Have to agree that Dean's and others (Levi and 707 Sportscards were the original eBay overpriced, non-negotiators on the web with a huge inventory, before them in the days of just websites it seemed to be Bill Henderson who had not so much overpriced, but just so many horribly OVERGRADED cards...I digress) have frustrated me for some time. There have already been countless examples on this thread, but here was mine:
Going after a '67 Topps set - and got my SGC 5.5 Brooks Robinson high number for ~$125. What doest Dean want for a comparable version of the same card on his website - $350 / 315 after a "discount"?
https://www.deanscards.com/p/225346/...rooks-Robinson
I had seen several other things in my search results that just bothered me, so I emailed the link to Dean's in their eBay auctions and pretty much just point blank asked how they stay in business by charging such egregious prices. This is the (no doubt canned) response - although it was within about 5 minutes... I got back:
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Hello,
Your input is greatly appreciated. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that our pricing is perfect! As you may know Dean’s Cards has a million cards online. Keeping up with prices of each individual card is beyond the ability of any human, so Dean has developed software that sets and adjusts our prices automatically. These prices are determined by many factors, including the availability of a given card, recent sales, and market prices. Prices which turn out to be high will automatically adjust down to the correct price if they do not sell. Please also realize that we do not negotiate prices. Dean’s Cards has built in volume discounts that take effect when your order reaches $50. This policy allows our customers to rest assured that they are receiving our “best price.”
I hope this all makes sense. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help. Have a great day.
Thanks,
The Team at Dean’s
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Um, ok...I'm sorry but what? "Keeping up with prices of each individual card is beyond the ability of any human..." Uh, no wait - so that would be WRONG - whether you use something as simple as an eBay completed items search, or PSA Auction Prices Realized - or want more detail and pay for a monthly VCP subscription - it IS totally possible in 2018 to keep up with the fair market price of a pretty specific type of card at least in the ballpark condition-wise of what you are looking for. Beyond that for one, I have never seen them obviously reduce card prices month after month if something high-end and ridiculously overpriced sits there forever and does not sell. Maybe it happens, but it would certainly not appear to be a policy. I doubt for the type of cards I collect (usually mid- to lower-grade HOFers from the 1970's and earlier...) that I'll be seeking Dean's out anytime soon. A few months ago, I was part of a card group on Facebook that had to counsel a guy who was new to the group to RETURN cards to Deans, rather than pay the exorbitant prices. I think he had bought a PSA 1 T205 Mathewson for something like $500...I think some of the previous comments here on folks that simply don't know any better - or those that see eBay as some type of "risk" - are applicable. I have no doubt that his customer service skills are good, but sheesh. It's not worth all that, certainly not with the variety that is present either at arm's length - or with eBay - usually within a week's length - for increasingly little risk.
Not to be overly negative, so I will try to end on a high note - I do think that Dean's grading is accurate, (just based on the scale I've seen him use and his descriptions of cards on his site) and I have used his photo resource as a good guide for others who are new to grading. They even have a video on grading which is more or less on the money. The site as a whole is also a pretty decent resource on baseball cards - I guess just because his inventory is apparently so massive.