Golden and Goodwin
 

Like their catalogs. A nice simple description as to what the item is. Not line after line after paragraph with overheated hyperbole about how you've stumbled upon the most magical rare unicorn that has ever been spotted. With some of these guys you can hear the thesaurus flipping furiously in the background. Kind of ridiculous, as I am sure 99% of their audience is very well informed.

I'm confused. Goodwin is one of the main storytellers on describing cards. Sometimes I feel as though I'm reading a short story when looking at one of his cards.

Maybe. Messed that one up. Was just looking at some old auction results. Maybe they pare them back after the auction.

you actually read those?

Where in the simple description below does it describe why the card graded authentic?

If the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is the post WWII “Holy Grail”, then the 1951 Bowman Mantle rookie must be considered the “Mona Lisa”. For whatever reason, the Mantle Topps rookie soared to utmost popularity during the height of the card market explosion. Yet, what many people forget is that the “TRUE” Mantle rookie card is his 1951 Bowman issue. Mickey Mantle’s Bowman rookie card is one of the cornerstone of card collecting, and in PSA’s “Top 250 Sportscards” publication, is listed as the 8th best card in the hobby! However Mantle’s mystique was established, no one will argue that his Bowman rookie image, with his #6 uniform number, will forever be embedded in hobby folklore, and is one of the few post WWII cards that surpasses most of the high-end pre-WWII cards. The ‘Mick’s” lifetime batting statistics, while impressive, were not overwhelming. Yet, his unquestionable power, long tape measure home runs and overall love for the game and fans add to the legacy of this card. He was Goliath, Davey Crockett, John Wayne and Joe DiMaggio all rolled up into one super icon, the ultimate embodiment of a National hero.

Thanks you
And it's GOLDIN Auctions. I not E

It the same as actually reading why a seller wants to sell cards in a bin listing 'pay medical bills, or taxes' yet the listing keeps being relisted week after week! If they don't have to sell the cards for the highest offer they get no matter what is by a certain date then why bother giving a reason why they have to sell the cards..

The way I look at it, the long paragraphs just give them more chances to use words incorrectly, make typos and grammatical errors, and bollix up the layout. It sets my editor teeth on edge, but after a while it's like a bad wreck: horrible but you can't look away.

Bill Todd, editor extraordinaire

Oh, you can look away, easily.

Generally speaking, I presume that most auction participants would not need to be reminded that Ty Cobb or Mickey Mantle, for example, were actually skilled ballplayers, so I don't know why the descriptions wax poetically about HOF stats. I do see value, however, with describing the provenance of more rare issues, as Heritage did with Leon's collection.

Additionally, I tend to call BS when every single description claims that at least one facet of the card is "worthy of a higher grade." Just ONCE, I'd love to read a description that says something like, "Generously graded a PSA 5 by PSA, the rounded corners and 65/35 centering appear worthy of a VG/EX assessment."

Yes, I've noticed that everything is always graded very tough, and it's face appeal is always much higher than the stated grade. De rigueur.

But again, why wax poetic about what a good hitter Ty Cobb is, or how unfair Satchel Paige was treated, or talk about the historic importance of Jackie Robinson outside baseball. Not exactly breaking news.

I've seen REA do that occasionally. I imagine his consignors either OKd it or were not terribly happy about it.

you forget 'candidate for a bump' and when emailing offers you get back from the seller 'I may send in the card to psa myself' just send it in already..

or when really poor condition card, 'aside from the hole at the top and the crease down the middle tremendous eye appeal for the grade'

I believe Rob Lifson does what you suggest. Go back and check through his auctions. I did it on one of my cards, but it was exactly one. SGC definitely missed the ball on something one time, and I had to make note of it. The buyers saw it in the scan anyway, so why lie?

Agreed. Same with the history of well known cards, like the story about how cases of 52 Topps high numbers were dumped in the ocean.

For auctions in general, Sometimes I read the descriptions and they can be entertaining. Most times I look at the card and try to get to the (hopeful) part of a description that tells about the card just in case there is something which can't be seen from a scan. I was looking at a beautiful SGC 30 something or another a day or two ago and had to look hard to see the wrinkle, but it was there. Had it been a higher grade I might not have looked so hard for a problem with it.

I believe that Rob Lifson has stated that if he feels the card is over-graded, REA will not accept it unless the seller agrees to his assessment of the card in that respect being included in the description.

Best Holiday wishes,

Larry