Inglorious Bastards

You may know my title by the recent movie about Jewish soldiers who killed Nazis during WW II. My term refers to those unscrupulous people who use real website names and addresses to mislead unsuspecting buyers into believing they are dealing with legitimate business, so that they can sell their fake items on ebay. The items in question are golf balls- signed by such luminaries as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and many other notable golfers. These are offered at bargain starting prices. But beware. The golf balls are the brands these players endorse (Nike, Titleist, etc.) and look nice- they may even have a Masters logo. The auctions typically start low (e.g. $9.99) and end under $100. Real golf balls signed by these famous golfers sell for much more than this- usually $500 to thousands of dollars. The really disgusting part of these fraudulent transactions is the "Certificate of Authencity (the all important CoA)," which is sent with the purchased item. These CoAs look real- e.g., has the item #, a description of the item, a guarantee that it is 100% genuine. A statement that "if you are not completely satisfied, you can return your item for a full refund." (the catch is you have to email the real website (which is not involved in the sale by a certain date), so if you do not do this, you won't know you are dealing with crooks.

The lure is a quick profit. The downside is being stuck with an unmarketable golf ball.

I consider this a public service warning. I have Scottish ancestors and am an ex caddy and can break 100 after a few practice rounds. I cannot believe there are people who would tarnish this fine and ancient game by selling fake signed golf balls.

You can't be gullible in this game, or you will be taken. The easy lesson (Hogan had 5 easy lessons for the golf swing) is to know (and trust) the person with whom you are dealing. Not easy if you are new to buying and selling sports memorabilia on ebay. Caveat Emptor!