How we spot a FAKE VINTAGE baseball card 

Some key things to look for when looking at vintage cards are: 1) the centering-real cards are often not perfectly centered but reprints usually are, and this is true for the fronts and backs of cards; 2) spotting-real cards will often have small, white circles or spots here and there due to age or moisture in the air, but modern reprints won’t; 3) the back-the backs of vintage cards are usually darker because of age and often (but not always) feature ridges from the texture of the card stock; 4) the cut-as with centering, true vintage cards are also not always cut perfectly, but modern cards almost always are; 5) print patterns-vintage cards were printed with older technology and up close the print patterns look like blotchy dots, but modern prints are much smoother looking up close (usually this can be seen if you just zoom in on a photo of the card provided in the listing online). As a point of reference you can always look up an authentic PSA graded version of the card and compare it with the card you’re thinking of buying.

People need to stop calling them reprints, and start calling them counterfeit.

The light test only works for cards through the early 80s. Junk wax era cards starting around 89 and after often use a thinner stock and so a led light can show through on some brands.

Good point about the texture. Luckily the fake card I bought off ebay was cheap and was advertised as a "novelty reprint" so it wasn't an illegal sale. These cards in fact are not reprints because those are usually licensed and put out by a legit company. They are more accurately referred to as counterfeit cards or copies.

Great tips, thank you for sharing

Thanks for the info

This is why I buy only beat up cards. Why? If someone is gonna make a fake card then they are gonna make a fake gem 10 card. Or something 8.5-9. something worth a ton of money. If I find one that looks like it was used as spokes in a bike in the 1950s then I feel safer I got a real card. Faking that is not only a lot more work and worth much less and pointless to the counterfeiter. A 1950s-1970s mint card sounds very alluring but how many real cards from that age are around?

Ok. That's how to find out about a vintage card. What about cards from the past 10 or 20 years.

I need that card to complete my 1968 set , along with the Rose , Banks , Frank Robinson , Lou Brock . I have luckily been never sold a fake card . My only thing i have had go wrong is buy a hand calibrated set and it be missing a card or two . Love your video's guys .

Great tips on fake cards!

Also the side of the card is brown paper stock along with being thicker in my opinion.

Great video, fellas. Very good information. I hope you can get a refund. I hate this in the hobby, and I'm sorry this happened to you.

Well done!!!

The flash light test isn't a very good way. Not all card stock is the same.

I have an eBay store.. even if the seller doesn't accept returns u have 3 days to do a return policy with eBay

Thanks

i cant stand people that make fake cards, that and the fact that people want to overcharge for cards, even retailers, i remember buying packs of cards for 50 cents when i started collecting, why do retailers and scammers have to ruin the hobby of collecting baseball cards?

The yellow is wrong

Your examples of ways to tell don't help when looking on eBay.

Promo-SM

This is the clear way to tell if it's a fake. How much did you pay for it. If it's at a too good to be true price that's a dead giveaway. Lol and always ask how they obtained the card. You will find out why they are wanting to sell. Lastly almost 99.9% of hogh valued cards from the 60's and below are almost always I mean always graded unless. Especially buying something online a Willie mays card like that which would grade. PSA 5-6 and be worth thousands they would of gotten it graded trust me. That's how you tell seriously go online and try and find a decent card like that one raw. It won't happen. It won't