In 1993 Skybox released a 4 card promo sheet for their upcoming Simpsons Series 1 set.

The cards on the sheet were never released as individual singles, but once in a while versions cut from this sheet do appear for sale.

The sheet is worth a couple of dollars at most when intact, so to see a card that has simply been cut from it sell for this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/RAREST-SIM...&hash=item3365d13350

...is pretty shocking.

The seller also states it necessary to have this card to complete the rare promo set that includes P1, P2, P3, and P4, with the P4 listed in bold type to no doubt evoke thoughts of the rare Simpsons Dupe Dipkin P4 promo card which (legitimately, in my opinion) sells for in the hundreds of dollars due to its rarity.

Of course, the Dupe Dipkin P4 promo card was made to advertise Skybox Simpsons Series II which came out a year later (1994). So you may buy the seller's view that the Homer P4 card is an actual stand alone card released at some obscure convention, but it is still not be part of from the P1-P4 promo set that includes the rare Dupe Dipkin. Those were the series 2 promos, and they were released as stand alone cardsm, and never as a 4 card sheet.

This P4 Homer (worth more than its weight in gold to one at least one buyer) IS also part of a 4 card promo set numbered P1 through P4, however, is was issued only on the 4 card sheet, and never individually.

(Heck, for $325, I'd have cut the other 3 cards off the sheet, and included them for free for the "winner". Think about that, a free bonus worth approximately $975 based on the value of the Homer. That's gotta be worth a 20 star positive feedback, huh?)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chesspieceface,

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
In 1993 Skybox released a 4 card promo sheet for their upcoming Simpsons Series 1 set.

The cards on the sheet were never released as individual singles, but once in a while versions cut from this sheet do appear for sale.

The sheet is worth a couple of dollars at most when intact, so to see a card that has simply been cut from it sell for this...

If what you say is true, then this is pretty heavy fraud.

Well, I think the seller could simply say it was sold to him as a card issued individually, and he simply is taking the person he acquired it from at his word.

For that matter, a dealer a small convention in 1994 might have had some of the sheets, and cut the cards from them to put out with other promos on his table at which point our lucky seller acquired the card, and in all good faith, truly believes it to be a single issue, and not cut from a sheet.

The seller also showed the card, front and back, and invited questions (even challenges), so I think he's pretty well covered his bases where fraud goes.

The buy-it-now price is gone since it was a "Best Offer", but I believe that was $2,000 or best offer. I didn't think anyone would bite, but then again, things like this do happen all the time.

"Pay attention or pay too much", as someone's grandpa used to say. I don't know, I mean, probably, lots of grandpas out there.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
"Pay attention or pay too much", as someone's grandpa used to say. I don't know, I mean, probably, lots of grandpas out there.

Well said, and, like any high priced item, you have to be prepared, and accept some risk, especially buying online.

Ouch! Poor buyer. I honestly feel very sorry for him/her

I go WAY back with the Simpsons Skybox cards, like to when our local comic shop owner opened up the series 1 case the first day they were issued only to sell out of it in about about 10 minutes, half of it to my friend and I (who knew it was coming in that day), and the other half to other customers who just happened to be in the shop right then.

I mention this because I'd long been perplexed by the numbering of the promo cards for Skybox Simpsons Series 1 which were:

"B1" and "C1", a two card animated scene created by laying the mostly clear C1 cel card on top of the B1 background or base card. These previewed a chase set in the upcoming series.

"18" Otto. This card previewed the look of the "character" cards in the set, but a card of Otto didn't actually appear until Series 2 and it had a different number.

"P3" Itchy and Scratchy. This is the card I wish hadn't been issued as a single. It is very similar to the one seen on the 4 card sheet but there are differences, mainly the color on the reverse side. At any rate, because this card was released as a single promo and it also appeared on the 4 card sheet, it natually fostered the assumption that the other three cards had been issued singly, as well. Time more than anything, nearly 20 years of it, has proven that to not be the case.

Back to the original reason for this thread, the sale of a Homer P4 promo single. Ahem, I freely admit that I, too, once purchased (during the early years of Ebay) one of these P4 Homer cards that had likewise been described as an individually issued card (it was actually the whole P1-P4 set being sold as singles).

I paid for the lot, and eagely awaited it only to receive 4 cards which were clearly identical to those on the sheet, which of course, they had to be having been obviously cut from one at some point prior.

Anyway, I put the 4 "single" cards in the binder along with my other Simpson cards. And while they do look good free of the uncut sheet borders and Skybox advertising type, they were only a bonus for what I'd actually purchased, a lesson, which I suspect I will keep longer than the cards when all is said and done.

Then again, this continuing reminder to be careful only cost me about $6 or so in 1998. College isn't the only kind of education that can cost a whole lot more these days.

I've noticed that sellers have been better about saying whether their cards were cut from sheets. There was a time when collectors in general didn't like oversized cards so some dealers cut out singles from sheets that looked like real singles (front and back) and didn't say so. As you said, over time, promo collectors figured out which cards were not issued as singles. Todd Jordan's Promo Card Encyclopedia 2008 and its earlier versions helped a lot in documenting that.

I've been careful about cut cards but have been fooled at least once. I have a regular-sized Nick Fury card that says "prototype" on the back but it's the only one I've ever seen. I thought it must have come from a comic book I hadn't seen. Several years ago, I saw the sheet it came from and figured that it's most likely a cut card.

Jess, what sheet was that Nick Fury from ? Does not sound familiar

Hi David,

I saw it last year or the year before. I can't recall the title but think it was 5 x 7 or larger. The Nick Fury card says "TOO MUCH WORSHIP AIN'T A HEALTHY THING" on the front left side and it says "disciples" on the right. It is stamped "Prototype" diagonally on the back in gray and says "Acolytes Card 2" at the bottom with a 1993 date. The card I have looks professionally cut so I hung onto it in case it does turn out to have been issued as a single but it's probably a cut card. This card was one of at least two cards showing on the sheet. Maybe that's enough to jar a memory out there.

Jess

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
Jess, what sheet was that Nick Fury from ? Does not sound familiar

This card was cut from a 1992 Star Pics 4-card panel promoting 4 different sets (Saturday Night Live, Playboy, Dino Cards, and All My Children). The fronts and backs of the cards on the sheet lined up perfectly so someone cut at least one of them free (probably because the uncut sheets were common/slow sellers. It didn't turn out to be much of a money-making venture. I think I got it in a 50 cent/bargain box many years ago.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

Responding to this post again, though three years later, here's the Nick Fury card I'm virtually certain was cut from a promo panel. It's possible that it was released as a single but no one has ever confirmed that with a definite source. Someone could say that it's quite well-done for a cut card but I recall someone on the board (I think it was John Oder) saying something like all you need is a good paper-cutter and a brain.

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
Jess, what sheet was that Nick Fury from ? Does not sound familiar

And here's the promo panel I think it was cut from. It's a tri-fold contest card measuring 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches as noted in PCE2008 under "The Hunt for Magneto Contest."

Here's a 6-card promo sheet for the "DC Villains: The Dark Judgement" card set (Skybox, 1995). The 6 cards have backs that are marked "PROTOTYPE" and their edges line up to the fronts. I've seen singles cut from this sheet offered for sale. Most collectors don't want cards cut from other cards and no one recalls Skybox ever releasing those singles so even when they do sell, they go for about a buck a piece and they are slow sellers at that. It doesn't appear that many sheets were cut up as they remain easy to find even after all these years.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

Here's an odd card that has been trimmed. It's a blank-backed promo for the "Phantom Force" comic series (1993) which was Jack Kirby's last comic book project before his passing the following year. PCE2008 lists it as measuring 2 x 2 7/8 but this one is 1/8 of an inch shorter with a rather ragged bottom edge. It might have been miscut at the printer but I think someone decided to trim off some later damage using a old/dull pair of scissors.