Ebay seems more than ever flooded by fake hockey cards.
Several auctions seem suspicious, considering their pristine laser-cut and perfect gem centering.
I think that the 1971 OPC set is a perfect fraud target.
In later vintage, how swear about a Lemieux RC or Roy RC !

According to you, which card or set (after the certainly #1 Gretzky RC) is the more plagued?

We all know about the Gretzky's spot on his shoulder (By the way, new forgers must be well-informed about that).
But what about detecting a Fake Dryden RC (or Orr,or Hull,or Richard,etc)?

This topic is about general thoughts about fake cards and to share knowledge about detecting such cards.
Feel free to relate any personal experience

This is why many people stay away from raw cards. I think PSA or SGC slabs are worth investing in if you want an authentic card in a certain grade. I have never had an experience with fake cards since I only collect graded cards, but I'm sure many people have learned their lesson after buying fake cards that they didn't know were fake.
Maybe we should have a section on this forum for people to post auctions they are interested in for the board members to see so we can help them avoid a big dollar buy of these cards.
I'm assuming that the "fake" cards that we are talking about are mainly the laser cut cards and reprints that are common on ebay. All the more reason to buy graded cards since they are offered in many grades for affordability.

So what if its in a holder, collecters should start looking at the card not the holder see for your self if the card should have the grade it has or if it has any flaws or even if its real. I dont think pepole will start to make fake commans but the high dollar cards i can see that but you the collecter's are the professionals not the guy that gets paid by the hour to look at your cards hey they are only human and can make mistakes too. Its always good to stay a few steps ahead learn befor you buy.

You buy the card graded so you won't have to worry about it being counterfit. There are many grades to a card so it's affordable for your price range whether its poor or mint. I stated that buying graded cards keeps the buyer from worrying about buying something that's counterfit. It's not about buying graded cards just because they are graded, it's about not having to worry that you are getting something that you paid for and it's legit.
There are many crooks out there and they are not going to take advantage of me. You don't have to like third party grading, but it beats wasting money when your card comes in the mail and it's counterfit.

As a collector and now seller I have purchased and sold 10,000's of cards over the years and have had only 1 counterfit card come into my possession and it was sent as a freebee!

I guess if you have deep pockets then the graded route could be the way to go...or if you are buying high end stuff...other than that as for a buyer I think it is a waste of hard earned money. I agree that buying over the internet can be a crapshoot for grading as it is subjective and most do not take the time to look at the card properly. Case in point capsports2000. He has tons of raw cards and his grading is all over the map...but he supplies good scans! People drop unheard of sums for raw cards at his auctions????

I will always take a raw card over a graded card as a collector if I can see it first hand or trust the seller! There are many sellers/dealers out there that have great stuff and you will pay 1/3 to 1/2 for the same card that is not encapsulated.

I guess what I am trying to say is buyers are placing way to much emphasis on the fact that the card is in a holder. The % of times that an individual would get shafted by reputable collector/seller(which would be an oversite and you would get your money back)is so miniscule that you would be way ahead with the $$ saved by buying raw even if you did get shafted a few times.

I have to laugh at the people putting out big money for a near perfect looking Gretzky, Orr, etc. Inform yourself and limit your risk by buying with reputable sellers. Most that get shafted are looking for that homerun deal.

"If its to good to be true it probably is..."

IMHO

The only counterfeit card that I ever received was a Gretzky Sportscaster. The card looked fine, but the card stock was too thin to be a sportscaster card. I had bought a bunch of them in the past and this one felt wrong as soon as I held it. I contacted the seller and he had me send the card back and he refunded my money.

As for raw cards, I started collecting before PSA, so all cards were raw. Back in the early 90's I bought a NrMint Beliveau rookie from a very well known dealer. Later I bought a NrMint Gretzky rookie from a well known, reputable dealer. After owning these cards for a few years, I finally joined PSA. I submitted both of these cards and waited anxiously. The Beliveau came back a PSA 5, which really surprised me because I was always very picky. The Gretzky came back with no grade due to it being
"recolored."

After that, I started buying graded cards almost exclusively.