General Forum

This is just a general question I'd like to pose to the community here and something that I've always just wondered about. I'm just as leery about the custom card scene as the next collector, especially since it carries such a (mostly just) negative connotation. Custom, unlicensed and (as ebay describes) ACEO cards are many times just ways to make a buck off of unsuspecting buyers. 

But what is the difference between some of these "fake" card sets and the unlicensed sets of yesteryear? Take these for example:

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/126542/1990-Baseballs-Finest-Stars-(unlicensed)

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/256099/1990-Jose-Canseco-(unlicensed)

or an old favorite of mine, the Mengler set:

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid/194469/1975-Clarence-Mengler's-Baseball's-Best

I've run into a few collectors who actually don't mind picking up unofficial cards for their collection (and one who collects custom art cards by a seller named Edward Vela (https://www.ebay.com/str/artbyedwardvela?_sop=12&rt=nc&_oac=1 for reference). I feel like these cards Edward Vela makes are essentially a modern version of the Mengler cards. 

I guess my question is what is needed to be an acceptable Unlicensed set for inclusion in TCDB and (by that extension) considered an acceptable card/set by the larger sports card collecting community. Is the question more about the distribution of the set? At some point, with all the cards being made by individuals nowadays (i.e. where it feels like its a dime a dozen), is there a general cutoff year as to when its acceptable to consider an unlicensed set for inclusion in the database? I'm more curious as to what you all think than solving any sort of specific question pertaining to a set I had in mind. I'm also not promoting the idea of cataloging every unlicensed card - far from it. I'd honestly rather keep it as it is, I'm more curious about the shift on thinking regarding unlicensed/oddball issues in year's past as opposed to today. 

I like cards from the past that may not be licensed if they look nice. I also think legit ACEO cards should be added. 

Not sure if this addresses your question, but there is a criteria for inclusion on the site found in the FAQ here. From what I see there's no date requisite.

One of the main points from the FAQ is that the set can't contain current players. Other than that, you basically just need a defined release year and a full checklist.

I wish custom cards were allowed on here, as long as the cards were "released" as a set with a full checklist. And they were listed on here as customs. But I'm sure it would have negative consequences I'm not thinking of.

In my opinion, this is the answer.  Most of the ACEO cards I've seen listed on Ebay have been a mix of designs, and not in an actual set.  The other thing is I think a lot of the modern ACEO cards use designs made popular by card companies (mostly Topps), and I think that is also against the rules.

Having said all that, I'm not against the modern versions of ACEO cards, but I doubt I'd ever pay what most are selling them for.  If I got some in a trade or found in a dime box though, I wouldn't mind.