ebay Phil Rizutto psa 5.5 sells for $650?

[1952boyntoncollector]

what gives..

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...84.m1435.l2765

[vintagetoppsguy]

The card sold for PSA 7 type money because it has tremendous eye appeal. If I hadn't seen the flip and we were playing the 'guess the grade' game, I would have guessed and 8 or 8.5.

Edited to add: Someone bought the card and not the grade. Good for them.

[1952boyntoncollector]

i guess..but its not like rizzutos are hard to find centered...

[steve B]

Unless it's the hint of staining that might be on the back I don't see what knocks that one down.

Centered isn't really tough, but centered with nice corners good maybe excellent registration and nice color ..........That's a really nice card.

Steve B

[1952boyntoncollector]

but its a psa 5.5..thats pretty specific..not to be even a psa 6...got to be somthing to knock it down if centering and corners are great


on the sirrus acution ending on the same day a Rizzuto PSA 5 sold for 143 with BP...

i wonder if the guy actually paid for the 5.5

[autograf]

No one with feedback greater than single digits or known feedback bid more than 370's which is still too much......

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

The card sold for PSA 7 type money because it has tremendous eye appeal. If I hadn't seen the flip and we were playing the 'guess the grade' game, I would have guessed and 8 or 8.5.

Edited to add: Someone bought the card and not the grade. Good for them.

This is spot on. The card is stellar. Hits my eye like a high-end 8 at first glance. There are plenty of collectors, myself included, who buy the card and not the grade. If anyone bid 5.5 or 6 money on that card they were going to lose it. You can't always bid based on the VCP grid and average historical price if one wants to win exceptional specimens like this one. Often times a bid at the average price gets you an average card.

That card is better centered than every PSA 7 to sell in 2014, per VCP, and the buyer likely did not want to pay for an 8 or hope a 6 or 7 as nicely centered as this card would pop up. VCP shows the card also looks nicer than the lone PSA 7 that sold in 2013.

Looks like two bidders thought the card was beautiful and put in aggressive snipes that wound up dueling-- happens all the time, unfortunately on some cards I snipe, LOL. A card like this also attracts guys who make money by eventually getting that card into a 7 or 8 holder.

I agree-- props to whoever pulled down a card that looks better than every 7 to sell in two years.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

The card sold for PSA 7 type money because it has tremendous eye appeal. If I hadn't seen the flip and we were playing the 'guess the grade' game, I would have guessed and 8 or 8.5.

Edited to add: Someone bought the card and not the grade. Good for them.

Never discount eye appeal. Many opt for it in preference to an example with a higher technical grade. Personally, I have purchased rare cards in poor condition with poor eye appeal just to finally have an example when one comes around after a great deal of searching, and find that at times, the condition disturbs me. On the other hand, I find I have no problems whatsoever with lower technical graded cards where the eye appeal is more than satisfactory.

Best to everyone,

Larry

[the 'stache]

Here's how I view the function of graders working for PSA, SGC or Beckett: their job is to find all the flaws a card has, and grade accordingly. That sounds terrible, but it's the truth. They are not there to hand out grades that make the owner happy. They are objectively looking at every single facet of a card, under high magnification and ideal lighting, to see the flaws we wouldn't see. And a smart collector can take that knowledge, and use it to their advantage.

Card collectors have been conditioned that certain numerical grades are attractive, and all the other numerical grades are somehow inferior. And in the grand scheme of things, I suppose that is true. But if you are a card collector, and not a card seller, you are looking for the nicest example of a card you can find for your collection. The card with the best eye appeal.

Say you are looking for a 1952 Topps Eddie Mathews. That's his rookie. It came in the set, and it was a high series card. Now, you might stumble across two cards, one a 7, and the other a 6. The 7, because of the factors I already mentioned, will be super expensive. The 6 will be, too, but comparatively, it will be much more affordable. And it might even look better than the 7. The 7 may have sharper corners and edges. It might lack any gum staining on the back. But when you look at the 6, the centering is much better. In fact, it's almost 50/50 left to right, and 55/45 top to bottom. The 6 also has stronger color, though that does not come into consideration as far as technical grades are concerned unless a card has lost coloring because of sun exposure (for example). The corners and edges are still quite nice, but they do show a touch of wear over time. And it has a very slight touch of gum stain on the back. So, there is some slight discoloring on the bottom of the card back where the gum came in contact with the cardboard. And what can these cards be had for?

According to SMR, the 7 is a $15,000 card, and the 6 a $6,500 card. Both of those values are low, I'm sure, but I use SMR as a starting point to get a general idea as to what kind of jumps I am looking at.

Would you rather spend $15,000 on a card with no gum stain on the back, and sharper edges and corners, or would you opt for the 6, which has better centering, stronger color, though ever so slightly inferior edges and corners, and a bit of discoloration on the bottom of the card back? Me, personally, I would take the 6 every time. Though the 7 might technically be the better card, the card with the more brilliant color, and better centering is going to catch my attention every time. And with the money I saved, I can put that towards another card. I could pick up a very nice 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig for $8,500.

Always remember to buy the card, not the grade. And, do not automatically dismiss a card because it has a grade you feel is inadequate. A lot of time, you'd be surprised just how nice a 6 can be.

[MattyC]

Stache,

+ Infinity. Well written. That philosophy, to me as well, is what collecting is all about.

Pictures also tell the tale...

[bobbyw8469]

Everyone has articulated this better than I ever could. Sometimes we feel like a broken record - Buy the card, not the flip. Not all grades are created equal. etc.

Seems like everyone gets too attached to the number on the flip instead of actually looking at the card. LOOK AT THE CARD PEOPLE!!! If a card looks better than the number on the flip, everybody and their brother is going to want the card. The same goes in reverse - If the card looks pretty crappy compared to the number on the flip, it is going to be hard just to get VCP average for it!

[clydepepper]

Further evidence that most of us still buy emotionally - I sure do.