Buying Raw Off Dealer Websites

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Posted By: <b>Chris</b><p>Just curious how you guys proceed when dealers have numerous raw cards listed on their site that you want, but scans aren't available for any or most of them. There are a few dealers, such as Mickey's and David Levin, who I'd probably buy more from if they posted more scans, but I'd hate to request scans of 30-40 cards. Do you ask for desciptions or do you just buy them blind? I've tried the latter to a small degree, and have gotten some nice cards, but also received some that I wouldn't have bought had I seen them upfront.

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Posted By: <b>Anthony</b><p>I've bought raw sight unseen from a few dealers. Mark Macrae has always been really solid, his grading is accurate IMO and if I do send them in to get graded always seem to be spot on. The last time I bought a card from Wayne Varner that he listed as EX it was much better than that, and it ended up grading a 7. <br /> Levin seemed a bit liberal on his grading, as did Kit Young. Both will take returns with no questions, so there really isn't a risk, and both a great to deal with. I bought twice from Fritsch and they were so far off I sent them back and won't even bother looking again. Lipset grades about the same as Fritsch and anything below his given grade of EX is a real adventure.

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Posted By: <b>Jason L</b><p>I have had the same experiences, although never dealt with Lipset.<br /><br />I will not buy any card (raw or graded) sight unseen anymore. There's rarely any reason to do so, and from my experience, the uncertainty is not worth the headache...<br />

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Posted By: <b>Chris</b><p>I'll have to look up Mr. Macrae. That sounds promising. I know that Levin will take returns, but I'm looking for someone I can buy from regularly, as my budget allows, and having to constantly send back cards would be a pain to both of us. And I'm not putting him down - I've bought both undergraded and (to my eyes) overgraded cards from him. I definately consider him to be an honest dealer, but grading is subjective. If he had more scans, I'd buy from him all the time.

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Posted By: <b>peter chao</b><p>Chris,<br /><br />I've bought from Mark, he's a hobbyist from way back. And believe it or not he doesn't have time for a website. If your into West Coast stuff like Zeenuts, he's your guy.<br /><br />Peter C.

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Posted By: <b>Anthony</b><p>I know a few years ago Mark was telling me he had a list of clients that have a set budget every month. He had their want list , and sent them a shipment monthly and billed their credit card.<br />I"ll agree with Peter on the PCL stuff, but he's not limited to just that. In the last year I've bought '73 Topps tests, E91's, and a lot of stuff in between from Mark.

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Posted By: <b>Ryan W.</b><p>As an American living in Hong Kong and actively collecting this is an issue near and dear to me.<br /><br />I'm not going to name names, but I insisted on getting scans prior to purchasing from some of the websites/dealers mentioned in this thread and boy am I glad I did. Multiple "NM" cards were not even close...<br /><br />That said, Gar Miller was excellent and sent me 4 pages of scans and his website grades were spot on with the scans. On a side note, I missed the postman today and have a notice of a package from Gar waiting for pickup at the post office --- will be salivating all weekend until I can get it on monday.<br /><br />Anyways, does anyone have an email address for Mark Macrae? <br />After the positive comments about buying bulk sight unseen from him I'd like to send an order his way.<br />Also, who is Mickey's that you are referring to?<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Ryan W.

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Posted By: <b>Anthony</b><p>Mickey's is <br /><a href="http://sales.mickeyssportscards.com/stores/mickeys/StoreFront.bok" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://sales.mickeyssportscards.com/stores/mickeys/StoreFront.bok</a><br /><br />don't feel comfortable posting Mark's email, but I'll send it to you in a minute.

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Posted By: <b>Ryan W.</b><p>Thanks Anthony, much appreciated. <br /><br />Once again, just want to note how much I'm enjoying this board -- great people with solid advice and a willingness to share their experiences, top notch!<br /><br />Regards,<br />Ryan W.