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Replica Babe Ruth signed baseball sells for $3201 on eBay

I know, I know...it's shocking that there would be an unscrupulous, deceptive seller on eBay. But that's the sad situation here. Earlier yesterday, a signed Babe Ruth baseball that I believe is clearly a replica, yet was advertised as being an authentic example, sold for $3201 with 5 bidders going at it to win this $50 baseball. Surprisingly, the top bidder appears to be an experienced eBay member with over 1600 transactions.

And there's more to the story. The seller of the ball claims that it was a garage sale dream find and that he acquired the ball from an older gentleman whose father received it directly from the Sultan of Swat himself. And it's verifiable that the seller made up the story because if one digs just a little deeper into past ebay sales, you will see that gentleman who sold the ball for $3201 actually won the ball form another ebay seller who noted that it was purchased from a second-hand hobby dealer. That seller even advertised it as a replica since he didn't have a COA.

So the second seller was clearly lying about his story. After winning the ball for $1575, the second seller got the great (tongue-in-cheek) FP Garo Authentication to issue an LOA. You might already know that Frank Garo is one of those "noted" "forensic document examiners". And Mr. Garo has ties to Coaches Corner. Essentially Garo will authenticate anything. So for $40, (as opposed to the $300 PSA fee) this lying seller got papers saying this Ruth ball is real.

Just for clarification, one can tell that the second seller was, in fact, the winner of the original auction, as both the winner of the original auction amd the second seller have 88 transactions on eBay. Anyway...tell me what you think. Is this ball in fact a replica...or might it be real? There are pics below as well two links. The first link is to the second sale, and the second link is to the first sale. Did I confuse you enough?




https://www.ebay.com/itm/BABE-RUTH-signed-1910-039-s-Draper-amp-May...


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Babe-Ruth-Single-Signed-Draper-And-Maynard...

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 18, 2018 at 11:28pm

A warning in a listing that something may not be real does not in most cases remove the seller's responsibility to make sure what they are selling is legit.

Permalink Reply by RC on January 19, 2018 at 5:57am

Yes sir, I agree Steve...

I am also shocked and amazed that eBay would even allow the ball to be relisted again especially after I showed them the letter from PSA/DNA stating that this ball was steel stamped or facsimile reproduction..It just goes to show greed has no bounds and morality...

Permalink Reply by James on January 19, 2018 at 1:25pm

So Ray, I'm assuming you had to pay that hefty fee that PSA/DNA charges for Babe Ruth authentication?  Since the ball was found not to be authentic, the seller, in my opinion, should have had to refund you the fee as well.  Furthermore, he should have put the PSA rejection in the new listing.  And since PSA is one of eBay's preferred authenticators, a rejection from PSA should have prevented any further re-listing of the ball.

Permalink Reply by James on January 19, 2018 at 1:18pm

I agree as well, Steve.  Perhaps not a perfect analogy, but it's sort of like being behind a truck that has a sign that says, "Not responsible for damage to vehicles"...for stuff flying off truck.  You may state that you're not responsible, but that may not hold up in court.

Permalink Reply by RC on January 19, 2018 at 1:46pm

Hi James, talking about a mad scramble when I had this ball and looking at your original post..I was at day 28 of the 30 day money back guarantee from ebay..Had to file the complaint  and ask for a refund request right away and then go thru the process. I was stuck..."Is this ball for real or is it a Replica?" I decided to send it to PSA asap..ask for an expedited process fee since the seller in turn escalated the case on me.. I had to notify ebay  let them know i had sent the ball for examination and ask for an extension for about a week..All of this is happening around the Christmas holiday mind you..I have to be honest . My mind was going back and forth.. what do i do if this ball was proved to be authentic by PSA? Keep the ball and trust it was examined correctly?.. or the other scenario.. the baseball comes back and its replica ,  get my $3200 dollars back and call it a day!!!  lets move on and learn from this huge mistake. Trust me i was hoping it was going to come back authenticated as the real deal. As of today, the latest  on Ebay  the listing of the baseball is has been removed..Somebody must be looking in on this website and hopefully figuring it out.. Thanks guys for the comments and for listening!!!

Permalink Reply by James on January 19, 2018 at 2:25pm

Well, it obviously sucks that the PSA review was on your dime, but clearly better to lose a little, relatively speaking, than a whole lot more.  I can imagine your frustration as you're trying to get this altogether and get it in on time.  So glad you got the bulk of your money back, and I'm glad to hear this has been taken down.  Hopefully, before long you will land yourself a nice, real Ruth ball.  I got myself one about three years ago with PSA authentication.  And it's definitely the prize of my collection.  Besides PSA, it passed the test of some experienced members here.

Permalink Reply by RC on January 19, 2018 at 2:38pm

James that great to hear!!!

Personally Im a glass half full guy!!lol was just glad to get my money back and shake off the stank!!!

Permalink Reply by James on January 19, 2018 at 3:02pm

I know the feeling.  Believe me, I've had to shake off that stank myself.  I've had a few of these type situations on eBay.  Heck, just last year, I won an auction for around $2500 on a Star Wars item signed by about 10 cast and crew members including George Lucas, John Williams, Ford, Fisher, and Hamill.  The autographs were all good.  Only problem was the seller didn't even own the item.  He had just copied a past listing and put it up for sale.  Fortunately. I discovered this before I sent him payment.  And the, of course, I alerted ebay about it.

Permalink Reply by TradeGeek on January 20, 2018 at 4:04pm

It's great to hear a story that ends with the good guys winning. In this hobby that is the exception, not the rule. 

Permalink Reply by CJCollector on January 20, 2018 at 4:18pm

+1

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