How long has this been going on on eBay?

[tbob]

I admit I spend 99% of my eBay time in the prewar card section but recently I bought a nice 1955 Bowman baseball set and have been busy upgrading it to make it high grade. In searching the listings I noticed a lot of "generic" pictures of the cards and then in small letters the actual grade of the card being sold (with no scan). The pictures shown are very deceptive to the casual buyer, we on the 54 Board of course know better so we look at the fine print. The scans come from Beckett and many, many sellers use them, especially in the "store" section. So, what you get is an Ernie Banks card for sale with nothing in the title as to condition, a scan of an EXMT Banks, and then a tiny, "oh by the way," the offered card is G/VG.
When did this start? I sure hope it doesn't make its way in to the pre-war section

[buymycards]

The Beckett website is the same way. They have hundreds of 55 Bowmans, but all of the photos are stock photos of a great looking card. I don't even check Beckett any more because I never know what I will get. One mans EX is another man's VG.

BTW, I am about 35 cards away from a VG/EX 55 Bowman set. I love the cards and the hunt for the remaining cards.

Good luck in your quest.

Rick

[leftygrove10]

There is a dealer on eBay (and Beckett) that lists Goudeys for sale. The only photo that is shown is the Beckett stock photo. He specifies the condition of the particular card that is for sale. I asked him for a scan of one of the cards several months ago. He replied and said that he has millions of cards and does not have time to scan all of them for which he gets scan requests. As long as his attitude does not change, I will not be buying any cards from him. Maybe one day he'll realize that he's better off showing scans of the actual cards rather than the Beckett stock photos.