Thank you for this video. I think I take for granted how the covers should feel? The covers I have bought(In the last 10 years) are actually a bit thicker than the originals and it has a different sound to it when you're opening/closing the book. I did not realize people would actually try to pass it off as an original? I wonder: Will copies get better and better over the years?
The second sample has raised ink on the edges of color areas (almost like a slight emboss that shows up in the glare of the light), which isn’t something you’d see on an older four-color comic.
@1:36 The benday dots aren't visible - It's all just a blur of colour. The overall image doesn't have the sharpness as the first cover, and there's general haziness and bleeding.
Thank you so much for this, I just bought a rare modern comic from someone on eBay and when it arrived something felt off but it wasn’t until seeing this video that I realized it was a fake after taking a closer look at the lettering/numbers which did have jagged edges when looked at really really up close which real ones don’t have. It seems so obvious now, thank you!
repro prints are printed on color copiers that print the entire image at the same time usually resulting in fuzziness upon close inspection (use a loop), ink is fused onto the top of the sheet versus the original print that is printed using printing plates and the process color of lithography, ink is absorbed into the paper in offset printing, registration is more accuate and color is more consistant as the pressman will use a densitometer for quality control. I've been a printed for over 40 years. Good u tube presentation to help us against getting tricked.
I need your help on info if the 2 Kiss Marvel Super Special presented as Replica on Ebay i recently purchased. Is there known fakes? If yes. Are these collecrible or worthless Xerox copies?
Great video. Honestly if you don't compare them side by side it would be really hard to tell. Seems like there are some serious fakes (Hulk 181) being peddled out there, so be on the lookout everyone.
Thanks Nick! I’m not a big CGC fan but now I’m thinking different after watching this. Do they have good enough tools and knowledge to spot these fakes?
Pretty easy to spot for the trained eye, but could easily fool someone without experience. I'm more interested in these other copies that sold for thousands and were duped
if you look at recent sale o Ebay, you will spot one fake copy sold for over $4k last week....the scammer was brazen enough to even include another copy in one of the pic that he didn't glue the cover on yet..and yet bidders couldn't tell...I did .....a viewer asked me about the grade of that book because he wanted to bid and I told "do no bid, that book has a repro for a cover"....the repro I have is exactly the same as that scam copy.
my mistake, I thought it sold for $4k or more but you found the fake one for $3601 :) that was the one that I said in one of the picture, the scammer even showed another copy with a loose cover yet to be glue. I know EXACTLY what to look for because there is one thing on the repro that I can use to compare with any copies on Ebay. Now that I have the repro in hand, the next time I see a fake listing, I will report the scumbag to EBay....I was confident that copy was fake but I couldn't prove it to report it....until now...it is too late for that buyer.
OldMan Milo you’re welcome. If u check eBay seller travis12345678 you can see he shows clear bright pictures of the gsx1 outside cover but then substitutes inside pages w his older real gsx and those pictures are dark and blurry. Because if he showed the inside pages of the fake gsx those pages would be way too white for a book that old.
To me the first one looked like a fake. The second one had those line bleed throughs you see on the older ones. Fooled me. Thank you for the great information
If marvel had the proper material available, leftover paper, proper ink, a time period printing press. is it possible for them to create an exact copy today? Great PSA video. Truly enjoyed
I would say they could if they had appropriate ink, paper, original negatives/source material, same printing press. It may not be easily possible to have the exact period ink though. May not be made exactly the same and the original batches may have aged and their use would be different now,. Often older paintings are verified by the paints and their content. Of course some people just create their own approximations of the period ink for paintings forgeries though. The real question is if Marvel has a stash of old unsold comics that they have forgotten about. It doesent seem likely but there could be a warehouse of returns or lost stock they forgot to ship somewhere. The replicas are often noticeable because they are perfect condition then you just look for detail issues. A nice stained damaged replica cover could more easily pass for original. Of course most comic books are not rare so collectors are picky about condition so few would attempt to sell a poor condition replica comic as original. The comics it would make sense to do it for would be highly scrutinized.
nice video, very informative! Seems like the quality of the ink, or the printing done by proffesional machines cannot be that accurately reproducted..Thats why you have that "bleeding" shown in the video. And in this case you have the original in hand, so its easyer to spot the difference..if someone buys on ebay..well..tough luck..thats why i say once again..dont buy expensive books unless in slabs..but thats just me. Anyway, question: do you know about reproduction being done to covers or interior that is not high grade? What i mean is..can a cover that its lets say..a 6.0 be reproducted?
I see listings with scammer swapping low grade books with this exact repro and sold for thousands as NM copies raw on Ebay a few times...that is why I made the other videos to warn people....as far as your question, rewatch my video and you will see my answer as far as mid grade....there are MANY other ways to tell the repro....but I am not about to give the scammers every tricks I know so they can "correct" those flaws...that is the dilemma of uncover scams.....there are scammers that will use what we can do and try to work around it. CBCS/CGC can pay me if they want my help...LOL...I am joking...I expect them to be able to spot them.
can you imagine people paying thousands for books that had the cover swapped and there is no staple ridge on both back and front cover...for you and me and those that are familiar with books, we can see many clues from the pics but for the noobs.....I don't know what or how to teach them.... not much I can do to educate....so borrrrring here.
@@etanick1 you can only do so much. Its like people buying those books from China that were all over ebay not that long ago. Obviously bogus listing. Books priced thousands of dollars under fmv, but people bid and bought. Experience is the best teacher. One person can only do so much. Or how about the Marvel facsimile editions selling for hundreds of dollars. Lol!! Seller words in such a way as to never mention its a facsimile and buyers who bought did not know enough that original did not have a bar code! I reported a few those sales to ebay. Who knows what eventually happened.
the fact that people are making these piss me off..nothing i hate more than reproductions of anything...and they make reproductions of everything comics, toys, you name it..it sucks having to spot out bootlegs over the real deal...hate it
Is this guy for real🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ 1st how can ya tell when his light from is bloody phone is in the way.. 2nd amateur expert 😂😂😂😂😂
Thank you for this video. I think I take for granted how the covers should feel? The covers I have bought(In the last 10 years) are actually a bit thicker than the originals and it has a different sound to it when you're opening/closing the book. I did not realize people would actually try to pass it off as an original? I wonder: Will copies get better and better over the years?
The second sample has raised ink on the edges of color areas (almost like a slight emboss that shows up in the glare of the light), which isn’t something you’d see on an older four-color comic.
Nick, you're right. In a few more years, the reproduction will be identical, except as to paper stock. Scary stuff.
@1:36 The benday dots aren't visible - It's all just a blur of colour. The overall image doesn't have the sharpness as the first cover, and there's general haziness and bleeding.
It is a shame that whenever a commodity becomes valuable, the reproductions will surely follow.
Thank you so much for this, I just bought a rare modern comic from someone on eBay and when it arrived something felt off but it wasn’t until seeing this video that I realized it was a fake after taking a closer look at the lettering/numbers which did have jagged edges when looked at really really up close which real ones don’t have. It seems so obvious now, thank you!
Which one has more re-sale value ? Thanks everyone
repro prints are printed on color copiers that print the entire image at the same time usually resulting in fuzziness upon close inspection (use a loop), ink is fused onto the top of the sheet versus the original print that is printed using printing plates and the process color of lithography, ink is absorbed into the paper in offset printing, registration is more accuate and color is more consistant as the pressman will use a densitometer for quality control. I've been a printed for over 40 years. Good u tube presentation to help us against getting tricked.
I need your help on info if the 2 Kiss Marvel Super Special presented as Replica on Ebay i recently purchased. Is there known fakes? If yes. Are these collecrible or worthless Xerox copies?
Wow, had me fooled for a few seconds. Thanks Nick!
Great video. Honestly if you don't compare them side by side it would be really hard to tell. Seems like there are some serious fakes (Hulk 181) being peddled out there, so be on the lookout everyone.
Thanks Nick! I’m not a big CGC fan but now I’m thinking different after watching this. Do they have good enough tools and knowledge to spot these fakes?
I cannot speak for them. All I can say is I can spot the reproductive covers from looking at the scans on eBay
Pretty easy to spot for the trained eye, but could easily fool someone without experience. I'm more interested in these other copies that sold for thousands and were duped
if you look at recent sale o Ebay, you will spot one fake copy sold for over $4k last week....the scammer was brazen enough to even include another copy in one of the pic that he didn't glue the cover on yet..and yet bidders couldn't tell...I did .....a viewer asked me about the grade of that book because he wanted to bid and I told "do no bid, that book has a repro for a cover"....the repro I have is exactly the same as that scam copy.
@@etanick1 wow that needs to be reported somehow. Hope the buyer notices it when it arrives, otherwise he just lost about $3900
@@etanick1 I see one for $3600 that sold 11/11 that looks like a fake as well. Unbelievable
my mistake, I thought it sold for $4k or more but you found the fake one for $3601 :) that was the one that I said in one of the picture, the scammer even showed another copy with a loose cover yet to be glue. I know EXACTLY what to look for because there is one thing on the repro that I can use to compare with any copies on Ebay. Now that I have the repro in hand, the next time I see a fake listing, I will report the scumbag to EBay....I was confident that copy was fake but I couldn't prove it to report it....until now...it is too late for that buyer.
@@etanick1 The seller is currently auctioning off the second book. He's using the exact same pictures even. He has a 100% rating on eBay!?
This is scary, thanks for raising awareness.
Do you think that the grading services (cgc, cbcs, etc) can reliably detect these? I didn't even know there were reproductive covers :(
they should but I have no way to know or prove that
For newbies- ask to see pictures of inside pages. Easiest way to tell if it’s fake. Same goes for all those fake hulk 181s.
I haven't heard of fake 181's being sold. How common is this?
OldMan Milo there was lots for sale on eBay about a year ago when everyone and their mama wanted a 181
@@comicsandculture thanks for letting us know.😯
OldMan Milo you’re welcome. If u check eBay seller travis12345678 you can see he shows clear bright pictures of the gsx1 outside cover but then substitutes inside pages w his older real gsx and those pictures are dark and blurry. Because if he showed the inside pages of the fake gsx those pages would be way too white for a book that old.
To me the first one looked like a fake. The second one had those line bleed throughs you see on the older ones. Fooled me. Thank you for the great information
now you know
If marvel had the proper material available, leftover paper, proper ink, a time period printing press. is it possible for them to create an exact copy today?
Great PSA video. Truly enjoyed
I can't say to be honest since I am not in the printing business
I would say they could if they had appropriate ink, paper, original negatives/source material, same printing press. It may not be easily possible to have the exact period ink though. May not be made exactly the same and the original batches may have aged and their use would be different now,. Often older paintings are verified by the paints and their content. Of course some people just create their own approximations of the period ink for paintings forgeries though. The real question is if Marvel has a stash of old unsold comics that they have forgotten about. It doesent seem likely but there could be a warehouse of returns or lost stock they forgot to ship somewhere. The replicas are often noticeable because they are perfect condition then you just look for detail issues. A nice stained damaged replica cover could more easily pass for original. Of course most comic books are not rare so collectors are picky about condition so few would attempt to sell a poor condition replica comic as original. The comics it would make sense to do it for would be highly scrutinized.
Copy B, print the lines are not sharp as copy A
easy to tell and for the seasoned collector, he or she should be able to tell even if the real thing isn't there to compare.
Has CGC been fooled yet by these reproduction?
I don't know
It's fairly difficult to produce counterfeit comics, but it is possible that some kooks are out there, trying to scam people, especially keys
I picked correctly.. and I can totally see what you're talkin about..but buying off eBay you might not be able to tell with the sellers pictures.
To me the Rays tank was the giveaway at first glance
it is fairly easy to spot for most of us that aren't noobs
The repro looks more like a silkscreen. Thanks.
It’s a very nice reproduction/facsimile for said Comic Book. (Copy #2) Original copy (#1) & facimile copy. (#2) Mark T. :€)
nice video, very informative! Seems like the quality of the ink, or the printing done by proffesional machines cannot be that accurately reproducted..Thats why you have that "bleeding"
shown in the video. And in this case you have the original in hand, so its easyer to spot the difference..if someone buys on ebay..well..tough luck..thats why i say once again..dont buy expensive books unless in slabs..but thats just me. Anyway, question: do you know about reproduction being done to covers or interior that is not high grade? What i mean is..can a cover that its lets say..a 6.0
be reproducted?
I see listings with scammer swapping low grade books with this exact repro and sold for thousands as NM copies raw on Ebay a few times...that is why I made the other videos to warn people....as far as your question, rewatch my video and you will see my answer as far as mid grade....there are MANY other ways to tell the repro....but I am not about to give the scammers every tricks I know so they can "correct" those flaws...that is the dilemma of uncover scams.....there are scammers that will use what we can do and try to work around it. CBCS/CGC can pay me if they want my help...LOL...I am joking...I expect them to be able to spot them.
@@etanick1 haha...CGC, CBCS watch this video!!
Thank you Nick.
The black inks on copy B appear to be slightly raise whereas the original there are not. Otherwise the reproductions is pretty close. Thanks
Where are you located I'd like for you to look at my comics
i am in florida
Thanks Nick!
B. You can see the dot matrix
So I can’t really buy them online🧐
depends on what you are buying..,I buy all kind of keys online without getting rip off
A has a staple ridge. B does not. A is original.
can you imagine people paying thousands for books that had the cover swapped and there is no staple ridge on both back and front cover...for you and me and those that are familiar with books, we can see many clues from the pics but for the noobs.....I don't know what or how to teach them.... not much I can do to educate....so borrrrring here.
@@etanick1 you can only do so much. Its like people buying those books from China that were all over ebay not that long ago. Obviously bogus listing. Books priced thousands of dollars under fmv, but people bid and bought.
Experience is the best teacher. One person can only do so much. Or how about the Marvel facsimile editions selling for hundreds of dollars. Lol!! Seller words in such a way as to never mention its a facsimile and buyers who bought did not know enough that original did not have a bar code! I reported a few those sales to ebay. Who knows what eventually happened.
can't stop stupid.
What??? Counterfeit money I can see but a comic book cover??? Wow...and not in a good way. Good info Nick..Thanks.
great video my friend .
thanks Kyle
Paper quality has to be different .
the fact that people are making these piss me off..nothing i hate more than reproductions of anything...and they make reproductions of everything comics, toys, you name it..it sucks having to spot out bootlegs over the real deal...hate it
Is this guy for real🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ 1st how can ya tell when his light from is bloody phone is in the way.. 2nd amateur expert 😂😂😂😂😂
B is fake.
b is fake