1989 Billy Ripken FF Error real or reprint?

[72RangerFan]

I’m curious as to how you can tell the difference. In 1989 I had several dozen of them along with the corrected versions of each kind I had pulled from the countless number of packs I bought pack then. By 2000 I was done with cards because of various reasons. I actually hadn’t bought a pack since ‘93. Now I see there are reprints of this card on eBay and I don’t see any difference in the original and the reprinted ones. Since I got rid of all my cards and started over I thought I would get one for old times but don’t want a reprint passed off as real. I actually did try Google with no luck so no it isn’t my friend. Any help would be appreciated thanks

[3124508 on COMC]

If it has Donald Trump's face on it instead of Ripken's, it is a reprint.

[ThoseBackPages]

buy a psa copy, rest at ease

[1989FF]

Originally Posted by 72RangerFan

I’m curious as to how you can tell the difference. In 1989 I had several dozen of them along with the corrected versions of each kind I had pulled from the countless number of packs I bought pack then. By 2000 I was done with cards because of various reasons. I actually hadn’t bought a pack since ‘93. Now I see there are reprints of this card on eBay and I don’t see any difference in the original and the reprinted ones. Since I got rid of all my cards and started over I thought I would get one for old times but don’t want a reprint passed off as real. I actually did try Google with no luck so no it isn’t my friend. Any help would be appreciated thanks

There are sellers that sell reprints (unlicensed home printed copies) and label them as such.

This seller pictured a real card and sent me a reprint.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-Fleer-...cSAU8&LH_BIN=1

He was not too nice about it either. Trying to turn it around on me like I was scamming....lol Paypal was on my side and I got a refund. Although I did notice he sold the same version (based on photo looks like the same reprint he sold me) and did not disclose it as a fake. I wanted to destroy the fake copy but PP made me return it.

Unsure about all the other reprints on ebay, but in my situation is was kinda easy to tell. To be fair, I've handled tons of 1989 fleer. 1st thing I noticed was the gloss. It was too glossy. Like photo paper. Then I noticed it did not have the wear in the upper edge like the listing showed. It also felt a little too flimsy. Upon closer inspection with a loupe, I was able to see that the print dots were off. They did not have the same pattern as a legit 1989 Fleer card. I did not weight it but I would assume it would of been a few partial grams lighter as well.

All the B/W Bill Ripken "Test" cards on ebay are fake and printed on 16 card sheets of photo type paper. (shown below)

Whiteouts are easy to fake but the basic fakes are easy to spot.