Caution, eBay seller Phoenixromero12 is selling altered FAKE Topps Star Wars sketches

Vargaman · 06-13-2017, 10:50 AM

Quote:

mod edit:

ebay seller is printing images over original sketch cards and selling as pack pulled art - see images below.

Thanks to eldavojohn for pointing this out a few weeks back

Seller PhoenixRomero12 is selling altered Topps sketches. Some listings have Topps in the title, all of them have MTFBWY for the artist name as well if he puts a photo of the card back. Some listings will also state the card may have been edited/altered.

If you like the art, cool, but be warned these are NOT official Topps sketches and should be taken off eBay. I know he broke a ton of JTTFA to get a full rainbow of all 110 base cards, so likely is trying to recoup some money by selling his art as an official Topps sketch by painting over a cheap pencil drawing.

Not sure why he doesn't just take commissions and do sketches on cardstock like many other artists in their off time

jdhaugh11 · 06-13-2017, 12:22 PM

He looks to have some serious talent, but I agree this is not the way to go.

Even though it is now his card, he can color them in if he just wanted to keep them for himself, but not to resell.

Spider-Fan · 06-13-2017, 12:58 PM

I think I'm fine with it, actually.

dd316 · 06-13-2017, 12:59 PM

This is a slippery slope, and I know the biggest issue with this is unknowing collectors buying these thinking they're legit original sketch cards from the set. But as has been pointed out, the seller can do with them as he/she wishes... but who's to say they can't sell them?

I recall seeing a 1977 Topps card where someone inserted an Alec Guinness cut sig into the card then sold it... is that really any different? Why is that acceptable?

What about Andy Warhol altering photos that somebody else took and calling it his own, making massive profits along the way?

In no way am I condoning this practice, just playing devil's advocate as, while it sucks, that's about what can be done. Unless Topps/Disney/Lucasfilm is going to crack down on this, it is what it is.

Wolf8MeVillie · 06-13-2017, 01:07 PM

Buyer be ware I guess, I could see if EVERY auction he had would have the disclaimer in it saying that he altered it. But some have no mention, so another reason for me to work directly with the artist and bypassing having to deal with companies completely! All my autographs comes from the actor/actress in person and all my art work is directly commissioned. I mean even with autographs, especially stickers, they could easily signed by anyone who is a half way decent forger, Topps doesn't always have someone there watching the actor/actresses sign. So it could be their nephew signing em

Wolf8MeVillie · 06-13-2017, 01:13 PM

Also he needs to remove the artist name from the back if he altered it, it is no longer that person's work. I'd love to see the original vs the ones he he touched up. I guess if you got some of the not so favorable sketches and were good enough to make em look great that is awesome, but he need to remove the original artist name and at least says so in his auctions.

aces · 06-13-2017, 01:17 PM

FINALLY a use for all those monkey sketches!

northwellguy · 06-13-2017, 01:27 PM

I sent him an email and reported him to EBay

Needless to say he was not thrilled with that and his response was, shall we say, colorful?

kerg · 06-13-2017, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolf8MeVillie

Also he needs to remove the artist name from the back if he altered it, it is no longer that person's work.

This is the part I can't look past. Whether or not you think an artist's work should be improved upon or isn't worthy, you shouldn't be leaving an artist's name on it.

Can't imagine there is an artist around that would be ok with that.

Vargaman · 06-13-2017, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerg

This is the part I can't look past. Whether or not you think an artist's work should be improved upon or isn't worthy, you shouldn't be leaving an artist's name on it.

Can't imagine there is an artist around that would be ok with that.

Wolf was saying he would need to remove the name.

I saw a few of his listings and he did remove the name, in place he put MTFBWY.

I also messaged him to see what's up and he claims to have gotten at least a few of them in a lot off ebay. Not sure I buy that.

Vargaman · 06-13-2017, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spider-Fan

I think I'm fine with it, actually.

lol really

?

All this person is doing is faking they were in a Topps set and selling at the premium of this being a Topps issued card.

that's why artists charge more for their APs or commissions on blanks versus plain card stock.

That's the main issue here, faking it as a Topps release for the purpose of selling a crap sketch re-done or original cool art with a Topps name on it. Either way it's shady.

nanners13 · 06-13-2017, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vargaman

Thanks to eldavojohn for pointing this out a few weeks back

Seller PhoenixRomero12 is selling altered Topps sketches. Some listings have Topps in the title, all of them have MTFBWY for the artist name as well if he puts a photo of the card back. Some listings will also state the card may have been edited/altered.

If you like the art, cool, but be warned these are NOT official Topps sketches and should be taken off eBay. I know he broke a ton of JTTFA to get a full rainbow of all 110 base cards, so likely is trying to recoup some money by selling his art as an official Topps sketch by painting over a cheap pencil drawing.

Not sure why he doesn't just take commissions and do sketches on cardstock like many other artists in their off time

I'm more of a Marvel Guy when it comes to buying sketches but nice Star Wars Sketches always catch my eye... so the seller sold this.....

This is awesome IMHO very talented

So that is faked, or not original??????

Man, Thanks for posting this info. Threads like this are why i read this forum, Free education on altered sketches

Vargaman · 06-13-2017, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanners13

I'm more of a Marvel Guy when it comes to buying sketches but nice Star Wars Sketches always catch my eye... so the seller sold this.....

This is awesome IMHO very talented

So that is faked, or not original??????

Man, Thanks for posting this info. Threads like this are why i read this forum, Free education on altered sketches

I'm not doubting it's an original.

However, can you post a photo of the back of it? I'm 99% sure it's not one Topps inserted into packs, but rather was drawn over.

rittdk01 · 06-13-2017, 02:40 PM

So he's taking crappy pencil sketches and making them much better, right? sell on, Dude.

HiltonL · 06-13-2017, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanners13

So that is faked, or not original??????

Man, Thanks for posting this info. Threads like this are why i read this forum, Free education on altered sketches

I checked the completed listings and this was one of them. You can see that this seller has a mixture of pack-pulled (Cabaleiro sketch among them) and his original aftermarket work.

I have no doubt this Chewie was a simple sale of pack-pulled art.

Wolf8MeVillie · 06-13-2017, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rittdk01

So he's taking crappy pencil sketches and making them much better, right? sell on, Dude.

You really have no idea what he is altering, unless you have a before and after picture. Sure the work looks pretty good, but no telling what he started with or what he altered. Again, if he was more transparent, he might not get so much flack for what he is doing.

Vargaman · 06-13-2017, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rittdk01

So he's taking crappy pencil sketches and making them much better, right? sell on, Dude.

Except I'm sure Topps/Disney would have an issue with him pretending to be a artist or have them as "official" sketches.

It's not the fact he's drawing over them, it's that this probably isn't legal to sell as a Topps issued card. The card underneath is from a legit Topps sketch, but they didn't approve the art.

And it's not simply coloring a b/w sketch or adding detail, pretty sure it's a full on paint over to make a clean slate and go from there.

No question this art is good, but the practice is the issue.

nanners13 · 06-13-2017, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiltonL

I checked the completed listings and this was one of them. You can see that this seller has a mixture of pack-pulled (Cabaleiro sketch among them) and his original aftermarket work.

I have no doubt this Chewie was a simple sale of pack-pulled art.

which makes it tough to tell, as some of his "alterations" the only part of the card (on the front) is that Star Wars logo as seen in the chewie above. The Sketches he touched up all look similar with that Star Wars showing

Vargaman · 06-13-2017, 03:01 PM

Actually Spider-Fan and rittdk01, would you be ok with someone taking a James Earl Jones sticker auto off a Panini card and selling it on a Star Wars card, let's say a Vader base card from the 40th On Demand set.

Would that be acceptable? Only issue there is it's easier to prove it's not an auto by the checklist and back of the card. But same principle of taking a lesser value auto/sketch and putting it onto a Topps card to raise the value.

moistpaper · 06-13-2017, 03:55 PM

Damn they do look very nice. Topps just needs to pay that guy to do sketches for them lol. He's better than most of the artists in the sets.

swowannabe · 06-13-2017, 04:05 PM

I'm a fan of the baby carrier... Keep calm and carry them!

Cujobyte · 06-13-2017, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moistpaper

Damn they do look very nice. Topps just needs to pay that guy to do sketches for them lol. He's better than most of the artists in the sets.

+1000.

His work is nice, no doubt he'll be part of a future set.

dd316 · 06-13-2017, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanners13

I'm more of a Marvel Guy when it comes to buying sketches but nice Star Wars Sketches always catch my eye... so the seller sold this.....

This is awesome IMHO very talented

So that is faked, or not original??????

Man, Thanks for posting this info. Threads like this are why i read this forum, Free education on altered sketches

I had a feeling.... this is printed.

GFD18 · 06-13-2017, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd316

I had a feeling.... this is printed.

Thank you Thank You Thank you for proving that the art is stolen/printed.

I had the same sneaking suspicion that the art was printed/shellacked onto the cards to give texture as if it was painted. Similar to how people print on canvas and put extra texture on afterwards to make it appear original.

I just never posted...because, well...I didnt have the proof. Thanks for finding that image!

Faulkenburg · 06-13-2017, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd316

I had a feeling.... this is printed.

Interesting. So he just fed the card through a printer? Put tape over the logo before hand and remove it afterwards?

06-13-2017, 12:59 PM	#4
dd316 Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 10,055 dd316	This is a slippery slope, and I know the biggest issue with this is unknowing collectors buying these thinking they're legit original sketch cards from the set. But as has been pointed out, the seller can do with them as he/she wishes... but who's to say they can't sell them? I recall seeing a 1977 Topps card where someone inserted an Alec Guinness cut sig into the card then sold it... is that really any different? Why is that acceptable? What about Andy Warhol altering photos that somebody else took and calling it his own, making massive profits along the way? In no way am I condoning this practice, just playing devil's advocate as, while it sucks, that's about what can be done. Unless Topps/Disney/Lucasfilm is going to crack down on this, it is what it is. __________________ www.MostWantedTradingCards.com

06-13-2017, 03:01 PM	#19
Vargaman Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 7,095 mikeinator1st	Actually Spider-Fan and rittdk01, would you be ok with someone taking a James Earl Jones sticker auto off a Panini card and selling it on a Star Wars card, let's say a Vader base card from the 40th On Demand set. Would that be acceptable? Only issue there is it's easier to prove it's not an auto by the checklist and back of the card. But same principle of taking a lesser value auto/sketch and putting it onto a Topps card to raise the value. __________________ My FS/FT thread https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1112127 Star Wars Hit Tracker https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lqC7BKe5JZs5ucYxt0oa0gRPk1iZ9ISfjfFw0gYB6kI/edit?usp=sharing

06-13-2017, 03:55 PM	#20
moistpaper Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 914	Damn they do look very nice. Topps just needs to pay that guy to do sketches for them lol. He's better than most of the artists in the sets. Last edited by moistpaper; 06-13-2017 at 03:58 PM.

06-13-2017, 04:05 PM	#21
swowannabe Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 630	I'm a fan of the baby carrier... Keep calm and carry them! __________________ 2015 A&G -=MEGAN KALMOE=- SUPER COLLECTOR PLEASE PM me with any hits of hers, especially printing plates and other 1/1's.

06-13-2017, 12:22 PM	#2
jdhaugh11 Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,974 jdhaugh11 Jdhaugh11	He looks to have some serious talent, but I agree this is not the way to go. Even though it is now his card, he can color them in if he just wanted to keep them for himself, but not to resell.

06-13-2017, 12:58 PM	#3
Spider-Fan Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 10,481	I think I'm fine with it, actually.

06-13-2017, 01:07 PM	#5
Wolf8MeVillie Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 1,399	Buyer be ware I guess, I could see if EVERY auction he had would have the disclaimer in it saying that he altered it. But some have no mention, so another reason for me to work directly with the artist and bypassing having to deal with companies completely! All my autographs comes from the actor/actress in person and all my art work is directly commissioned. I mean even with autographs, especially stickers, they could easily signed by anyone who is a half way decent forger, Topps doesn't always have someone there watching the actor/actresses sign. So it could be their nephew signing em

06-13-2017, 01:13 PM	#6
Wolf8MeVillie Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 1,399	Also he needs to remove the artist name from the back if he altered it, it is no longer that person's work. I'd love to see the original vs the ones he he touched up. I guess if you got some of the not so favorable sketches and were good enough to make em look great that is awesome, but he need to remove the original artist name and at least says so in his auctions.

06-13-2017, 01:17 PM	#7
aces Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 660	FINALLY a use for all those monkey sketches!

06-13-2017, 01:27 PM	#8
northwellguy Banned Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,077 northwellguy	I sent him an email and reported him to EBay Needless to say he was not thrilled with that and his response was, shall we say, colorful?

06-13-2017, 02:40 PM	#14
rittdk01 Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,416	So he's taking crappy pencil sketches and making them much better, right? sell on, Dude.