Elway jersey on eBay look familiar?!?

[BillyB@TheEndzone]

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the "John Elway Game Used Denver Broncos Road Jersey at eBay (item #8732166668 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEBI%3AIT&rd=1) looks suspiciously like (read "identical to") the "John Elway 1985 Game Used Jersey" that just sold at Historic Auctions' Dec 1st auction (#31664 - http://www.historicauctions.com/inde...uctionid=31664).

Billy

[Frank]

I EMailed them about it and got this response:

"I just got off the phone with Pro Sports Investments, who is the seller of the eBay auction. Apparently, they are selling a similar jersey to the one we sold in our auction but decided to use the pictures off of our auction site. I can assure you they are different jerseys. He actually said he will be pulling the photos off his auction and replacing them with photos of the jersey he is selling."

Looked really fishy at first, but I guess not. Funny thing was, he said a bunch of people EMailed him about this. Not sure if you did too, but good job everybody noticing it!

[Eric]

I EMailed them about it and got this response:

"I just got off the phone with Pro Sports Investments, who is the seller of the eBay auction. Apparently, they are selling a similar jersey to the one we sold in our auction but decided to use the pictures off of our auction site. I can assure you they are different jerseys. He actually said he will be pulling the photos off his auction and replacing them with photos of the jersey he is selling."

Looked really fishy at first, but I guess not. Funny thing was, he said a bunch of people EMailed him about this. Not sure if you did too, but good job everybody noticing it!

\

Hey everyone-
I received an email from someone who asked me to post the following info-
Pro Sports Investments is also selling a Joe Montana jersey http://cgi.ebay.com/JOE-MONTANA-GAME...QQcmdZViewItem
which has the pictures from the other auction

[ChrisCavalier]

Apparently, they are selling a similar jersey to the one we sold in our auction but decided to use the pictures off of our auction site. I can assure you they are different jerseys. He actually said he will be pulling the photos off his auction and replacing them with photos of the jersey he is selling."

I just spoke with PSI this morning and the situation with the Montana jersey appears to be similar to the one with the Elway. This seems to make sense given the size of the Montana jersey on eBay was actually a different size than the one that was in Historic Auctions (there are pictures of the size tags for both jerseys in their respective listings).

Though PSI told me the jersey they are selling looks very similar to the one that was in Historic Auctions, they agreed that it would be a good idea to close the current auction and re-list it with pictures of the actual jersey. Thus, the auction on eBay has been closed.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier

[rbalm]

Just my two cents but I really dont think it is appropriate lifting pictures from other auctions to sell a jersey. It is a misrepresentation of the item being sold.
Adam

[EndzoneSports]

The eBay auction was ended last week and the item has now been relisted (http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29393-...tem=8739034829) albeit with different photos.

[geoff]

HELLO are this persons jerseys psi real or fake.

[EndzoneSports]

HELLO are this persons jerseys psi real or fake.

For the record, the eBay listing for this item ended without it selling. Subsequently, PSI sold the jersey to a private collector who remitted it to me last week to render an opinion, prior to finalizing the sale. Having examined this jersey first hand, I can say without hesitation that it had no glaring detractors that would have made me believe it was anything other than as advertised. A copy of our letter of opinion is attached.

In a seperate trasaction anther local collector purchased this jersey's "sister" piece from the Histroric Auctions' December offering and I may have the opportunity to examine it in March as well. If so, I would be happy to report on this as well if others would be interested.

Best regards,

[otismalibu]

Just my two cents but I really dont think it is appropriate lifting pictures from other auctions to sell a jersey. It is a misrepresentation of the item being sold.

I think it's against eBay policy to use "borrowed" pics. I once stumbled upon an auction and saw that the seller was using a photo that I'd taken for a previous auction. After informing eBay, they ended the auction. It's been quite a few years, but I recall some sort of form that I had to fill out.

Greg

[kingjammy24]

adam (et al),

calling it 'inappropriate' is a gross understatement. it borders on fraudulent. i've seen a few auctions etc which used other photos but they clearly stated "item pictured is to illustrate style only and does not represent actual item". if a person simply doesn't have a digital camera and they want to show roughly what the item looks like, i'm ok with posting a similar image as long as it had that disclaimer prominently displayed so that nobody was mislead.
without that disclaimer, it's fraud because you're showing an image of an item that you're selling with the clear implication that the item pictured is the item you are bidding on.
when it comes to jerseys, subtle details are what often help the buyer ascertain authenticity and price. how is a buyer supposed to ascertain these subtle details when the item they're bidding on isn't even the one in the pictures? imagine if you stumbled upon a jersey and via the photos you managed to photomatch it exactly to a historic game, so you bid a substantial amount. upon receiving the item, you discover the jersey is not the same one in the pictures.

the bigger question i would begin to wonder, aside from any about the jersey, is why would a seller use photos from someone else's auction
(and not issue a disclaimer)?

rudy.