[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

I said they are not listed in his store..would be paypal..talking 12,000 range...

He understands that. Do you not understand what he's doing? Chris is looking at the guy's selling history on eBay, to see if he's ever sold high value vintage or pre-war cards before. If his history showed things like a 1952 Topps Eddie Mathews PSA graded, Play Ball Dimaggios, HGoudey Jimmie Foxxes, etc, that would at least show that he's dealt in high value cards before. All he's seeing are cards printed post year 2000 for the most part, and no cards costing over a few hundred bucks. Nothing to make him, or me, for that matter, expect this guy to suddenly have $12,000 of legit cards. It doesn't mean he couldn't have them, it just means historically he hasn't offered cards anywhere near that valuable before.

Originally Posted by Tao_Moko

You remind me an awful lot of a previous board member.

I was thinking the same thing.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Where does a guy who deals primarily in new junk come up with a 52T Mathews in a 6? Wow.

Personally, I would not pay 12K to someone I didn't know or who wasn't well known to someone I trusted. Probably only a small risk, but why take one at all? Or buy one or two cards, and if it works out buy more.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Peter.

If this guy has a '52 Mantle, I'm asking some questions. I'm wanting to know how he came to own it. How long has he owned it? If he's owned it for a while, one would expect he has insurance on it to prevent against theft or fire damage. Can he show proof of ownership (provenance)? Can he show proof of insurance? There's no paper trail on eBay.

What we're all seeing here would be analogous to a Yugo dealer back in the 80s suddenly selling a Jaguar XJS worth more than every car on his lot.

Before you even think about committing that kind of money to a guy that you know nothing about, and thus far, none of us have ever heard of, you best do your homework.

Me? I wouldn't risk buying a '52 Topps Mantle from him, not when there are several available from sellers that I already know beyond a shadow of a doubt are reputable. It's just not smart business practice.