Ebay searching

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Posted By: dwight davis

I'm wondering how the pros search for cards on Ebay. For example, if one is looking for T206 cards or T210 cards, do you just put in T206 or T210? I've noticed, for example, I get different results if I use a hyphen with T-210. Or is there a "catch all" phrase for a particular series of tobacco cards that would narrow the search?
Thanks

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Posted By: Matt

"(T206, T-206)" would cover both of those possibilities.

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Posted By: T206Collector

...in my favorites, so I don't have to type them every time, and also I get e-mails on the special ones.

My most general T206 search, for which I of course do not get e-mails for, is:

(t206,t-206,t 206,sweet caporal,piedmont) -(thong,titanium,hohner,reprint,airline,airlines,to pps,2002,02,2003,03,jersey,mantle,jordan,ericsson, nokia)

I could have added the other backs, but I was being a little lazy and figure that most people with a Broadleaf T206 card will list it as a T206. And also figure that the real back collectors already do this (and I am not a realy back collector, so what do I care?)

I also sometimes have added "tobacco card" or "tobacco baseball" in the first parenthesis.

I think the -(thong,titanium,...) is important to weed out all of the other things that are actually called T206 or have a 206 in their title.

(Yes, there is a thong like that!)

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Posted By: JK

Search tips for ebay: putting something in parens means "either/or"
putting two things in a search without parens means "and"

So, for example, if I wanted to do a search for t206's that were graded by one of the big three, I'd do the following search:

(t206, t-206) (sgc, psa, gai)

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Posted By: Matt

ROFL. That is excellent!

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Posted By: Steve Murray

To quote someone else on the board, "if we told you, we'd have to kill you".

Searching is not an exact science. Most will already have catagories bookmarked that they will peruse each day for new listings. Many will use words, such as "Obak" and search all catagories. Some will search mispellings
e.g. Matthewson for Mathewson. Some will search "old baseball card" or "old picture of a baseball player" to see what they can get.

As for T206 or T-206 I think the ebay search function is not so discriminating as to exclude one when the other has been requested. Though Zeenut and Zee-Nut will often come up with different results. To be safe I would search both. There are some major auction sites where you put in T206 and get nothing only to find there are 50 listings under T-206.

Remember that your search is for what a seller has in his listing. Some are thorough, some are scanty. For that reason there really may be no "catch phrase" that would produce the results you want.

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Posted By: Bill Todd

<Blushes> Thanks, Steve, I've never been quoted on the board before.

To answer Dwight's question, sometimes it helps to think more literally and less analytically. For example, the Hoy letter from last week was in the Collectibles | Paper category. Clever of the seller, eh?

Bill

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

I use the following to weed out a lot of the chaff that searches can produce:

-mswsports, -AAA, -Reach, -Spalding, -Putnam, -bsva, -Whitman, -Conlin, -NASA

The "minus" sign eliminates what follows from the search results. I was a happy camper the day I figured this out!

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Posted By: Bob

I wonder what the search technique is for finding E caramel cards in minor league baseball or rookie card lots or in some odd tobacco collectible area? There seems to be some key word like "vintage" or merely searching a player's name that allows some of the guys here to come up with incredible finds in bizarre sections. I give them credit for sorting through tons of garbage to find jewels and there is also the element of sheer dumb luck. I've only had it happen three times to me, once I found a T207 Loudermilk in a tobacco non-sports section but was outbid because at that the time I didn't have a sniper service and someone else stumbled on it to it also (about 7 years ago and an exmt Loudy went for $400), the second time I was about to win an M116 slabbed Wood in seeming nrmt which was slabbed as authentic and autographed and was sniped by a couple of dollars by the only other guy who found it and he was more interested in the autograph instead of the card itself and the last time I won a black and white E97 for $150 which was listed in the "paper" section of collectibles. Of course the way B&W E97s have been sliding lately it isn't as great a deal as it once was but still a nice pickup.
I remember someone here picked up an exish E94 Leach for $25 about 3 years ago that was horribly miscategorized. Anyone care to chime in on that one?

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Posted By: dwight davis

I appreciate all the great information.
Still searching for uncle Rube - T210 Eldridge, Greensboro, Series 5

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Posted By: Sean BH

My secret eBay search is - EX-Boyfriend's Baseball Cards

Enjoy!

sdbh

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Posted By: I'mthenextposter

Dwight (and anyone else)

I've tried this before. Pulled up Ebay's website. From the main page I went under "Collectibles" & typed in "tobacco card". I have done this before in the past & found T206 and T205 cards there. Hope this helps you or any other forum member.

My secret is out, Jantz

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Posted By: Geno

If you want the really rare finds, try "grandfather's attic" - it's sure to turn up some Wagners, Planks, etc...

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Posted By: Alan

A related general question to all of you experts - Am I correct in assuming that most serious collectors search ebay daily if not multiple times a day that when some desirable card comes up, everyone knows about, regardless if they bid or not ? Thanks.

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Posted By: leon

I am not an expert but think it's safe to say that many, if not most, folks that avidly collect, search ebay almost everyday....if they are on the net that day....I do....regards