PSA: Errors aren’t worth thousands

DynaEtch · 09-09-2024, 11:05 AM

As others probably know, I collect error cards in Marvel. This thread is partly my reaction to seeing so many mind-boggling error listings on eBay, and hopefully can assist sellers in actually getting their cards sold rather than just sitting on the market with zero chance of selling.

It is true…a random misprint card is hard to comp. They can be unique or nearly unique. The #1 mistake people make with these is think: “wow this is a unique thing —> must equal gold mine”. It doesn’t work like that and is ignoring the demand side of the equation.

Some errors are worth a fortune, true, but those are ones that have famous notoriety: the 1990T Thomas NNOF RC baseball card, which can go for $10-20k. Or to take famous examples outside cards, the inverted Jenny stamp or 3 legged buffalo nickel.

Random fluke misprints in nonsports like marvel are simply not worth thousands though. Oh so typical to see listings on eBay of ones listed for many hundreds, to multiple thousands (some just minor miscuts!)….this is la la land. They won’t sell. It’s possible the seller is treating it as a museum piece I guess (which does have benefits in that at least they are put out there so I can see them, increasing knowledge about which errors exist).

It is true random misprints do get more attention in nonsports than sports. A 1990 marvel universe misprint like a wrong back will get more attention and be worth than a wrong back 1994 donruss baseball card. But they are not worth thousands. The most I have ever paid for an error, and I bought many over many years…is $1k. And that has to basically be 1)from a major popular set, 2)very egregious error, 3)an insert. And even in that case I probably paid $700 or so over market, just because I really wanted it. That is not the norm, such as a typical wrong back or missing foil error. Most typical marvel errors sell in the $25-150 range.

It would be helpful to both buyers and sellers if sellers understood the market better for them, as all pricing them at $3k or $5k does is result in an unsold listing where no one benefits. /Rant

09-09-2024, 11:05 AM	#1
DynaEtch Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 9,875	PSA: Errors aren’t worth thousands As others probably know, I collect error cards in Marvel. This thread is partly my reaction to seeing so many mind-boggling error listings on eBay, and hopefully can assist sellers in actually getting their cards sold rather than just sitting on the market with zero chance of selling. It is true…a random misprint card is hard to comp. They can be unique or nearly unique. The #1 mistake people make with these is think: “wow this is a unique thing —> must equal gold mine”. It doesn’t work like that and is ignoring the demand side of the equation. Some errors are worth a fortune, true, but those are ones that have famous notoriety: the 1990T Thomas NNOF RC baseball card, which can go for $10-20k. Or to take famous examples outside cards, the inverted Jenny stamp or 3 legged buffalo nickel. Random fluke misprints in nonsports like marvel are simply not worth thousands though. Oh so typical to see listings on eBay of ones listed for many hundreds, to multiple thousands (some just minor miscuts!)….this is la la land. They won’t sell. It’s possible the seller is treating it as a museum piece I guess (which does have benefits in that at least they are put out there so I can see them, increasing knowledge about which errors exist). It is true random misprints do get more attention in nonsports than sports. A 1990 marvel universe misprint like a wrong back will get more attention and be worth than a wrong back 1994 donruss baseball card. But they are not worth thousands. The most I have ever paid for an error, and I bought many over many years…is $1k. And that has to basically be 1)from a major popular set, 2)very egregious error, 3)an insert. And even in that case I probably paid $700 or so over market, just because I really wanted it. That is not the norm, such as a typical wrong back or missing foil error. Most typical marvel errors sell in the $25-150 range. It would be helpful to both buyers and sellers if sellers understood the market better for them, as all pricing them at $3k or $5k does is result in an unsold listing where no one benefits. /Rant __________________ ~~~ '90s trading cards === Golden Era ~~~