Trimmed Cards on Ebay

[Harliduck]

I have bought hundreds of cards on Ebay, and really enjoy doing so, and up until this month, have never run into a trimmed card. I know, I know, buy slabbed cards, no problems...problem is I don't like slabbed cards. I collect cards I can touch, feel, and I am a set collector. Cards for me go into binders, and I am not really caring about resell...so yes, shame on me, lol. Call me old school, and I am not doing this to invest, simple collector.

So even though buying raw lends me to being shanked, it certainly doesn't make it right when it happens. I have now had 3 trimmed cards in the last month! Looking at the pictures now, I should have known, it seems pretty obvious. What stinks is a very reputable Ebayer sold me the Koufax actually mentioned "a lot of my 63 Fleers are turning up trimmed". I couldn't believe it. BTW, this card was trimmed more than 1/8th of an inch! I took it out of the envelope and it was immediately obvious. I won't say the name as they are offering a full refund and paid to have is shipped back. The Boyer card came today, and from someone I have bought a lot of cards from...I am hoping I get the same service.

Anyhow, was wondering if others are having issue's too...or was it a fluke to have three in one month? Even if the seller takes care of the issue, does it warrant Negative feedback for trying to slip it in anyhow? The Koufax would be evident to a 10 year old, so unless the seller didn't pack it himself, he would have known what was shipped. I hate leaving anything but positive on Ebay (in 10 plus years I have only done it once), but should others be warned?


http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1963-FLEER-BASEBALL-CARD-SANDY-KOUFAX-LOS-ANGELES-DODGERS-/00/s/Mzc5WDI4OQ==/$(KGrHqZ,!q4FCS9S(H2KBQnP6dTpNQ~~60_12.JPG



http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1963-FLEER-KEN-BOYER-60-20-00-EX-185C-/00/s/MTI4MVg4NjA=/$(KGrHqRHJEUFCZwUUQyYBQnE1H470Q~~60_57.JPG

EDIT - After seeing the Boyer pic blown up like this, I must have been drunk at the keyboard when I bought that...the top is ridiculous...I'm an idiot...lol

[Harliduck]

Here is the third one...just under 1/8th trimmed. Working on resolving this one as well, I can't have these in my collection.

http://images.auctionhelper.com/images/14447//17000/2492.jpg

[savedfrommyspokes]

I am sorry you got your hopes up and they were dashed by a trimmed card. In the case of the Koufax, it seems strange that a VG+ card would be trimmed.

As a collector the first thing I do when a card arrives is measure it up, so as a seller I measure up each card before listing. However, I could see some sellers not catching a trim job on an off grade card. Then again, if this particular seller has noticed this with other 63 Fleer Koufax cards, he should have checked this and noted it in the listing.

In the scan, the Boyer card appears to be a factory miscut as the bottom appears miscut also. However, if you check the seller of the Boyer card's other selling ID, there is feedback indicating that trimmed cards have slipped through his quality controls in the past, even on some higher dollar cards.

In purchasing bulk lots of cards, I have come across several cards (in bulk) that all measure up short l/r. The edges appear to have no trimming. I have also received bulk lots of single cards that all measure up wider l/r. To me this is an indication that there were indeed factory miscuts and not trim jobs.

IMO, as a buyer, I would not send a negative if the seller takes care of the situation and leaves me whole (covers my return s/h also).

[Chris Counts]

I too think the Boyer is miscut and not trimmed. I actually have no problem at all with trimmed cards, as long as they're labeled as trimmed. It's just another type of condition to me. As a type collector, I have many hand-cut cards (strip cards, Wheaties, Bazookas, etc.), so maybe I've just gotten used to cards without factory cuts. I've found several nice-looking trimmed cards at shows, informed the seller his card was trimmed, and negotiated a deep discount (typically about 50%). As a result, I've been able to afford cards I couldn't otherwise ...

[Harliduck]

To me a trimmed card is destroyed beyond value. If it was "barely" trimmed that would be one thing, but when a card is an 1/8th shorter than the rest, can't do it. I wish I felt the way you do, that Koufax is sweet other than that.

BTW...the Boyer is completely obvious when put with another non trimmed card, unless Fleer released "mini's" that year, haha.

[HRBAKER]

The '63 Fleer issue is NOTORIOUS for miscuts, diamond cuts and the like. There is an even chance the Boyer is not trimmed and came out of the pack that way.

[ALR-bishop]

Harli- I collect post war Topps and Fleer sets and have been doing so since 1957...and all are in binders and only a handful are graded. It is possible I have a few trimmed cards in my sets but I don't care. And I like bubblegum stains on cards. Collect them how you like them.:)

[vintagetoppsguy]

Koufax is an obvious trim job. I kind of agree with the others that the Boyer may be factory miscut. I really can't tell on the Mays, but the left border looks a little supsect.

Just because a card is 1/8th" short doesn't necessarily mean it's trimmed. I've had cards that were 1/8th" too tall/wide as well. Whenever I am suspicious of a card, I take my loupe and look at the grain of the cut comparing it to others that I know are good.

[Bocabirdman]

Harli- I collect post war Topps and Fleer sets and have been doing so since 1957...and all are in binders and only a handful are graded. It is possible I have a few trimmed cards in my sets but I don't care. And I like bubblegum stains on cards. Collect them how you like them.:)

Amen

[Volod]

If the primary concern is how to detect a trimmed card in an online sale, assuming a good photo or scan of the item is available, would it not be possible to use some sort of ad lib measuring tactic on the scan itself to determine the relative size? That is, knowing the scale of certain features on a pristine example of the card set, such as the team name, relative to the actual length or breadth of the untrimmed card I would think would allow you to make a similar measurement on the screenshot of the suspect card to see if it measures up (or down). What do you think? Maybe not precise enough.

[Bocabirdman]

If the primary concern is how to detect a trimmed card in an online sale, assuming a good photo or scan of the item is available, would it not be possible to use some sort of ad lib measuring tactic on the scan itself to determine the relative size? That is, knowing the scale of certain features on a pristine example of the card set, such as the team name, relative to the actual length or breadth of the untrimmed card I would think would allow you to make a similar measurement on the screenshot of the suspect card to see if it measures up (or down). What do you think? Maybe not precise enough.

Let's see..I scroll through, let's say, 10,000 listings with my morning coffee. If I stopped to work the ratios, I would be getting up from the computer in time to go to bed....two days later:D

[skelly]

The two things in this hobby that drive me crazy are reprints and trimmed cards. I'd rather have a card that was bend / worn like crazy than a trimmed card, and I'm not exaggerating. Really bummed me out when I got back into collecting and realized that I'd "gathered" quite a few trimmed cards from years past.

[Volod]

Let's see..I scroll through, let's say, 10,000 listings with my morning coffee. If I stopped to work the ratios, I would be getting up from the computer in time to go to bed....two days later:D

OK, I got ya. My frame of reference is more like a handful of cards a week. Wasn't thinking about high volume.:D