Why would somebody do this?

[Rob Wright]

Found this on an eBay listing- I would think that cutting the seal would diminish the value on these.

Vintage "Bee" No.92 Club Special Playing Cards Cambric Finish.  The N.Y. Consolidated Card Co.  Made in USA.  We recently came across this deck of playing cards and when we found them, I took a knife and opened the pack.  To discover (as you can see) they are still factory sealed in wax paper, with a blue "SQUEEZERS" trade mark sticker/stamp.  And that is why we are selling this item as new

[xela]

When I was hunting antique shops for decks, I saw this relatively often. It's disgusting, and it's because the folks selling them don't understand the value or the hobby.

"I took a knife and opened the pack." That sentence makes me cringe. That is not how you treat anything vintage, whether or not it's a pack of cards.

[Don Boyer]

I liken that statement to "We took a knife and cut the Mona Lisa out of its frame to insure that it was indeed the frame that it originally came with - that's why we list it as new..."

I'm still trying to grasp the logic behind the act.  You want to insure something is still wrapped as new - by CUTTING OPEN THE BOX SEAL?  I would think the seal alone would be proof enough!  I'll grant you, there are places online where you can purchase used tax stamps and put them on just about anything, but still...

If anything, that makes me more suspicious about the sale, not less suspicious.  Didn't the older decks have wax seals on the vellum and not something that looks like a sticker?  And is it my imagination, or is that sticker on the vellum not even covering the open edge of the vellum?  Meaning that anyone could have taken old vellum and wrapped it around those cards.

Maybe it's genuine, maybe it isn't.  I wouldn't trust it, personally.

Do you have the link for this sale?

[52plusjoker]

Looks genuine to me. 1950's I think. Lots of idiots out there to cut seals etc. If you must see inside you can do much less damage by slitting the flap at the bottom of the box with an exacto knife, looking inside, closing the flap with a touch of glue and, Eureka, it's new again.