Pre-War Cards

The eBay giant has issued a statement surrounding the recent allegations of doctored baseball cards

The internet chatter on PWCC, which has auctioned numerous alleged trimmed and doctored cards has continued to swell. The company issued a statement Sunday afternoon:

We are obviously very aware of the issues surrounding the cards submitted to us by Gary Moser. First, we want to apologize to all those who have been affected by the purchasing of trimmed or altered cards. We are not disappearing or burying our heads in the sand about this. Next, we are presently working with both PSA and law enforcement to ensure that all affected cards are brought to light and this information makes its way to our customers. We understand that we are responsible for our part in this mess and will do all that we can to make it right in connection with Moser-submitted cards as well as other submitters who may have altered cards of which we auctioned. We understand how difficult it is to be patient through this process but we are working through this as quickly as we can at the direction of counsel and the appropriate authorities. Finally, in response to these recent findings, we are no longer selling any Moser-submitted cards.

We are very sorry for the trouble that has occurred and will work to regain your trust.

While a nice first step, that isn’t likely to sway anyone’s minds as it’s mostly a blanket statement. They’ve agreed not to accept cards submitted by Gary Moser, the person named all over the threads who has purportedly been behind some of this — and that’s a documentable action item. But past actions, timelines, and real specific information about the stuff that has surfaced on the Blowout forums isn’t offered up here. Some collectors believe that PWCC worked with Gary Moser in submitting known doctored cards so this will only be white noise to them.

Until some of the specific allegations are addressed about their involvement, their brand is going to continue to take a hit. Just today, it was mentioned on Blowout that a high-dollar Joe Jackson rookie card was one of the suspected ones that was doctored.

Whether or not that’s an irreparable hit, however, remains to be seen. Many are already predicting their demise but as collectors on forums have pointed out, the prices in their current auctions do not appear to be suffering.

Now, that is understandable as bids have already been placed and all of this is just breaking. And if there are real legal findings here that put the company in hot water, that’s another story entirely. But from simply a perspective vantage point, collectors have shown a tendency to overlook things that even they find suspect all in the name of acquiring more stuff.

Whether or not they can physically stop placing bids in PWCC auctions remains to be seen.

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