Trading Tip Keep references. Trading with someone you don't know is risky no matter how trusting they are. Paranoia is definitely not the answer, but a good reputation doesn't hurt. Keep track of names and email addresses of the people you trade with. Some traders request references when they haven't traded with anyone before. With a list handy, trading is much smoother. - tip from www.tradercracks.com
Frequently Asked Question How do I know that the piece is authentic? Here at Upper Deck, we have a strict policy in purchasing game used equipment. Our sources for purchasing these items will either be directly from the player, directly from the team or from secondary market vendor that has a reputation for having authentic game used equipment. Each game used item that we purchase from these sources comes with a Certificate of Authenticity to ensure 100% authenticity for that item.
Most items used are game worn, while some are from practice or from league sponsored photo shoots. The authentication copy printed on the back of the card should indicate the nature of the item used on the front.
Glossary Term Insert ratio - These numbers are associated with cards that are not commonly available within the packs of cards. The ratio indicates what the odds are of finding such a card within packs. This is generally communicated on the packaging of a product with a ratio after a specific name, such as “Top Hitters 1:24,” which would indicate that the subset or insert set called Top Hitters is short printed (vs. the rest of the set) and will fall at an approximate ratio of 1 in every 24 packs. Sometimes, just the total number of cards produced for a specific short printed card is announced, as these cards are generally sequentially numbered and no approximate ratios are available at that time.