REDEMPTIONS SO EXPENSIVE FOR SUCH AN IFFY PLAYER? Who knows, he sure isn't the next Kobe Bryant!!!
My next mission is to get the Mitch Richmond cards for less than $15.00 each. He's another one that is OVERPRICED, & Tony Kukoc is another one at $25.00 which is NOT WORTH IT. I'll wait until I can get each for $15.00 or less which I'm 75% sure will happen within the next month or so.

Remember to always ask questions & FIGHT anything that you think is wrong- ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE- I'm proof!

Best wishes as always.

James McCay aka Cardcop