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Fraud in Rack and Cello Packs

Jump to: Examples and Information | Rack Pack Collation Guide | Thoughts on Authentication

Fraud is rampant in the vintage pack sub-hobby. Forget about re-sealed wax packs, there are thousands of rack packs and cello packs that have been tampered with. People have made fortunes from being really good at this kind of fraud. There are unscrupulous people out there who know how to open cello packs and rack packs and replace cards with star cards on the front or back. If you are going to spend money collecting these kind of packs, you really have to know what to look for to protect yourself from buying fake products. The best way to protect yourself is to only purchase those that have been authenticated by Steve Hart at the Baseball Card Exchange, or, in the case of cello packs, by PSA. If you're like me, however, you really like to buy those unauthenticated rack packs and cellos packs that appear on eBay because they are often times much less expensive. Over the years, I have learned how to (usually) tell the real from the fake. That said, allow me to start this section by explaining and illustrating the times I have been burned. Most of these instances happened early in my collecting career, but every once in a while I'll take a chance, or, will be tricked by something that looks really clean. I'll explain exactly what to look for in my "Is it Legit" section.

1975 Topps MINI Rack Pack with Brett AND Yount on top

Probably the biggest disappointment I've had in my pack collecting career, is when I found out my 1975 Topps mini rack pack with both George Brett and Robin Yount on top was likely fake. I purchased this on eBay for around $1000.00 about 15 years ago and couldn't believe my good luck in actually winning the auction. For several years it was the prize of my collection, a one-of-a-kind item that could only skyrocket in value. I was proud of this rack pack, and when I posted in on various forums and websites, it certainly attracted a lot of positive attention. But then, a few of the 1975 experts contacted me and broke the news to me that they were fairly sure the rack pack was inauthentic. My first reaction was one of defensiveness; surely they were jealous of my museum-quality pack and were simply trying to discredit it. Several people, however, explained to me that in 1975 Topps rack packs, BOTH the Brett card and the Yount card are produced on the same sheet, and cards from this sheet exclusively appear within the rack panel closest to the header card. Neither the Brett or Yount card on this rack pack were in the correct panel. For the experts, this was enough to label the pack a fake. I needed more; and quite unfortunately found it upon close inspection. In rack packs that are over forty years old, the plastic that holds the cards in place is often curled, yellowed, separated, or has what look like little cracks on the top and bottom seams. These are all normal and expected. Upon closer inspection of this rack pack, there appear to be two diagonal cut marks on the bottom seam under the Brett card that are too large and too symmetrical to be natural. It appears as if someone opened the panel under the Brett card by cutting into the plastic from two directions. The person then re-sealed the pack, but left too much evidence. Unfortunately, at the time, I had very little experience with pre-1980 rack packs, and I'm sure I rationalized the presence of the "cracks" as part of countless other explanations; or maybe never even noticed them.

See the diagonal cut mark - also note the sweet condition of the Brett Card

Its been about eight or nine years since I came to terms with the fact that my treasure was hand-made. As you can see, I still have it and have resisted the urge to open it. There is a silver lining - both the Brett card and the Yount card literally seem to be GEM MINT, and the Brett is centered 50-50. I bought this rack pack before the age of grading started, and luckily it seems the criminal who made this pack tried to make it seem as authentic as possible by inserting MINT cards. That said, I still think it looks really awesome, and have no plans to open it.

One rule of thumb to live by is to always be suspicious of something that seems to good to be true. In the world of collecting unopened cello and rack packs, "too good to be true" can come in many forms. The forms I have seen are enumerated below:

The Endless Supply

Always beware of buying from sellers who have what seems to be an ENDLESS supply of unauthenticated unopened rack packs and cello packs with stars on top. Remember, these are rare items and there is a very small supply of them. I immediately become suspicious of sellers who will post dozens of unauthenticated rack packs and cellos on top, sell them on Ebay, and then return a few weeks later with a few dozen more, and then repeat the cycle. There are two or three sellers on eBay who were collectively sort of "revealed" by the pack collecting community over the years for this kind of pattern of selling. A few years ago, there was a case in which the FBI actually became involved in which a seller, who had been trusted for many years by the vintage pack community, was found to have tampered with thousands of packs he had sold, thereby defrauding customers out of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars over the years. Even after he had exposed on the collecting forums, he continued to sell fake packs on eBay to unsuspecting buyers. The threads (at least for now) still exist. You can read about the whole saga, discussion, and aftermath here. By the way, I am "hamilton989" in this whole thing.

Three Stars on Top

Be careful of packs that look too good to be true. A couple of years ago, there was a seller on eBay who posted a few dozen 1981 Topps rack packs, each of which featured three stars on top. For example, one of "her" packs had Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Steve Carlton on top. It sold for a lot of money. While barely within the boundaries of what could possibly be conceived as "possible," the fact that this seller posted many more improbable three-star racks, revealed 100% that "she" was a fraud. That's not to say amazing rack packs with two stars on top don't exist (see my rack packs), you just have to be really careful and learn as much as you can from this website, and the collectors forums to make an informed decision.

- An example of a rack pack that is very likely fake

Collation Irregularities

This brings me to my next point. Star cards on rack packs MOST OFTEN occur in predictable, repeating patterns because of the factory collation of cards. For Topps rack packs in 1975, 1976, 1977 (there is one exception here), 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 (there may be an exception here), 1986, and 1987, key cards exclusively occur in the same panel on each rack pack. Topps rack packs from 1983-1985, for whatever reason, tend to have random collation patterns that result in key cards occurring in any panel. Consult the "Is it Legit, or Not" section of this website to learn all I know about which cards should appear on which panels.

Despite the fact that I should have known better, the reckless side of me actually purchased the pack you see below for $500! I was seduced by this amazing-looking rack pack with two Jerry Rice rookies showing on top. This is a perfect example of something too good to be true. In 1986 Topps rack packs, the Rice card occurs exclusively on the panel farthest from the header. A legitimate 1986 Topps rack pack will NEVER feature the Rice card on the middle panel. The second bit of evidence that this is a fake is that the "middle" Rice is not particularly sharp. While it might be able to pass for NrMt or even NrMt-Mt condition, cards in racks (unless damaged in a fall) should be VERY sharp, especially in the corners. The Rice card in the far panel is extremely sharp; it has four sharp corners and looks pristine. I believe that the better Rice occurred naturally; that this WAS an authentic rack pack with the single Rice card on top where it was supposed to be. I think someone wanted to make it even sweeter and actually tampered with what already was an awesome rack pack. That said, I still cannot see any physical damage to the rack pack that suggests it was tampered with. That's scary, and that's how good people can become at this. I'm 99.9% sure it is fake, but have no actual physical evidence other than my own experience and intuition.

Rack Pack Cards Should be Mint

Cards in rack packs should be very sharp, unless they have been dropped or damaged in some other way, or, have factory nicks. Cards should actually be in mint condition; anything less is suspect to me. Many, many years ago I bought pack after pack from this guy in New York named Von Duross. He was one of these guys that had an endless supply, and I should have known better. I bought a 1987 Topps rack pack with two Barry Bonds on top; a 1988 Topps rack pack with the error and corrected version of the Al Leiter card on top, and a 1986 Donruss rack pack with Jose Canseco and Fred McGriff on top, among many others - all either too good to be true, or utterly unlikely. Once I asked him if he had a rack pack in his possession that had the 1985 Topps Mark McGwire on top and on the bottom. He surprised me and said that he did, and I promptly bought it off of him for $250. I was quite disappointed when I received the rack pack to see the McGwire on the front looked to be, at best, in near-mint condition. It was quite a contrast from the Alan Wiggins card in the center panel that was gem mint. Soon, I started doubting all of the items I had bought from him and decided to investigate. Sure enough, when I looked through his feedback and auctions he won, saw a nrmt Mark McGwire, and a 1985 Topps rack pack. It had the Alan Wiggins card in the middle. I confronted Mr. Duross via e-mail and he promptly signed off from eBay for ever. It was the last I ever heard from him. He defrauded me of at least a few thousands of dollars over several dozen purchases.

What are factory notches or nicks?

Although cards in rack packs should be mint, often times you'll see legitimate cards on the tops or bottom of rack packs that have damage on the side or bottom of the card. These factory "notches" are fairly common and are not signs of tampering. Unfortunately, sometimes the star or key card in the rack pack sustains this damage. See the pictures below for examples.

Physical Evidence

Less talented individuals who tamper with rack packs or cellos usually leave physical evidence. The next two racks show clear evidence of tampering. The 1981 Topps rack pack below shows a Rickey Henderson 2nd year on top, in its correct position in the panel farthest from the header. There are two problems with this rack, though. The first, which you can't see, is that there is a Fernando Valenzuela rookie card on the back side. The Valenzuela card, however, is supposed to appear on the panel closest to the header, not the panel farthest from the header. The second problem is that the plastic that should appear to the right of the seal is totally missing. This tells me that someone opened the panel, inserted the Henderson card, the Valenzuela card, or both, and then probably mangled the plastic flap next to the seal in the process. The best decision, then, to get away with the fraud, was to remove plastic flap totally.

In all, I submitted more than 60 rack packs to Steve Hart in the past months, and the example below is one of five that he would not holder. Unlike some of the others that he wouldn't definitively call tampered with, the Henderson rack above and the rack pack below he did commit to calling them tampered with. Unfortunately, I agree with these assessments.

What About Cello Packs?

For many, cello packs are the preferred collectible because they are smaller and easier to display. They are also authenticated and graded by PSA. While the aforementioned are all true, cellos are also easier to tamper with. There is no guaranteed way to ensure a raw cello pack is not tampered with. Even PSA has been fooled by the most talented of tampering criminals. I can give lfewer best practice techniques about cello packs, but here are a few that are fundamental:

• Cello packs from the 1970's, and 1981 should be wrapped very tightly. Unfortunately, this sometimes has the effect of producing slight bends in the corners of the cards. Those from 1980 and 1982, may or may not be wrapped very tightly. Starting in 1983, Topps cello packs seem to be much more loosely wrapped. Below is a very tightly wrapped 1982 Topps cello pack. Notice how the plastic seems to be pulling on the corners.



• Look very carefully at the four corners of the cello pack. The corners should have neat, diagonal folds. See the picture below. If these folds are damaged, asymmetrical, or otherwise irregular, it's likely that you're looking at a poor re-seal job. The problem here, however, is that those who tamper with cellos know to pay particular attention to these corner folds.



• Look carefully at the seal on the back of the cello pack. There should be "some" symmetry, although you need to judge "symmetry" with significant latitude. Over time, the seal can become undone as the glue that holds it together dries up. Look for too much glue, an apparent build-up of glue, or irregularities in the seal. Topps cello packs tend to be somewhat easier to judge than Fleer cello packs as far as the seal on the back of the pack goes. The example below shows a good seal and rather symmetrical folds in the plastic in the four corners.



• Although the wrappers of cellos from 1975-1979 look very similar, there have been cases in which people have been called out for trying pedal cello packs with the wrong wrappers (i.e. a cello pack with a 1976 wrapper that has 1975 cards). Such wrappers are very similar but have subtle differences that experts can spot. This has happened with rack packs as well - people have been caught selling rack packs from a certain year with the wrong header card.



Here is an example of a 1986 Fleer cello pack with Don Mattingly on top that I suspect was tampered with. Notice how the plastic in the bottom right portion of the pack is bunched and pulled to the right.

Best Practices

Again, when considering the purchase of a vintage rack pack or cello pack, buy those that have been authenticated. If you really have a good feeling about a rack pack or cello pack that has not been authenticated, read all you can on this site, or, feel free to e-mail me. I'll gladly give you my opinion on it.

Is it Legit or Not? For most of the rack packs I collect, detecting fraud starts and ends with collation. Below is a collation guide that you can use to detect fraud for most Topps rack packs. It does not apply to Donruss or Fleer rack packs. While learning collation patterns for the 70's and 80's helps in detecting rack pack fraud, it doesn't help much in detecting cello pack fraud. For this reason, it is best to buy cello packs that have been authenticated by PSA. Guide to Detecting Fraud in Rack Packs Red indicates there have been authentication irregularties regarding a particular item. The black rectangle represents the header card or the front of the rack pack. The green panel indicates the panel the specified card SHOULD appear in. If the specified card appears in a different panel, it is almost certainly a fake. This guide should also illustrate what combinations are impossible. For example, a 1975 Topps rack pack with George Brett and Mike Schmidt on top CANNOT exist. Keep in mind we have found that collation patterns in 1983, 1984, and 1985 Topps are not absolute and any card can seemingly appear in any panel. 1975 with Brett 1975 with Yount 1975 with M. Schmidt 1975 with Nolan Ryan 1975 with Steve Carlton 1976 with George Brett 1976 with Robin Yount 1976 with Nolan Ryan 1977 with Nolan Ryan 1977 with George Brett 1977 with Andre Dawson or 1978 with Eddie Murray 1978 with Nolan Ryan 1978 with Pete Rose 1978 with Paul Molitor/Alan Trammell 1978 with Mike Schmidt 1978 with Andre Dawson 1979 with Ozzie Smith 1979 with Nolan Ryan 1979 with George Brett 1979 with Eddie Murray 1979 with Mike Schmidt 1980 with Rickey Henderson 1980 with Nolan Ryan 1980 with George Brett 1980 with Dave Winfield 1981 with Fernando Valenzuela 1981 with Tim Raines 1981 with Rickey Henderson 1981 with Nolan Ryan 1981 with Mike Schmidt 1981 with Kirk Gibson 1982 with Cal Ripken 1982 with Rickey Henderson 1982 with Pete Rose 1983, 1984, and 1985 racks are VARIABLE   1986 FB rack with Jerry Rice 1986 FB with Steve Young 1986 FB with Joe Montana 1986 FB with Dan Marino 1986 FB with John Elway 1986 FB with Reggie White 1987 with Mark McGwire 1987 with Barry Bonds Thoughts on Authentication Steve Hart For the vast majority of my collecting career, I have resisted having my items authenticated or graded. Recently, however, as I pondered the possibility of selling parts of my collection in the future, I reliazed that authentication was the best way to achieve top dollar for many of my collectibles. That said, I have never sent anything to PSA, GAI, or AFA. I have, however, started to send Steve Hart at the Baseball Card Exchange my rack packs for authenticated. Steve is widely considered the world's foremost expert on unopened sports cards. His seal of approval for rack packs and wax boxes is akin to "it's real." The great thing about dealing with Steve Hart is that he carefully describes his process and shares all of his thoughts on your items via email. There are instances with at least two of my rack packs in which I disagreed with his assessment. His assessment wasn't necessarily that the items were tampered with, just that he wasn't 100% confident with putting them in holders with his labels on them. Unless he is 100% sure they are untampered with, he won't authenticate them. Steve's prices and turn-around times are very reasonable and I have enjoyed and learned alot from our interactions. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to send all of my items to Steve because of the COVID-19 crisis. Hopefully when the crisis passes, I'll be able to send them. PSA PSA is the best-known of the authentication companies and is usually the first choice of collectors. I have purchased PSA-graded cards and packs, but have never sent them in. From what I understand, the turn-around time can be as long as six months. To me, this is unacceptable. For the prices they charge and the money they make, they really need a more efficient system for getting customers their items back. I'm surely not the only person to have a problem with this, but I do wonder how many people simply don't send in their collectibles because of the ridiculous wait time. AFA AFA is the company that grades all of my Star Wars items. I have never sent anything to them, but I make sure every action figure I purchase has been authenticated, graded, and holdered by them. Their holders make for great, air-tight cases that are super easy and attractive to display.