The endless debate

[Snapolit1]

about whether to buy at auction houses, ebay, buying on BST here, shows, etc., etc. Like many of you I've bought all of the above over time.

After months of looking at stupid prices on eBay ("I bought the card from PWCC for $700 in January. . . . now I'll do a BIN at $1500.....), I'm done with BIN. Just bought three items from Al and happy with what I got all 3 of them for. Time and again I buy a sharp looking 5 or 6 from an auction house and see three jokers selling the same card on eBay graded A and looking like trash for the same price, if not more. I know there is price explosion in many areas, but c'mon. Love buying her on BST. Never anything less than a great experience.

I know, buy a BIN if the price is fair and you want it now, but I'm seeing fewer and fewer BIN listings that are tethered to reality.

[vintagetoppsguy]

"I bought the card from PWCC for $700 last week. . . . now I'll do a BIN at $1500.....

I fixed it for you :D

Agree with you on the BST and some great board members!

[Snapolit1]

deleted; wrong board

[Leon]

deleted; wrong board

The debate on where to buy transcends all sections!!

:) ...certainly a topic we all think about a whole lot. My guess is most of us buy everywhere. However, I sold a card to a middle aged guy at the show I set up at this last weekend. He said he doesn't buy online at all. Never has.

.

[Exhibitman]

To each his own. In the last week I've BINed two tough regionals off my want list at reasonable prices. Remember, even a busted clock is right twice a day.

[glynparson]

Eliminating one just gives others more opportunities so please keep limiting your options. Frees up more opportunities for others.

[Edwolf1963]

You have to fish around a bit, but there are some BINs that come up at reasonable prices or better if someone just wants to unload and not play a waiting/auction game. Agreed there are way too many museum prices and those you noted buying/flipping at double or more. I wish eBay would figure out a way to limit those same cards, prices, people who have the same listings for a year or more. I guess counter-productive for eBay if they can make money on them, but I thought even "good 'till cancelled" had some recurring listing fees associated no matter how much you sold thru them? Hell, even at .65 cents - that's over $23 if your listing has lingered on for 3 years.

BST and AH's are definitely more attractive for me, but there are so many (AH's) now - I can't keep track of who/what/when .. even with Auction Report they don't capture everyone (like Bussineau for example .. yeah I know - he doesn't pay to play). I love Heritage but with the recent tax hit, I can't really compete anymore with those in states they say they don't have physical presence. I have to factor in now 26% - 28% hit btw that and BP. Funny how they sent physical location notifications in some 10-15 add'l states all at once last summer :confused: Al/LOTG (as you noted), Goodwin, REA, Lee (Sterling), Brockelman, etc. are some favorites I look for. I like Sirius Sports Cards and Baggers as well, but they're more into post-war and I don't focus there too much anymore. Mile High and Memory Lane are good IMO, but they pad their bottom line with higher than most shipping & "handling" fees (they're relatively minor, but they're "nickel & dime'ish" nonetheless) and I think Mile High is at a league-leading 21.5% BP on top of that now for payment w/CC/PayPal. My last invoice was over $36 to ship btw for 9 cards. :mad:

I'd say be patient, pick your shots, weed through those known flippers and/or remove them from your consideration or search. You can put in eBay search (-mikedenero) for example. No offense to just him, but he's a known flipper - - he's actually good enough to list his name in the listings so you can search for or eliminate him if you so choose :)

[Billy5858]

You have to fish around a bit, but there are some BINs that come up at reasonable prices or better if someone just wants to unload and not play a waiting/auction game. Agreed there are way too many museum prices and those you noted buying/flipping at double or more. I wish eBay would figure out a way to limit those same cards, prices, people who have the same listings for a year or more. I guess counter-productive for eBay if they can make money on them, but I thought even "good 'till cancelled" had some recurring listing fees associated no matter how much you sold thru them? Hell, even at .65 cents - that's over $23 if your listing has lingered on for 3 years.

BST and AH's are definitely more attractive for me, but there are so many (AH's) now - I can't keep track of who/what/when .. even with Auction Report they don't capture everyone (like Bussineau for example .. yeah I know - he doesn't pay to play). I love Heritage but with the recent tax hit, I can't really compete anymore with those in states they say they don't have physical presence. I have to factor in now 26% - 28% hit btw that and BP. Funny how they sent physical location notifications in some 10-15 add'l states all at once last summer :confused: Al/LOTG (as you noted), Goodwin, REA, Lee (Sterling), Brockelman, etc. are some favorites I look for. I like Sirius Sports Cards and Baggers as well, but they're more into post-war and I don't focus there too much anymore. Mile High and Memory Lane are good IMO, but they pad their bottom line with higher than most shipping & "handling" fees (they're relatively minor, but they're "nickel & dime'ish" nonetheless) and I think Mile High is at a league-leading 21.5% BP on top of that now for payment w/CC/PayPal. My last invoice was over $36 to ship btw for 9 cards. :mad:

I'd say be patient, pick your shots, weed through those known flippers and/or remove them from your consideration or search. You can put in eBay search (-mikedenero) for example. No offense to just him, but he's a known flipper - - he's actually good enough to list his name in the listings so you can search for or eliminate him if you so choose :)

+1. * I've seen some OK deals on Denero at time but usually not stuff I'm collecting.
Also he has a payment plan for us broke peasants out here

[TanksAndSpartans]

Unfortunately Denero stopped listing his name. I eliminated BIN from my saved eBay searches by specifying Format = Auction. I just found it wasn't worth the time to sift through the extra emails. Of course there are sellers who do auctions at a really high starting price for a short duration and then just restart it when it ends with no bidders - that's really..... annoying. And I agree about there being so many AHs now. The ones that send me a catalog or post here on net54 like LOTG, I tend not to miss. One I always miss is Kevin Savage - every time I look at SCD I see the ads but because I get my SCD second hand, the auctions are always over by the time I see it.

[clydepepper]

I buy everywhere but I still have difficulty not buying emotionally...so, even though my market is wide-spread (relatively), I don't always get the price I want. BINs have the effect of making it an impulse buy - if I'm not careful.

The research I do is probably not as extensive as it should be: I check the Krause Vintage Catalog, the PSA online SMR and sales history on EBAY to get an idea what a reasonable price will be.

I'm always open to hearing suggestions.

-Raymond

[mechanicalman]

I've bought some decent T206 HoFers as BINs from "jaysace" recently. Prices were not absurd. Only challenge is that he is far too liberal with the word "centered" in his listings.

[pokerplyr80]

I've bought some decent T206 HoFers as BINs from "jaysace" recently. Prices were not absurd. Only challenge is that he is far too liberal with the word "centered" in his listings.

That challenge is not limited to jaysace as I see it all the time, especially on the Mantles I'm looking for. 60/40 one way and 80/20 the other is not centered. Some have some nasty tilt too.

To the OPS question I have picked up a couple of cards recently on ebay BINs or best offers that I felt were fair. I did have to search through quite a few listings to find them though. I also bid in many auctions and have bought and sold a few privately. I'm open to all options if I like the card and the price.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

I gotta say as a seller I was stunned when I switched from 100% auctions to some BIN's (the vast majority of which I take offers on) I couldn't believe how many people were willing to pay more on a BIN than they would for the same card at auction. My business is now probably 95% BIN and it's the market that drove me in that direction. That being said I think my BIN's are fair and most offers I accept are bargains.

[ValKehl]

John, I receive frequent (weekly?) emails from Kevin Savage which contain the link to his web site, where his next few upcoming auctions are readily available for viewing and bidding. I don't recall how I got on Kevin's email list, but I would think he would be glad to add you to his distribution list if you contact him.
Val

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Val - I'll reach out and try to get on the Kevin Savage email list. A few auctions back he auctioned off a complete mid-grade 35 National Chicle football set - some of them went low too so I was kicking myself, but then I figured it would never happen again so I didn't do anything about it.

[Dewey]

I've had one decent BIN in 6 months. Worth it.

[Exhibitman]

Look, I will pay more on a BIN for certainty, if the card is a toughie. The item I scored last week is one of the rarest regionals ever made but is also obscure:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/dropins/websize/1968%20Atlantic%20Oil%20Davis%20AL%20SP.jpg

1968 Atlantic Oil Davis. This card was the winning SP for the 2nd prize of $100 in the sweepstakes. I cannot believe there were more than a handful made and I have to believe that all that surfaced in 1968 would have been redeemed for the prize. I'd never seen one offered before. If this card had been offered as an auction at the price I paid but with a BIN substantially higher I'd have BINed it anyway.

Besides obvious rarities like the Davis card, I also check VCP to see how many have transacted. I BINed a card recently at substantially higher than VCP because there were only a handful of sales in any condition in the last five years and it had been on my want list for a while.