[dmasci]

For those of you that buy cards already graded, do you find your best deals on the bay...or trading here with other members or elsewhere?

I am finding that ebay is getting harder and harder to get good deals on graded cards. I think you can still get an ungraded card for a good price but you really take chances on the condition. With graded cards, I believe that may sellers grab prices from the sky and see what happens.

When I sell graded cards I always sell them for way below the value in the online price guide and I still manage to find some priced that way but not like ungraded cards.

So where do you all go to add to your graded collection if not sending them in yourself?

[ricelynnevans75]

I've usually decided what I wanted to target, would do some research, and then figure out what is a reasonable price/what I'm willing to pay followed by my sitting and waiting. Though some of the vintage I've gone after isn't necessarily hard to find, it's waiting for the right price.

However, I've also run across a few vintage dealer sites that sell graded cards. Sometimes they are a little out there but for the most part, are right on point. Additionally, I have found a couple of dealers that sell raw but are right on point with their grades advertised after I send in myself.

[nolan5000]

For those of you that buy cards already graded, do you find your best deals on the bay...or trading here with other members or elsewhere?

I am finding that ebay is getting harder and harder to get good deals on graded cards. I think you can still get an ungraded card for a good price but you really take chances on the condition. With graded cards, I believe that may sellers grab prices from the sky and see what happens.

When I sell graded cards I always sell them for way below the value in the online price guide and I still manage to find some priced that way but not like ungraded cards.

So where do you all go to add to your graded collection if not sending them in yourself?

I mostly buy on eBay. I've found a few BGS/BVG Graded on COMC.com. And I found a few on NAXCOM.com. I also submit RAW and PSA 10's for cross overs.

[nutshell278]

four sharp corners is an ebay store who isnt bad. Sometimes they run sales. They seem to only have PSA

[nolan5000]

four sharp corners is an ebay store who isnt bad. Sometimes they run sales. They seem to only have PSA

I've crossed quite a few of his PSA 10's and I think all but 1 came back as BGS 9.5's.

[kr0n420]

I've never actually purchased a card that was already graded, though I've watched quite a few on eBay, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I do notice that the bin/obo seems astronomically high, much more so on BGS 10s (I search "bgs", so I have no clue about PSA stuff and others) but I think people misinterpret that. Just because some random BGS 10 is listed for $400 BIN/OBO does not mean they are necessarily expecting that. I think it's more so leaving room for possibility.

Speaking personally, just because I put up a BGS 10 for $200 obo doesn't mean I wouldn't accept $75, or $60, etc. People tend to be scared to offer what they truly are comfortable spending, especially as the opening to negotiations. I use "negotiations" loosely because in my experience most people don't really like to negotiate, it's usually 1) Opening Offer 2) Accept/Decline 3) End of discussion.

On the other end of the spectrum, some buyers get nasty at what they consider "lowball" offers. This general attitude I think is what turns people off from offering anything at all, you never know what someone will be insulted by or what they consider to be lowball, and people generally like to avoid conflict. My personal opinion; If you're willing to post a $100 card for $300 obo to try and make a good gain, don't be insulted when someone offers you $125 because they want to make a good gain. Make some use of that counter-offer button, find some middle-ground. Find a price that leaves both sides feeling like they won. All it accomplishes by shooting down every opening offer is prolonging the listing, racking up more listing fees, and killing your profit margin that you were so concerned with in the first place.

Its (eBay and forums alike) a marketplace. People want to come out ahead. People want to negotiate. Let it happen and stop being counter-productive. I do understand people find it time-consuming to negotiate, but you also get out of what you put in to things. If sellers want to let things sit on the proverbial shelf and not sell for 2-5 years because they couldn't take 10 seconds to an hour to counter-offer and negotiate, then it's their loss and the buyers just have to wait for the results to speak for themselves.

Again, just my two cents.

Cheers,
Adam

[dmasci]

I do notice that the bin/obo seems astronomically high, much more so on BGS 10s (I search "bgs", so I have no clue about PSA stuff and others) but I think people misinterpret that. Just because some random BGS 10 is listed for $400 BIN/OBO does not mean they are necessarily expecting that. I think it's more so leaving room for possibility.

My personal opinion; If you're willing to post a $100 card for $300 obo to try and make a good gain, don't be insulted when someone offers you $125 because they want to make a good gain.

I picked a couple comments out of your post that describe what I think is wrong with ebay today. I think the whole bin/obo has ruined ebay. I used to think that once Beckett quit putting graded cards in their magazines that people just had no clue anymore as to what graded cards are worth...I don't think this way anymore, I think sellers just throw a super high price out there and hope someone buys it, this would not happen with an auction. I just wonder how many of these over price cards acutally sell?

[y2hood]

I just get peeved when people offer me less than the cost of the card and grading. "omgz! Nice BGS 9.5, would you accept $11.00 delivered??"

[dmasci]

I just get peeved when people offer me less than the cost of the card and grading. "omgz! Nice BGS 9.5, would you accept $11.00 delivered??"

I certainly understand what you are saying but I guess I disagree. I have sold many graded cards for less than what it cost to have them graded...either they graded lower than I wanted for my PC or the player turned out to be a bust. I just recently sold a 9.5 graded card of Jerome Harrison for .99 and I paid around $12 to get it graded...but it's not worth $12 so my loss.

I recently bought a Jerry Rice RC on ebay for $28, sent it in to be graded which cost $16 so $44 I have invested...well it came back BGS 8 which I didn't want for my PC...sold it for $31 plus S&H so I figured I cut my loss on that one as well. But there are many BGS 8 Jerry Rice cards listed BIN/BO for well over the online Beckett value of $50....I just don't see why. I understand people don't want to sell for less than they have invested but who will pay well over book for a card that is easy to find....there is no shortage of graded Rice RCs.

[kr0n420]

Yeah I actually totally forgot to mention the whole bin/obo ordeal, I had an eBay statistic in my head that I've been kind of spouting off about the last week or so cause it drives me nuts.

These are the numbers current as of this post:
713,877 - Cards listed under "Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Cards > Hockey"
662,663 (86%) - # of BIN/OBO
51,214 (14%) - # of Auctions.

Also out of curiosity:
55,672 - Cards listed under "Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Cards" When searching for "bgs".
51,497 (87%) - # of BIN/OBO
4,175 (13%) - # of BIN/OBO

In summary; What's an auction site?

@y2hood - I agree, that is dumb, and annoying. But the plain and simple fact is no one knows what you invested in it. Don't get me wrong, I entirely agree with you but to use your own example, it could be a $4 card and you paid $7 to get it graded (100+ order/45 days). There's your $11 back. Yes I see that you will lose out on shipping and all that, but it's a vague point to be made in the first place.

Explained that way, its not as insulting. However if it was a $4 card and you got it graded for $26 (1-19 order/2 days), then yeah the $11 offer might hit you the wrong way. But how does the general eBay public know? We don't. Its a crapshoot hit and miss offer/counter system that is not used anywhere near to its full potential. Should everyone bump there would-be offer up an extra $19 because you might have paid for top notch service instead of the most cost-effective? Of course not. Just the same as its within your every right to decline an offer that does not cover your expenses + desired gain.

Of course all of that is entirely theoretical and we would all like to think no one would ever grade a $4 card for $26, but I'm sure someone's done it somewhere (please don't call me out on the minute instances where some vintage $4 card sky-rocketed overnight and sold for hundreds, I'm sure that's happened as well). To be honest after previewing this post and reading it out loud I wouldn't be surprised if something like that had a hand in where we are today with eBay listings/prices/hopes/dreams. Someone getting a low valued card graded at a high price and wanting to justify it, therefore causing awkward inflation ripples.

Sorry for yet another book, you guys certainly make me talkative

Cheers,
Adam