WOULD YOU BID........

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Posted By: hennessey

GENERAL QUESTION DID YOU OR WOULD YOU BID ON A CARD WITH-OUT SEEING A SCAN OF IT? ME, PERSONALLY I DONT TRUST SOME-ONE ENOUGH TO SPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY WITH-OUT SEEING IF HE ACTUALLY HAS THE CARD. ANY THOUGHT FROM OTHER BOARD MEMBERS http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110357784220

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Posted By: Rawn Hill

I would not bid on this, however I purchased a card last night on BST from a trusted member sight unseen.

Rawn

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Posted By: Fred C

Generally, I wouldn't bid on something without first seeing a scan. A "1" grade could mean a lot of different things, it could be really nice on the front and full of paper loss on the back. It could have that completely beat look without any paper loss. There's just too many things that fall into a "1" grade. The one thing you know about a "1" grade is that it didn't get that grade for looking nice.



Overall, I just don't trust someone elses judgement on card condition so I'd have to see a scan/picture of what I'm buying or bidding on.

Edited to add - If you know the seller and if they have a liberal return policy then MAYBE...

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Posted By: Matt

I think the seller has the card - I'd be more concerned with the other point raised above - there is HUGE variation in what qualifies for a 1 grade.

My Trade/Sale Page

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Posted By: Jim

I actually bid it up to $950 but lost out on a snipe or one click bid at the end. I was prepared to bid up to $1100.



I figured there are half a dozen or more PSA ones that have sold in the last two years - if you toss out the clunker with the huge paper loss on the front that sold twice right around $700, the average price for the other cards is probably around $1300-1400. I knew the card wasn't the clunker since the seller listed the PSA certification number. Otherwise, if the card turned out to be absolutely horrible, I'd have asked the seller to take it back saying it was disingenuous to not show a scan of such a poor card, even for a PSA 1. He openly asked in the listing to be trusted based on his rating and I wouldn't have any problem asking him to make good on that.



The fact that he didn't show a scan, probably hurt the price he should have received. My guess is the person who bought it could probably flip it in a couple weeks and make three or four hundred dollars.



Another aspect of it is that all the PSA 1 versions I've seen generally suck (with one exception that sold for $1800 awhile back) so in a sense all you're doing is filling a hole in your collection and whether the card has three creases in it or five isn't all that relevant. The big paper loss card is another story, but, as I said, I knew that it wasn't the one listed.

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Posted By: Matt

The compounding issue is that the seller stated he wouldn't take returns.

My Trade/Sale Page

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Posted By: hennessey

Jim, I agree there are a lot of difference between 1's. I myself was just going to buy and hold and not resell. but like you I would like to see the card.

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Posted By: Steve

There is a reason why that seller did not show the card.

And it is not because he has no scanner.

"You are bidding on a super-rare T206 Ray Demmitt Saint Louis card, graded PSA 1 (NQ) (PSA No. 12363125). This rare card has a Polar Bear back. This is a unique opportunity to bid on one of the "Big 5" in the T206 set. I apologize but I do not have a scan, but please view my perfect feedback and bid with total confidence. Good luck."


Why would anyone sell a card like that without a picture?

So my answer is I would not buy a card like that without seeing it.

I may buy a 2.00 item sight unseen but not a 1000.00 dollar item.


Steve

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Posted By: dstudeba

This was the message I got from my question about picking it up in person :



I am traveling alot this week, so I would prefer to ship them. I apologize for any inconvenience. I will combine shipping cost if you win multiple items. Thank you for your interest.



That coupled with the fact the account hasn't been used since 2007 made me pass.

edited to add : I now see that the buyer account has been used so I guess it is probably good.

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Posted By: Red

It's not crazy to bid on a card with no picture. It is however crazy to bid on a card with no description whatsover, especially if you're talking about returning it if you don't like it. You should have emailed, or obtained the seller's contact info, and got a description of the card. It's not as good as a picture but at least you would have had some idea on the type of poor grade card you were bidding on. You were conservative with your bid because you had no idea what it looked like.

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Posted By: David M

I wouldn't bid on something like that. They always say you "leave money on the table" if you don't get something graded before you sell. I think this seller did the same by not including a scan.

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Posted By: Jim VB

There is a wide range of what PSA 1 means. Here are two sales from within the last year. One went for $1800. One went for $640. Can you guess which was which?




If the seller's card looked like the first one, he left several hundred dollars on the table because of no scan. If it looks like the second one, he did fine (but the buyer overpaid.)

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Posted By: Eric

I was going to bid on the card, but when the seller wouldn't respond to my email asking him to describe the flaws of the card, I passed.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Jim- that second Demmitt should really be in an Authentic holder. That doesn't qualify for a 1 in my book.

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Posted By: Alan

Jim,
The one on the left is awfully nice for a PSA-1. What did the back look like ?

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Posted By: Jim VB

Barry,

I agree. But it is. Maybe someone should start a PSA bashing thread?




Alan,

No idea about the back. I just spent 5 minutes on VCP. I was actually looking to see if they had a scan of the card with that cert. number that just sold, but they do not. These two obviously stood out at the extremes.

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Posted By: barrysloate

What a novel idea.

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Posted By: Fred C

I'm still holding on to my new years resolution of not starting a PSA bashing thread... I wonder if it means that I can't participate in one... I'm a bit conflicted here... Yeah, is someone going to start one, soon? Now I'm really at odds with myself because I'm wondering if instigating a PSA bashing thread is like actually starting one or participating in one...

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Posted By: JohnnyH

He could have made more with a scan of this as well but did ok- 1933 #92 Lou Gehrig PSA5 NQ no scans- sold for $1451.56

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110357785062&ssPageNam e=ADME:B:WNA:US:1123

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Posted By: Steve

With the money he possibly is leaving on the table
he could have bought a scanner.

Steve

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Posted By: Rob D.

Maybe eBay should have a rule requiring that all sellers include scans.

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Posted By: Jim VB

Good idea Rob. Why don't you start a thread, or eight.