Burbank Sportscards and others

[CMIZ5290]

I get so sick and tired of these dealers selling T206 reprints on Ebay, and clogging up the whole thread. Why in the hell can't there be a different category for this nonsense??

[vintagebb2014]

You are spot on! In addition to the hundreds of reprints being offered, they offer catalog representation photographs of the card that you are bidding on instead of the exact card. No Thanks. If I wanted a surprise I would purchase boxes of Cracker Jacks. This is why I try to do business with Net54 members every chance that I get on B/S/T.

[doug.goodman]

Prior to their website coming into existence, BBSC was one of the top 5 card stores in the country. I feel like I can make that declaration based on my visits to hundreds of stores all over the country. The other top 5 were in St Louis, Grand Rapids, Denver and I forget the other.

They had thousands of boxes of cards, most sorted by number for every imaginable year of all the major issues. They were by far the best store for trying to find weird Topps baseball variations, especially when it involved the backs, because they had so many cards. And they were up the street from my house, so they were the perfect store.

Then they started their website, and moved their building, and made it so only their staff could look in the boxes. Even when you went into the store, they had you enter the cards you were looking for on a computer set up in the small public area, then they would bring you a selection of that card for you to choose from.

They instantly went from by far the best, to not even on the list, and they didn't care at all. Happy to sell to the online purchaser who took what he was given, as opposed to a local walk in customer who had opinions.

And every picture on their website was stock.

After spending thousands of dollars with them for cards and supplies, they basically told me they didn't need me as a customer. So I have never been back, preferring to pay shipping for supplies than to give my money to a local business who don't care about my money, because it's small potatoes compared to their internet sales.

They don't care that they are clogging up your ebay searches, because some people buy their items because of it, so they win, and the real baseball collector loses.

Doug

[Peter_Spaeth]

According to ebay, they have over 2 MILLION listings. That's a lot of scanning, if nothing else.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?item=...scards&_sop=10

[pclpads]

May have the same biz philosophy as United: "Treat the paying customers like s**t."

[clydepepper]

I use Burbank as my source for any modern cards I may want - very dependable dealer within that area...no vintage, but I have, on occasion, purchased 'art cards' if they are a 'new' photo and have 'legit' card backs.

[Den*nis O*Brien]

....hear of the decline of service and customer service ethic at Burbank. In the early to late 1990s they were terrific. There was a young guy and his Mom that were the movers and shakers there. Very nice people to talk to and do business with. They sold my wife cards as birthday & Christmas presents based on my previous purchases and her description of my focus on Chicago sports. I have a Charlie Trippi card from them that I treasure. The young guy told my wife "If he doesn't like it he can shave with it because it is so perfect". They never failed to deliver nice vintage material (Early '50's) in an honest and straight forward manor. "Oh well"...as a friend used to say when disappointed.

[Steve D]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

According to ebay, they have over 2 MILLION listings. That's a lot of scanning, if nothing else.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?item=...scards&_sop=10

I believe they use "stock" photos, as opposed to scanning every single card. They may have hundreds of examples of a particular card, but they scan only one of the copies, and use that scan for every listing of a copy of that card.

I haven't bought from them in a couple of years, but when I have, I've always received outstanding service.

Steve

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by Steve D

I haven't bought from them in a couple of years, but when I have, I've always received outstanding service.

Steve

I buy from them now & then & have never had a problem. The cards come quick & are packaged well.
Wouldn't hesitate to deal w/ them again.

[Ronnie73]

My biggest issue with Burbank is if it's a serial numbered card, they don't tell you the actual number it is. Some details are actually important to some of us. Otherwise, I have all my saved searches with a -reprint added to the search line. It weeds out most but not all.

[insidethewrapper]

How does that work when you have "Millions" of items on ebay. Anchor stores get 10,000 free per month. Do they have to pay for all the listings over 10,000 each month ? That would be a lot of listing fees. Does anyone know ?

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

How does that work when you have "Millions" of items on ebay. Anchor stores get 10,000 free per month. Do they have to pay for all the listings over 10,000 each month ? That would be a lot of listing fees. Does anyone know ?

Burbank SC is one of the "pioneers" of Beckett Business Solutions....it allows them to list millions of cards at a low cost due to the negotiated deal between ebay and BBS. Here is a 3 year old post with the details of the BBS offer (it may have changed since):

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=205407

[lentel]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Prior to their website coming into existence, BBSC was one of the top 5 card stores in the country. I feel like I can make that declaration based on my visits to hundreds of stores all over the country. The other top 5 were in St Louis, Grand Rapids, Denver and I forget the other.

They had thousands of boxes of cards, most sorted by number for every imaginable year of all the major issues. They were by far the best store for trying to find weird Topps baseball variations, especially when it involved the backs, because they had so many cards. And they were up the street from my house, so they were the perfect store.

Then they started their website, and moved their building, and made it so only their staff could look in the boxes. Even when you went into the store, they had you enter the cards you were looking for on a computer set up in the small public area, then they would bring you a selection of that card for you to choose from.

They instantly went from by far the best, to not even on the list, and they didn't care at all. Happy to sell to the online purchaser who took what he was given, as opposed to a local walk in customer who had opinions.

And every picture on their website was stock.

After spending thousands of dollars with them for cards and supplies, they basically told me they didn't need me as a customer. So I have never been back, preferring to pay shipping for supplies than to give my money to a local business who don't care about my money, because it's small potatoes compared to their internet sales.

They don't care that they are clogging up your ebay searches, because some people buy their items because of it, so they win, and the real baseball collector loses.

Doug

yep totally agree...loved that store bought a lot of topps sets when they were burbank coins and sports cards.. they let you go through the boxes and pick the cards you wanted..when they move across the street thing changed drastically...also went in once and told myself never again

[LuckyLarry]

I was shopping for some football card variations at Burbank Sportscards and found several hits. When the cards arrived they were not the cards pictured. Then I read the small print that Burbank Sportscards uses stock photos. My question is, if they use stock photos, why does the stock photo often depict the variation? Customer service offered a speedy and full refund, but it was such a small amount I just said forget it.
Larry Tipton

[clydepepper]

Just to be devil's advocate for a moment- This is a general statement, not specifically directed at Burbank specifically.

Once the online market got to a certain point, it becomes necessary to have an always-current online inventory.

That is impossible to maintain if you are still set up to do business in brick and mortar.

I have had occasion to try to deal with someone who did not set that as a high priority and they quickly lost my business.

Obviously, the online market is much larger than even the most loyal walk-in buyers...and so it goes...

The use of stock card photos is something I avoid on vintage cards, but have no big issue with using them for the modern cards...as long as the seller accepts returns.

This, of course, is common knowledge - just stating a reminder.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Once the online market got to a certain point, it becomes necessary to have an always-current online inventory.

That is impossible to maintain if you are still set up to do business in brick and mortar.

I respectfully disagree.

They obviously keep track of their inventory via software on a computer, so they could easily remove from inventory purchases from their brick & mortar store the same way they do it for an online customer. Card by card. As they sell. Easy.

They made a business decision that dealing with a customer such as myself in person, who wants specific cards in specific conditions, with specific variations, isn't worth their time for the money I would spend.

I wasn't happy about their decision, so I stopped spending any money with them.

I am speaking about Burbank specifically, but my point is still valid as a general statement.

When I have the option as a customer to not do business with a company who I believe doesn't treat me with the minimum amount of respect that I deserve, I then stop doing business with them.

That is why I haven't been in Dodger Stadium for more than seven years (and counting), even though I'm a life long Dodgers fan, and former season ticket holder, who doesn't get the right channels to watch them on TV. I root for them to win, but have given them none of my money since 2010, and plan on giving them the same amount during upcoming seasons.

I'm typing this while sitting on a United Airlines flight, running the risk of being dragged from the plane, if I piss them off, but they were the only airline that flies the route I need at the time I need, so I'm keeping my head down and praying for my checked bag to be waiting at the other end.

Doug "ranting" Goodman

[seinbigd]

Quick Question: Who are your "Top Five" that carries a similar level of inventory as Burbank?