Trading Cards: Fake cards have no place in the hobby; don’t help them out

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Card shows are a fun way to pass time. Even though the scope of my collection is limited, there are a lot of things I enjoy about card shows — even if I don’t wind up buying anything..

High on that list is spending time with family and friends. I also like to listen to conversations as it helps get a general feel of what people are thinking and talking about.

Yet, there are things I don’t like and high on that list is fraud. It doesn’t help anyone. Sure the fraudulent parties get money, but many get caught. Is it really worth it?

The reason I bring up fraud in the same post as a card show is I went to a show this weekend. Every month, there is a card show in Garfield, NJ and it could be hit or miss. One dealer really missed. He had a table with cards laid with a sign for a $1 each. I peeked around and saw a number of Mets and Yankees and a few well known players. Then I noticed the below Aaron Judge cards.

These are not official cards. Maybe calling them fraud is a bit too far, but in this case someone used a company’s IP to create baseball cards that were never released from the card companies they are using the designs from.

While the cards do say “ACEO” on them. How many actually know what that means?

I had to google it. It stands for”Art cards, Editions, and Originals.”

Essentially it means the cards are “art.” These are also littered all over eBay, but it’s really is a hobby-wide issue. There is even a current lawsuit from Panini America against a known seller of these types of cards on eBay.

There is a difference between creating commissions and custom cards for personal use. Once you step over the line and start mass producing and selling it, you owe someone else money. In the case of the cards above, the people the seller would owe money to are Aaron Judge (for using his likeness), Upper Deck or Fleer (depending on the design that was ripped off), and MLB Properties for using team names and logos.

(Yes, the Fleer also says a F**k Face on the bat akin to the Billy Ripken card.)

Also, the cards are fake!

Now imagine how you would feel if you bought a card you didn’t realize wasn’t released by one of the card companies until you got home. In this case, maybe you’re only out a $1, but these cards shouldn’t be on the market in the first place.

I don’t have an issue with custom cards. I have a few myself because I have found some great artwork out there. This is completely different.

So dealers, start doing the right thing. You know better. This hobby is so confusing in its own right and there are more and more people entering or returning. The last thing they need is to feel duped especially if you want to keep them in the hobby.

There are so many cards out there that are valuable. You don’t need to create more. You don’t need to be greedy for a buck.