[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Snowman

I agree with Andrew. Auctioning off cards on ebay as a regular seller with no following is a pretty big gamble unless it's a very high profile key vintage card and you have high quality images. But if you're just selling lower end stuff or even cards below $500 or so, you're often going to be severely disappointed in your hammer prices because you don't have the following like Greg Morris has.

I also sell almost entirely through buy it now listings, and I've had excellent results.

Another aspect that I think people might be overlooking is that eye appeal has become a much bigger factor in hammer prices than it was in years past. I think this is largely due to PSA's moving of the goalposts in recent years, which has caused buyers to examine the spectrum of conditions within grade more closely. If you have a lower eye appeal card, or an old cert, you are going to get absolutely crushed at auction. On the flip side though, if you have a dead centered key vintage card that looks under graded, it's often going to sell for double or even triple "comps". Buyers have always paid a premium for eye appeal, but now, they're paying massive premiums for it.

I hope you don't take offense to this Bobby, because it certainly isn't intended to, but I believe this is what happened with your 55B Mays. I saw that listing and it looked like it should have had a miscut qualifier on it to me, or at least very very close if not. Yours sold for $204, but it's not because the market took a dive, it was because the buyers were looking at the card and not the grade. The very next week, the same card with stronger centering did $316 at auction in the same grade.

You know...I actually graded TWO 1955 Bowman Mays. One got a two...the other a three. I always thought the two looked nicer than the three. I wonder if PSA accidentally switched the flips on the cards?? Wouldn't surprise me.