"Scans available upon request"

[mechanicalman]

I am relatively new to the forum, but it's become a habit to check the BST at least once or twice a day. (Thank goodness for an alternative to eBay). Occasionally, I click on a headline that seems appealing, only to find nothing but text and no pictures. This is accompanied by "PM for scans" or "Email for scans..."

What is the point of this? I can't imagine any savvy collector would by a card without scans, so why require the extra work on behalf of both parties? Clearly you have to take scans of the image in case anyone requests them, so why not post them to your listing? Is it a sales tactic to drive engagement?

I own a company that sells products online, and our understanding is that the more work a person has to do to complete a purchase, the less likely the transaction will come to fruition. So, my recommendation would be to show your product upfront, but if there's something I'm missing, I would love to hear other thoughts.