People have lost their minds buying on EBay!

[japes3]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

bahahahhahaha

[Astros19]

I'd be curious to how many members grade or concentrate their collecting in graded cards opposed to those if us who don't care one iota about grading.
Someone should start a poll.
I'm on my phone and haven't a clue how to do so.

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[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by Astros19

I'd be curious to how many members grade or concentrate their collecting in graded cards opposed to those if us who don't care one iota about grading.
Someone should start a poll.
I'm on my phone and haven't a clue how to do so.

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Done.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by fearziz

i cant argue with your point but we must all remember that regardless of raw or grade, every card is based on a persons perception. therefore, while grading or raw isn't relevant in literal terms, having the backing of a certified entity certainly doesn't hurt even if their perception of the card is wrong. it simply validates another persons observation of the cards integrity. additionally, having the card graded beforehand saves you money assuming you got the card at it's current book value. Grading is subjective in nature but has its place in the hobby. i dont think theres any camera good enough to replace having another certified companies validation on record of the cards actual shape. the zoom on ebay pictures or scans are only so good and there are tons of factors that affect the quality of those pictures such as ebays compression or monitor quality.

Perhaps I misunderstood your concern... but I thought “risk” was on returns. And it seems that the return risk seems particularly focused on the graded card buyer. So ironically the risk of return is highest when you sell graded.

But if you are just saying as a buyer hoping to get a nice card... well... I guess I’d say: that’s why you get such a large discount. With that said, I almost exclusively buy contemporary (‘17-20) raw, and the most likely issues are pretty easy to see w/scans/pictures:
— corners
— edges
— centering

Sure, surface is harder... but how frequent is that an issue? Seems much much rarer, with cards less commonly dinged for that reason... out of 500+ raw single cards purchased, I’ve only had ~6 issues with unstated condition issues... and I decided to eat 3 of them, and only returned the three most egregious cases (one of which was a clear bait and switch by the seller)


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[ALBASKETBALL]

Another spin on this topic - Sellers are advertising cards as "Gem Mint" or "Condition as New" or "Gradable PSA 10" and the card is received with pits or bad scratches without being described in the listing.

[fearziz]

Originally Posted by pewe

Perhaps I misunderstood your concern... but I thought “risk” was on returns. And it seems that the return risk seems particularly focused on the graded card buyer. So ironically the risk of return is highest when you sell graded.

But if you are just saying as a buyer hoping to get a nice card... well... I guess I’d say: that’s why you get such a large discount. With that said, I almost exclusively buy contemporary (‘17-20) raw, and the most likely issues are pretty easy to see w/scans/pictures:
— corners
— edges
— centering

Sure, surface is harder... but how frequent is that an issue? Seems much much rarer, with cards less commonly dinged for that reason... out of 500+ raw single cards purchased, I’ve only had ~6 issues with unstated condition issues... and I decided to eat 3 of them, and only returned the three most egregious cases (one of which was a clear bait and switch by the seller)


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yes. ive bought and sold high value cards on ebay and the card itself isn't as big a deal as having to go through the process of purchase issues with them. with covid the excuses for poor customer service are 100 fold higher at the moment. the last card i sold on here was a Luka NT RC RPA /99 and we just bypassed ebay and went straight through Paypal for that very reason. The difference being that communication buildd mutual trust that you're getting what is paid for. ive never had anyone offer their cell on ebay but on here we can do just that or even facetime the card if needed.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by pewe

The complaints for returned cards on the boards here seem highest for graded cards. Reading between the lines it seems like graded are riskier, in fact, than raw.

And if you are purely interested in “the best”, we’ve also covered a myriad of times that high graded cards often show up clearly over graded - especially PSA10 off-center with white showing on corners of cards.

When possible I buy sharp raw, and keep them that way (not only are the cheaper, for at least as nice card, they also take up waaaaay less room for storage).


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Yes, great point. The amount of space a slab takes up is ridiculous and a burden.

[NYBBFAN]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

Yes, great point. The amount of space a slab takes up is ridiculous and a burden.

I don’t think you’ve ever faced a true burden.

[superdan49]

Originally Posted by ALBASKETBALL

Another spin on this topic - Sellers are advertising cards as "Gem Mint" or "Condition as New" or "Gradable PSA 10" and the card is received with pits or bad scratches without being described in the listing.

I avoid buying cards from any seller who writes the words "Ready for PSA!" in the title. I'm seeing that stupid phraseology more frequently. Technically a PSA 5 modern card could be so-called ready for PSA.

[ALBASKETBALL]

Originally Posted by superdan49

I avoid buying cards from any seller who writes the words "Ready for PSA!" in the title. I'm seeing that stupid phraseology more frequently. Technically a PSA 5 modern card could be so-called ready for PSA.

I typically stay away from blatant titles like "PSA 10 ?" or "Ready for PSA!"

More in line of what I am talking about is what seems to be a decent non-cherry picked lot, the description states new or mint condition, pictures check out visually, there is no reference to condition issues and ultimately none of the cards are gradable.

I know this getting into the gray area of buying off Ebay and the new age grading expectation. If a listing is being sold as a gradable lot, I expect some portion to be gradable or that is a false description. Expectations aren't crazy - Maybe 20% or 2 cards on a 10 lot purchase.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by jataman2612

All people care about is grading these days. A 9.5 or 10 is all that matters. Totally misses the point of the fun of the hobby.

Well, most of the new money that has flooded into the hobby the past six months is coming from inexperienced newbies following advice they get from pumpers on social media.

They're not collectors....they're investors trying to make a quick buck.....

[ThoseBackPages]

i agree, not many card collectors entering the hobby the last few years

[pewe]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i agree, not many card collectors entering the hobby the last few years

And unfortunately some who may have left


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[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by pewe

And unfortunately some who may have left


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cant blame them. i couldnt imagine trying to build a RC collection nowadays

[mainerunr]

Originally Posted by fearziz

i cant argue with your point but we must all remember that regardless of raw or grade, every card is based on a persons perception. therefore, while grading or raw isn't relevant in literal terms, having the backing of a certified entity certainly doesn't hurt even if their perception of the card is wrong. it simply validates another persons observation of the cards integrity. additionally, having the card graded beforehand saves you money assuming you got the card at it's current book value. Grading is subjective in nature but has its place in the hobby. i dont think theres any camera good enough to replace having another certified companies validation on record of the cards actual shape. the zoom on ebay pictures or scans are only so good and there are tons of factors that affect the quality of those pictures such as ebays compression or monitor quality.

"certified entity" none of the grading companies are certified as competent in their craft. The grader is bob from down the street, there is no licensing to be a grader, there are no qualifications required. You're paying for an opinion.

And cameras certainly are plenty good enough to allow a person to for a more informed decision of what they are buying than some random TPG's opinion.

[fulltritty]

Some sellers have lost their minds too. I'm a huge Tanaka collector. Love the non-logo 2020 Select /5 cards being listed at $99.99 and $129.99 right now. I just won the fully licensed Topps Museum Collection Emerald 1/1 Tanaka for $31.

[jhssketchcards]

Originally Posted by superdan49

I avoid buying cards from any seller who writes the words "Ready for PSA!" in the title. I'm seeing that stupid phraseology more frequently. Technically a PSA 5 modern card could be so-called ready for PSA.

It’s phrased differently here by buyers asking for “Gems Only” or “Minty Fresh”. It happens here too.
Sellers saying whether or not something will gem or ready for grading is what 95%people are looking for it seems. Most people aren’t looking for raw cards of stars or hit rookies to keep long term, they are looking to buy cheap as they can and send for grading.


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[shayscards79]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i agree, not many card collectors entering the hobby the last few years

Last week I visited the LCS I used to go to when I lived in Chicago and the owner flat out said nobody is collecting anymore. While I know there are people still collecting, I get the sentiment.

[gemmintbb]

If you are buying raw you should really not care about the condition. 99% of cards have flaws and everyone wants a gem mint card for the price of a raw. If I buy raw, I just assume there is going to be flaws. Unless there is a big crease down the middle or the picture is cut off from centering, I really don't care if it has a surface flaw. I collect the card for the most part, not the condition.

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by gemmintbb

If you are buying raw you should really not care about the condition. 99% of cards have flaws and everyone wants a gem mint card for the price of a raw. If I buy raw, I just assume there is going to be flaws. Unless there is a big crease down the middle or the picture is cut off from centering, I really don't care if it has a surface flaw. I collect the card for the most part, not the condition.

Please tell me you can see the irony here, Mr. Gemmintbb.

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[gemmintbb]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

Please tell me you can see the irony here, Mr. Gemmintbb.

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I do. Unfotunately had this tag way before the grading craze got out of hand and had i really known it would have gotten to this point probably would have chosen a different tag.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by gemmintbb

If you are buying raw you should really not care about the condition. 99% of cards have flaws and everyone wants a gem mint card for the price of a raw. If I buy raw, I just assume there is going to be flaws. Unless there is a big crease down the middle or the picture is cut off from centering, I really don't care if it has a surface flaw. I collect the card for the most part, not the condition.

I won’t care about the condition if the price matches the condition and the issues are disclosed.

[shayscards79]

So the big take away here is... if it isn't graded, there must be damage or flaws to a raw card even though there's a whole slew of people that don't grade. Got it.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by shayscards79

So the big take away here is... if it isn't graded, there must be damage or flaws to a raw card even though there's a whole slew of people that don't grade. Got it.

We need to perpetuate this myth, so raw prices remain low

Reminds me of Seattle’s marketing strategy from the 70-80s where they didn’t want so many Californians moving there, so developed a marketing strategy targeted towards CA painting the city as dreary and rainy. (Or so goes the story that I heard perpetuated when I was a kid growing up in Seattle )


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[shayscards79]

Originally Posted by pewe

We need to perpetuate this myth, so raw prices remain low

Reminds me of Seattle’s marketing strategy from the 70-80s where they didn’t want so many Californians moving there, so developed a marketing strategy targeted towards CA painting the city as dreary and rainy. (Or so goes the story that I heard perpetuated when I was a kid growing up in Seattle )


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LOL yeah, this is a good point. I guess if you're buying raw then let people think what they will.

I wonder if Seattle's changed their strategy since then. I know they're still pissed that so many Californians move up there. Although I think it's too late since the COL up there is super high now.