The Next Operation Bullpen Has Started - Page 3

Tea10 · 07-17-2025, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solt0131

This could absolutely crash the entire market.

I don't think so. People have the memory of goldfish, give this a week and no one will care at all. Also not card related mostly, so you, me, and everyone else can rationalize or correctly conclude that our card autos are real*

*90-99% odds

NYRE2PECT · 07-17-2025, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseballcar...are&utm_term=1

That was a wild one.

Tea10 · 07-17-2025, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hammertime

If they were forging the stickers, then you just need to make numbers that match a legitimate item in the database. If you look up a signed Judge ball, there's no way of knowing whether or not there are 5000 other balls out there with the same number on the sticker.

I've never been on the JSA database. But I'd assume like PSA's there is a picture of the item obviously right?

So if that were the case, one person who was diligent or critical enough could have spotted a discrepancy in their certified #'d baseball v.s. the one depicted. Hilarious that no one did.

Jeter1020 · 07-17-2025, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseballcar...are&utm_term=1

That’s wild. Was there ever a resolution to this?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SidVish · 07-17-2025, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qdoggmets

How does the raid find a dead body? I am a little confused by this.

Did this guy know ahead of time he was going to be raided, so he offed himself?

Would you make that confession post unless you knew you were going to be raided?

I don't think the FBI places courtesy calls ahead of raids.

I believe the FBI had a search warrant at a different address the day before. Then the search warrant location was extended to his address where they found him. I'm sure he heard about the 1st raid and knew it was just a matter of time.

Sent from my SM-S936U using Tapatalk

JRX · 07-17-2025, 09:10 AM

Is there really that much of a barrier to entry for using auto pens? Feels like this will keep happening.

BoSoxFan1999 · 07-17-2025, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeter1020

That’s wild. Was there ever a resolution to this?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The guy that found the Merrill stash reached out to Panini and ended up returning all of it to them for an undisclosed "finder's fee".

Honestly the best case resolution because imagine if those sticker sheets got out in the wild?? 2,000 new Ohtani/Kobe/Judge stickers!

Jeter1020 · 07-17-2025, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

The guy that found the Merrill stash reached out to Panini and ended up returning all of it to them for an undisclosed "finder's fee".

Honestly the best case resolution because imagine if those sticker sheets got out in the wild?? 2,000 new Ohtani/Kobe/Judge stickers!

Crazy story regardless. Definitely did the right thing by giving them back

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

stanmarsh · 07-17-2025, 09:45 AM

Guess it's time for athletes to come in with their own hologram and only sell on their site.

hermanotarjeta · 07-17-2025, 10:00 AM

The same rule has held true through the history of mankind - if you didn’t witness the athlete signing your item in person yourself, you may not have the real thing.

Even if you know it’s real, you will never be able to prove to someone else it is real.

The ultimate lesson - obtain autographs for your own personal gratification.

Rooftop · 07-17-2025, 10:04 AM

The whole industry is a sham. What people consider to have value is dumb. Every card, bat, ball, jersey, etc will eventually end up in the ground. This hobby is one big "hot potato" game. You just hope you're not the last guy holding.

Humans are dumb creatures, just look at Pokemon.

I'll admit, I've done dumb things in this hobby. I've gotten older and realized it's fools gold.

rats60 · 07-17-2025, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaveMeTheGum

Next they'll be saying that the "Game Worn" jersey swatches were just cutouts from jerseys picked up at Bob stores.

Where there is money, there is corruption. And it's never been worse in the hobby since 2020-present. Grading, autographs, trimming, auto pens, "prepping cards for grading", bots, paying distributors for first shot at retail wax, and especially breakers. The hobby has become a den of degenerate gamblers and cheats. This should surprise no one.

The athlete just wore it to sign a few cards.

ThoseBackPages · 07-17-2025, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooftop

The whole industry is a sham. What people consider to have value is dumb. Every card, bat, ball, jersey, etc will eventually end up in the ground. This hobby is one big "hot potato" game. You just hope you're not the last guy holding.

Humans are dumb creatures, just look at Pokemon.

I'll admit, I've done dumb things in this hobby. I've gotten older and realized it's fools gold.

Life is, really.

Bowman1951 · 07-17-2025, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

feel bad for the auto collectors

We are still holding the line!

BlowoutBuzz · 07-17-2025, 10:15 AM

Just wait for real info.

Tea10 · 07-17-2025, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRX

Is there really that much of a barrier to entry for using auto pens? Feels like this will keep happening.

100%

I can't see how autopens wouldn't constantly fool PSA for after-market autos on cards.

hermanotarjeta · 07-17-2025, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

Life is, really.

We are all living in the matrix.

hammertime · 07-17-2025, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tea10

I don't think so. People have the memory of goldfish, give this a week and no one will care at all. Also not card related mostly, so you, me, and everyone else can rationalize or correctly conclude that our card autos are real*

*90-99% odds

Agree. What percent of people buying framed signed Brady jerseys REALLY care if it's authentic or not? It looks good on the wall and impresses the neighbors either way.

Tea10 · 07-17-2025, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooftop

The whole industry is a sham. What people consider to have value is dumb. Every card, bat, ball, jersey, etc will eventually end up in the ground. This hobby is one big "hot potato" game. You just hope you're not the last guy holding.

Humans are dumb creatures, just look at Pokemon.

I'll admit, I've done dumb things in this hobby. I've gotten older and realized it's fools gold.

I agree with you on some level, but this is a negative and reductionist take. I don't care that it's negative either personally, but I'd argue it's somewhat wrong.

You're absolutely right that people value things arbitrarily. Why is a Brady Kaboom or a Michael Penix Jr??? Kaboom going for 75k and 9k+ respectively on Fanatics Premiere right now? Assuming these aren't fake sales, a 2018 Brady and a Penix rookie (PSA 8) are going to likely clear 100k and 20k easily. It is absolutely a joke when you think about it.

But you ironically mention fool's gold. Right, well what about real gold? There's your answer. Real gold has no intrinsic value either. It's shiny. It's worse than many other metals (silver, platinum, copper) for conductivity and industrial usage. But it's worth 3.2k+ an ounce right now. That's human nature. So I agree with you there, a lot of this "hobby" is just flexing and buying status symbol pieces. With the covid-boom there was actually appreciation, massively, and it's seen as investment grade. Pokemon is that more so now.

Where I disagree is the reductionist part, the nihilistic part. Nothing matters? Okay, yeah then nothing matters. You can say a card or baseball will end up in the ground, but the Sun is also going to run out of fuel and burn out and disappear eventually too. It's overly negative. Enjoy life a bit maybe, I don't know.

But I agree, seeing a Caitlin Clark fake patch semi-RC going for 180k right now is just sickening, she's already hurt multiple times, she might not even last 5 years in that league and it's the WNBA no one cared about prior. That's just comical. I agree there.

hammertime · 07-17-2025, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tea10

Enjoy life a bit maybe, I don't know.

This too. Gotta do something to pass the time on this planet.

ThoseBackPages · 07-17-2025, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowman1951

We are still holding the line!

GOOD!

Tea10 · 07-17-2025, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooftop

The whole industry is a sham. What people consider to have value is dumb. Every card, bat, ball, jersey, etc will eventually end up in the ground. This hobby is one big "hot potato" game. You just hope you're not the last guy holding.

Humans are dumb creatures, just look at Pokemon.

I'll admit, I've done dumb things in this hobby. I've gotten older and realized it's fools gold.

To be more succinct:

This used to be a "hobby" that my dad and your dads did for fun. Then we did. To collect cards and they liked sports. But now it's in the same vein of luxury clothing, where the ultra-rich can go buy that Caitlin Clark "not from any event" Patch auto for 500k and the Champ Ticket Brady because their dad is worth 500 million and it won't even make a dent. While all the normal people and poor people are so dumb that they chase that and invest 50% of their total net worth into cards.

Not to be negative here, but I think that's pretty accurate. I still enjoy collecting PC, that's all I care about.

Tea10 · 07-17-2025, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hammertime

This too. Gotta do something to pass the time on this planet.

Yeah I'm pretty happy. I got a few autos, I think they are real. But I have a logical reason as to why I think that. We'll see how this scandal unfolds but I think it's mostly memo stuff anyway, card collectors won't care.

SaveMeTheGum · 07-17-2025, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solt0131

This could absolutely crash the entire market.

No one cared that some of the highest priced cards in the hobby (and realistically most cards now) had been trimmed/altered and then graded Gem by PSA and BGS. No one will care about this.

eastbayak · 07-17-2025, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooftop

The whole industry is a sham. What people consider to have value is dumb. Every card, bat, ball, jersey, etc will eventually end up in the ground. This hobby is one big "hot potato" game. You just hope you're not the last guy holding.

Humans are dumb creatures, just look at Pokemon.

I'll admit, I've done dumb things in this hobby. I've gotten older and realized it's fools gold.

If it makes you feel better, you're still doing dumb things in this hobby.

07-17-2025, 09:45 AM	#59
stanmarsh Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: mianus Mass Posts: 811	Guess it's time for athletes to come in with their own hologram and only sell on their site. __________________ Release the Epstein files

07-17-2025, 10:15 AM	#65
BlowoutBuzz Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 14,064	Just wait for real info. __________________ www.blowoutbuzz.com >>><<< Got something cool or interesting that might be worth a story? Know someone whose collection could be profiled? Send me a DM. Last edited by BlowoutBuzz; 07-17-2025 at 10:18 AM.

07-17-2025, 09:10 AM	#56
JRX Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 15,920	Is there really that much of a barrier to entry for using auto pens? Feels like this will keep happening.

07-17-2025, 10:00 AM	#60
hermanotarjeta Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 22,034	The same rule has held true through the history of mankind - if you didn’t witness the athlete signing your item in person yourself, you may not have the real thing. Even if you know it’s real, you will never be able to prove to someone else it is real. The ultimate lesson - obtain autographs for your own personal gratification.

07-17-2025, 10:04 AM	#61
Rooftop Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 3,514	The whole industry is a sham. What people consider to have value is dumb. Every card, bat, ball, jersey, etc will eventually end up in the ground. This hobby is one big "hot potato" game. You just hope you're not the last guy holding. Humans are dumb creatures, just look at Pokemon. I'll admit, I've done dumb things in this hobby. I've gotten older and realized it's fools gold.