Buyer's Remorse in a Virtual Marketplace

[JasonL]

Here's a general question for the populace, as I would be interested to hear other folks' thoughts on what happened to me with a relatively recent purchase for my T206 collection (yes, I have finally decided that I have one of these collections too).

In today's world of buying probably the majority of one's collection virtually, online in some way, where the only thing you see of a card is a scan or digital image before you buy it, I was wondering how many times has this happened to you?
You buy the card, thinking it looks great, and you think it does, or might, or someday could, fit into your collection.
Then you get it delivered.
-And you wonder why you bought it.
-Not because you are disappointed in the quality.
-Not because you feel it was misrepresented in the sale.

Just because you don't like it as much as you thought you did based on seeing it online. The pride of ownership just isn't what you thought it was going to be...or it's significantly less than it might be if you had made the decision in person at a show or a shop....

This happened to me recently with a T206 Lake. I just don't see what appealed to me about the card. Perfectly fine and smooth transaction and the card looks like it's supposed to. I am just not so sure I would have bought it had I seen it in person.

any similar stories?

(not including late night alcohol-aided decisions on Ebay bidding!)

[docpatlv]

Jason,

In the past, I was guilty of making purchases at card shows (for the sole purpose of not walking out empty-handed) that I may have felt a little buyer's "remorse". But generally they were not high-dollar purchases.

On e-bay, I have made purchases that I wasn't happy with, primarily due to the fact that the card did not look as nice as it did in the scan (i.e. creases not showing up in scan and not disclosed in description). I did keep the cards because I needed them for my sets. I also take the blame in that I did not inquire about such discrepancies prior to my purchase.

I have, in more recent years, become much more selective in my purchases and try to purchase items that I know I will enjoy having in my collection for the "long haul".

Mike

[Matt]

I'm with Mike - with online purchases I have plenty of time to think about the card and make a decision; at a show there's a much greater opportunity to come away with an impulse purchase of something you really don't need.

[smtjoy]

It's happened to me a number of times, when I got back into collecting 5 years ago I didnt have a real good direction on what I was collecting and I purchased a number of cards that I didnt end up liking. I sold most of those in short order, the good side of ebay is it's easy to get your money back on these. I think a key to avoiding this is collecting cards/sets you like. I do some type and player card collecting but I only collect the cards I like, I'm not a huge fan of strip cards so I dont buy them any more even if a player I collect has one. I have learned this from buying a couple and feeling the way you do. I will say for every card I get with this feeling, I get 5 that I just love and now want more of them, haha.

I have also had this feeling when I was working on a large set and I just got tired of all the cards looking the same to me, told me I needed a charge/break or just needed to stop collecting that set.

Collecting should be fun!

[Rob D.]

Judging by what I see often on the B/S/T and by referencing VCP, I think a lot of board members try to remedy buyer's remorse by simply adding 10 to 20 percent to their purchase price and trying to resell the card.

[JasonL]

a 10-20% return should alleviate any ill wills you may have towards a new purchase!

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Rob D.

Judging by what I see often on the B/S/T and by referencing VCP, I think a lot of board members remedy buyer's remorse by simply adding 10 to 20 percent to their purchase price and trying to resell the card.

I make sure to add $2 to my price, but only after someone tells me they are interested.

In all seriousness, I've found it hard to unload remorse purchases on the BST, even at the amount they were purchased for.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Many times I will be waiting and waiting for a card and it finally comes up and I win it. I'm so happy until the next week when out of nowhere the same card pops up, looks a little nicer, and sells for about 30% less than what I paid for it.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Matt

In all seriousness, I've found it hard to unload remorse purchases on the BST, even at the amount they were purchased for.

Me too...my sales haven't really been remorseful, but as a result of narrowing my focus...I hardly ever get what I paid for an item on the BST...often though I don't even try to get what I paid because I know I overpaid when I purchased or the market is no longer what it was.

[bosoxphan]

Originally Posted by JohnnyHarmonica

Many times I will be waiting and waiting for a card and it finally comes up and I win it. I'm so happy until the next week when out of nowhere the same card pops up, looks a little nicer, and sells for about 30% less than what I paid for it.

Yeah that sucks. One person is out of the bidding helping to boost up the price. Some sets one person not bidding makes a big difference esp if there is only one other who really wants it.