POAU Harry/Daniel Radcliffe auto -- possible fake

[Guest]

[Bagshott]

Was the seller geononsports?  If so, he died last summer.

Sorry to hear that, I bought a lot of good cards from him, and never had any problems.

[Gallifrey]

Was the seller geononsports?  If so, he died last summer.

That is sad.  He wasn't the seller that I bought the auto from.

[rns91294]

Well, at least you got your money back. That does suck though.

[Gallifrey]

Well, at least you got your money back. That does suck though.

Yes, it would have been really bad to loose the money on that.  I wish I had known about the Harry Potter cards when they first coming out.  The price for the Daniel POAU is so high, and there is the question if cards on eBay are real or counterfeit, I wonder if I will ever get one.

[kbmum]

If you look at the price guide, the prices for the Harry auto were significantly higher in 2004 and 2005 than they are now.  Plus, the auto insert rate for that set was two per case and collation was bad -- lots of dud boxes.  Many, many people lost a lot of money buying those cases.

[Gallifrey]

Wow, all the auctions I see zoom up to the $900+ range.  I was so excited the card I won didn't zoom into the atmosphere.   Hopefully I'll get the Dan POAU card sometime, the artwork on this one is my favorite. 

[wildcat]

Hey, I'm thinking I'm the one who purchased the card in question.  Stuck at work now, but will look closer when I get home later.  An earlier post mentioned that Artbox confirmed it was a fake.  Is that the direction I should go in, or should I send it off to a grading service.  Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Tony

[rns91294]

I think Artbox may have confirmed a different auto being fake, but it would not hurt to send them a scan. You might even want to call and talk to someone there first, as it sometimes takes them a long time to get back to you in an email. If you can somehow find out for sure if it is or not, you can also file a complaint with eBay that the item is fraudulent in hopes to get some, if not all, of your money back. I think others may have some more experience on this than me, so definitely wait for some more responses, but I really think the auto doesn't look right.

[wildcat]

I'm glad I was looking at this site and found this information. I contacted the seller a little bit ago, and also emailed a copy to Artbox to see what they think.  The good thing is that although refunds weren't offered by the seller, it does qualify for Ebay buyer protection.  I won't get home until tomorrow, but can't wait to check out the card again, especially since it didn't feel right (thickness-wise). Will let you know how it goes. Thanks 

[rns91294]

Compare the thickness of the card to other Artbox autos. If it is different, then this has to be a reproduction. The seller might not offer refunds, but I think eBay would refund you if you explain to them that the thickness of the card is not the same as any of Artbox's products and the auto does not match the actualy autograph of the signer.

[kbmum]

Hey, I'm thinking I'm the one who purchased the card in question.  Stuck at work now, but will look closer when I get home later.  An earlier post mentioned that Artbox confirmed it was a fake.  Is that the direction I should go in, or should I send it off to a grading service.  Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Tony

Are you talking about the Johnny Depp auto that Artbox confirmed was fake, or the Daniel Radcliffe auto that's the subject of this thread?

IMHO, don't bother sending it to a grading service.  Those services do not have good track records authenticating autos and there are many examples of slabbed cards that were fakes.  Plus, you have only 45 days from the date you make payment for an eBay auction to file a claim against the seller.

[wildcat]

Hi. I'm talking about the Daniel Radcliffe card that got this thing thread started.  The reason I was even considering sending it off to be graded was that when I got the card I thought it felt a little off.  I just hadn't seen anything up to this point about fake cards and obviously didn't really consider looking at the auto that close (won't happen again). Plus the seller had a 99+ positive rating with a high number of auctions. I will certainly learn from this, and will let you know if I hear back from Artbox.

[rns91294]

If you don't hear back from the seller in a coupe days, I would file the complaint with eBay. Does anyone else agree?

[wildcat]

I think once I look at the card closer (with the seemingly large amount of evidence), I'll probably only wait  2 or 3 days to allow him/her time to respond.  Off this subject for a second, what are your opinions on getting cards graded?  I'm a collector, not a seller, and have never had cards graded.  I only have about 6 HP auto cards (although I did collect Baseball cards growing up), so I know the signifigance in price for graded cards.  Still don't know about sending my cards off though.

[rns91294]

I have a TON of autos and none are graded. I just think the card is worth what it is worth to me and there is no need to get them graded. That is just my opinion though.

Please keep us posted on the Radcliffe auto though.

[kbmum]

The seller has a lot of positive feedback, but most of it is from selling coupons.  He has some negatives, one from a buyer claiming the coupons were fake.  You can see a seller's negative and neutral feedback by entering the eBay user ID on the Toolhaus site:  www.toolhaus.org

Please post an update if you hear from the seller.  Webjon has a blog that follows counterfeit cards, and I know he'll be interested in how this turns out.

As for grading, I think most non-sport collectors don't care whether cards are graded and won't pay to have their cards graded.  Grading has a big affect on price for sport cards, though.  Beckett has attempted a big push to convince non-sport collectors to grade their cards, but I don't think that's been too successful.  I've purchased only two graded HP cards, and as soon as I received them, I promptly removed them from their plastic prisons.

I can certainly understand why you might be interested in having your autos graded, considering you might have a counterfeit card.  Before you send your cards in, you should do a Google search about the fakes that grading companies have stated were authentic.

[rns91294]

The seller has a lot of positive feedback, but most of it is from selling coupons.  He has some negatives, one from a buyer claiming the coupons were fake.  You can see a seller's negative and neutral feedback by entering the eBay user ID on the Toolhaus site:  www.toolhaus.org

Actually, when on eBay in the sellers feedback profile now, you can actually click on the number of negative or neutral feedback they received and it will show you those feedbacks only. I think this is new because I just discovered it a couple days ago.

I've purchased only two graded HP cards, and as soon as I received them, I promptly removed them from their plastic prisons.

plastic prisons.  You crack me up.

[spydrman]

Glad you discovered this thread quickly!  I recently did post about  this card on webjon, as well as other cards this seller pulled.

Grading services don't typically authenticate, at least not non-sport stuff, so they are essentially worthless for that.

Artbox may be helpful, but it is highly likely that they will want you to send the card to them before they confirm it is a counterfeit, given the current situation I would recommend you go through Paypal immediately to get a refund.  If you do hear back from Artbox they can contact eBay, confirm the card is fake and request that you send them the card for their research, but given the time line I'd just worry about getting your money back.

Good luck!

Jon

[wildcat]

thanks not only for the advice but for your efforts in making this an enjoyable hobby (plus hopefully saving me $375).  I've purchased 7 or 8 cards, and had another instance were I paid for the card and didn't receive it.  (a seller in Australia who got quite a few people)  Thankfully in that case I was able to get my money back.  So having someone look out for us is greatly appreciated. Tony

[wildcat]

Just heard back from this seller already (just a few hours), who said he would refund my money for this card. Good news!