Posted By:
JimI wondered myself. Many of his auctions end at $70.-$100., and they are always commons in poor-fair condition. So - I asked him. He was pretty defensive. I told him I wasn't questioning his ethic, just asking how he did it - great marketing? ; ) He was the one that said "no shill bidding going on here..", I never even brought it up (apparently he has been asked before). I told him - and this is the truth - I am accusing him of nothing - just making a very harmless inquiry. I sell alot of T206s on Ebay, and I average about $15. - $20. tops for a common in lower-end condition. He believes that saying "rare" or "old" "vintage card" in his heading is what does it. He says alot of people do searches by "old tobacco cards". The whole discussion got a little messy, so I thanked him for the time and let it go. It is certainly not my place to make accusations or claims against anyone.
By the way - I don't consider Sovereign backs rare at all. When I buy big lots of cards (100-1000) I typically get 15-30% that are Sovereign. I find that alot of places throw a bunch in now, so the lot isn't consisted "just" of Piedmont and Sweet Cap's. Actually, I don't think Old Mill is very rare either. Right now, I am finding Hindu tough, and Carolina Brights increasingly difficult. Of course Drum and Lenox are hard. Broadleaf is also becoming more scarce (probably because collectors are holding them, more hesitant to let them go). The surprise for me has been that, Polar Bear is becoming Very Hard to find. Two years ago I was finding lots that were 40% Polar Bear. Now - one, maybe two. Funny how these things fluctuate.