What parts of the hobby would you consider toxic?

[abraxio]

So I saw the LeBron exquisite thread and while I'm not about to sift through 3k posts (at least I don't think I will), it really opened my eyes to the murkier parts of the hobby; trimming, shilling etc. Until then, worst I've seen were some very rude and impatient collectors which I assumed was part and parcel being how impatient and angry sports fans can be and, of course, scammers.

That said, what do you think the hobby can be better off with? Anything from prizm speculators to trimmers and everything in between. I'd love to hear some personal anecdotes too.


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[ninjacookies]

Shillers, trimmers, CONSIGNMENTS, hypers (the ones that shove their investments down our throats at every turn)...etc etc.

[abraxio]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Shillers, trimmers, CONSIGNMENTS, hypers (the ones that shove their investments down our throats at every turn)...etc etc.

What's wrong with consignments?


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[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by abraxio

What's wrong with consignments?


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I think it's pretty self explanitory.

[abraxio]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

I think it's pretty self explanitory.

Care to explain anyway?


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[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by abraxio

Care to explain anyway?


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I mean, criminal activity being passed onto 3rd parties to mask identity?

This goes hand in hand with trimming, altering, forging...etc.

There's no accountability involved. A consignor pulls a listing, and the criminal simply tries resubmitting or uses another consignor until the fraudulent card is sold.

That's not even getting into the shilling aspect of people submitting and bidding on their own cards anonymously.


Ebay card consignors are the new age pawn shops of the ghettos. Except there's a lot more criminals on ebay and addicts looking for a quick buck. And you don't have your picture taken along with photo id when you submit to a consignor either.

[Duncancollector]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Shillers, trimmers, CONSIGNMENTS, hypers (the ones that shove their investments down our throats at every turn)...etc etc.

Agree 100%

[chuckerrrr]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Shillers, trimmers, CONSIGNMENTS, hypers (the ones that shove their investments down our throats at every turn)...etc etc.

Agreed 100%.


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[Jasondr91]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Shillers, trimmers, CONSIGNMENTS, hypers (the ones that shove their investments down our throats at every turn)...etc etc.

This, and apologies and playing stupid.

[theLUCKYshow]

GOAT debates, especially on this forum.

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[derder]

prospecting and panini

[myusasets]

if its about money its toxic. there are 10,000+ MJ cards , i have a few but my favorites cost under $5 and show him as he played. the ones that cost money "the status cards are the toxic part of the hobby" they are picture cards that mark a place in time, treat them as such its a hobby.

[rustywest]

I consider this obsessive grading culture to be toxic + the 'bumping' phenomena.

Obviously agree with Timofey about the scam artists but also with the consignment situation. When I re-entered this hobby about 1 year ago I thought when I was buying from the Probstein/PWCC's of this world I was getting the best protection in every facet. Turns out I was way off. Whilst these particular two consignment routes are very professional and are SUPERB when it comes to International delivery it has become increasingly apparent they are excellent ways for the scam artist scumbag to put distance between himself and a fraudulent item. Not to mention how consignment facilitates rampant shilling which I believe has been discussed multiple times on this forum. However, it never ceases to amaze me when I see early, multiple & crazy bids on items. It took me losing my first auction to understand the only strategy is to snipe your highest price but these muppets are still going hammer and tong in the first couple 'o' days of the listing.

Much like what myusasets said, when the aspect of greed is involved that toxicity really busts out.

[rawkstar2k]

There's a lot of good stuff in this thread. I think that counterfeit cards are going to be a huge issue in the future (it already kind of is). As new technology is developed and becomes more accessible, I think there will be a flooding of high quality fakes into the market. Also, sports cards as an investment is a hot topic and one that many non-sports fans and those alike are becoming interested in, which is only going to fuel more crooks. What makes it worse is that there are many fake cards that grading companies have graded. Scammers already have the ability to encapsulate their fake cards into fake graded slabs, which is an issue that is only going to get worse.

[Oldschool42]

Shilling an auction

[jcardstore]

Greed is the root of all toxicity in this "hobby" and for some reason unlike any other. I've never met a group of so called collectors who are more worried about how much they can make hyping up their stuff and flipping it.

You know, the guy that drives around to 5 different states to buy every single box of prizm on release and then sell them for double. That's not only pathetic but pretty low if you ask me. Or you know, the resident hype men who claim that they have no investment in some player and then turn around and are selling his cards a month later.

This thread https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1271513 is another perfect example of greed. The dude knows it's not legit but publicly admits that "it'll end up on the market eventually" so he wants to collect the commission on it.

I don't want to get into the "back in my day" stuff but this hobby has turned extremely toxic in the last few years. I've pretty much quit collecting entirely because the greed on display on this forum is very offputting.

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Greed is the root of all toxicity in this "hobby" and for some reason unlike any other. I've never met a group of so called collectors who are more worried about how much they can make hyping up their stuff and flipping it.

You know, the guy that drives around to 5 different states to buy every single box of prizm on release and then sell them for double. That's not only pathetic but pretty low if you ask me. Or you know, the resident hype men who claim that they have no investment in some player and then turn around and are selling his cards a month later.

This thread https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1271513 is another perfect example of greed. The dude knows it's not legit but publicly admits that "it'll end up on the market eventually" so he wants to collect the commission on it.

I don't want to get into the "back in my day" stuff but this hobby has turned extremely toxic in the last few years. I've pretty much quit collecting entirely because the greed on display on this forum is very offputting.

Anything that stems from greed... that was my answer, but you summed it up pretty damn well. I think folks are obviously going to “hype” or discuss what they like most... that’s part of the hobby to me. But when those cards end up for sale a month later???

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by ballhawkdawk

Anything that stems from greed... that was my answer, but you summed it up pretty damn well. I think folks are obviously going to “hype” or discuss what they like most... that’s part of the hobby to me. But when those cards end up for sale a month later???

Oh I see it all the time. Those "PC Only" posts that somehow end up for sale shortly after

[ragingbull]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Those "PC Only" posts that somehow end up for sale shortly after

This. Fake collectors. LOL.

[jcardstore]

Bottom line is there will be thieves in any industry. Like Eric, he is an obvious fraud and thief and no matter what he does that'll come out but it sure seems that flipping cards to make that extra penny really brings out the worst in people

[abraxio]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Bottom line is there will be thieves in any industry. Like Eric, he is an obvious fraud and thief and no matter what he does that'll come out but it sure seems that flipping cards to make that extra penny really brings out the worst in people

What happened with the LeBron exquisite in the end?


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[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by abraxio

What happened with the LeBron exquisite in the end?


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Nothing, people will eventually forget and he will sell it to someone and laugh all the way to the bank

[abraxio]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Nothing, people will eventually forget and he will sell it to someone and laugh all the way to the bank

But was the conclusion that he trimmed it?


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[6celtics33]

Originally Posted by abraxio

But was the conclusion that he trimmed it?


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Nobody knows without proof or admission. We have none of either. Just that trimmed cards are floating around in high grade holders. Who did it is a good question. The answer..... many people, many many scum

They are everywhere

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by abraxio

But was the conclusion that he trimmed it?


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Whether he actually trimmed it or not isn't really relevant. He knew about it and all the evidence points to him knowing when/how it happened whether he did it or not.

Eric is clearly heavily involved in some real shady dealings and I think his refusal to address the issues really speak to his (lack of) character.