Hey gang,
Brand new to the forums -- been using the site for a few months. Recently, my 9 yr old got into collecting and that naturally got me back into the hobby. We're both hooked. Anyway, I've been slowly starting to put together the Topps sets from the 50s, mostly buying lots of the commons, but starting to move up the food chain. I'm a bit wary given everything I've read in these forums and elsewhere about the dirty side of the hobby.
What finally convinced me to register and join the board was this thread. I've participated in many of the battlefield auctions, but have always had a sinking feeling about them. Just a gut feel that something wasn't quite right.
Anyway, in most of the auctions, I've bowed out early as the prices have run up, but I have won a few (56 aaron, 56 clemente, 55 kaline). My general rule is not to bid more than 1-1.5 grades less than my assessment of the cards given the scans and the description (which are always a bit hyperbolic). I'm very happy with the Kaline and the Aaron, but the Clemente was a bit disappointing. My fault though, because the printing imperfections on his face are clear in the scans, in spite of the "Amazing color and awesome eye appeal!!!" description.
Questions: how can one detect shill bidding? Also, does anyone know anything about this seller or have an alternative point of view? Any recommendations on honest sellers for 50s cards?
fwiw, here is the kaline:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
and the clemente:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
1,000 apologies for the novel on my first post. Promise to be more concise in the future!
Cheers,
Jason