The Magic Librarities

There are a bunch of alters listed on eBay. While I'm not interested in the cards, I was wondering about her background story. It seems bogus, but posting it here in case someone in this group knows better:

Several years ago, before foil altered art cards were common, there was a company called AlteredPrints. These cards are the pinnacle of design and quality, exceeding the print quality of contemporary MTG cards. These cards were printed using both official MTG artists, and fantasy artists wishing to promote their works. For a short time, the initial test prints were sold on Ebay, through the artist's booths at fantasy conventions, and in various TCG stores as prizes for Elder Dragon Highlander. After a conflict in their contract, the business was retired, and the remaining prints were donated back to the artists. Any unclaimed cards and prints were donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Source:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/omnedeus-1/m.html?

Several years ago there was a guy who created and sold alters on eBay under the name "AlteredPrints". He would print foil stickers with full art, and overlay these over the actual magic cards. Some of the cards do look nice.

This operation got shut down after it was determined that for many of the cards he was just taking artwork and printing it without contacting or getting any kind of licensing from the original artists.

The cards from this new eBay seller do seem to be a similar style as the ones from a few years ago, but they're missing the "www.AlteredPrints.com" that appeared on the bottom corners of the original AlteredPrints cards that I remember seeing on eBay.

As far as I'm aware, these were never sanctioned in any way by Wizards. The seller's claim that they are "incredibly valuable and are sought by die-hard MTG collectors" seems unlikely.

I agree. There's some truth in the story, but it's definitely exaggerated to promote current sales.

Thanks to both of you – much appreciated!