3 Ty Cobb Lucky 7's just showed up on EBay.

[iwantitiwinit]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

I'm pretty skeptical of the supposed prices these have been bringing. I never in a million years thought of a T206 Cobb/Cobb as being a million dollar card (even if graded an 8 or something crazy). I just don't know if I believe that the nicest really sold for somewhere around 1-2mil like is being reported. It wouldn't be too hard to manipulate prices on these and convince collectors to overpay for the subsequent ones. I just can't imagine them selling for anywhere near what is being reported in an actual auction setting.

Don't know if I agree with this. There are a limited number of collectors that are able to purchase these very high dollar cards. Private sale or not, its what someone is willing to pay that is the true issue. Is it really price manipulation when there is only a single seller, I think not. There is only a single source of supply so it is truly and solely a function of supply and demand. It might be price maximization but I don't think it's price manipulation.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by iwantitiwinit

Don't know if I agree with this. There are a limited number of collectors that are able to purchase these very high dollar cards. Private sale or not, its what someone is willing to pay that is the true issue. Is it really price manipulation when there is only a single seller, I think not. There is only a single source of supply so it is truly and solely a function of supply and demand. It might be price maximization but I don't think it's price manipulation.

Robert, a most observant point in these proceedings. Our hobby has been so immersed in the mentality of "the best way to sell a card and get the most money is through an auction house" that the concept of a private sale is eliminated without thinking.

Emphasis on the last two words.

And how DID our fellow collector, Diamondbacks owner Mr. Ken Kendrick, acquire his breathtaking T-206 Honus Wagner?

The Lucky 7 Ty Cobb find was a legitimate find. Try to remember the Mr. Mint find of the 1952 Topps high numbers and semi-highs in 1986, I believe it was. The far, far, far majority of these he simply sold. Granted, he had not begun his major phone auctions as yet, but he sold them through SCD, shows, and perhaps personal visits to his office. Many in the hobby were skeptical of the find, for they wondered if there were actually more cases of those precious 52 high numbers the owner had not divulged to Alan Rosen. Comments like some of yours---too good to be true.

When collectors "finally" figured out this was indeed a find of a lifetime, and a chance of a lifetime, they were in a major uproar to buy these cards from Mr. Mint. The cards from the case then got gobbled up quickly. The Johnny-come-lately-s were banging their heads against their drywalls, leaving indentations and craters.

Guys, cards from finds are in a class all their own. You know much better than I how serious of a scarcity a T-206 red Cobb with the Ty Cobb Tobacco backside was before the find. The Lucky 7 Cobbs blow the others away, condition-wise, just as the Mr. Mint 1952 Topps high numbers blew away those existing in collections at the time. They were so distinctively pack-fresh MINT. Obviously, in the years to come, they weren't all technically MINT, but they were the source for virtually all of the eventual PSA 8s, 9s, and the 3 10s.

It would seem the high end collectors have read the national news stories, done their research, and decided that kind of item fits their type of exclusive collections. They will work with the smart dealer handling the cards, and pay his price. It cannot be denied, the dealer handling the sale of the Cobbs for the family very much knows this is perhaps HIS once in a lifetime boo coo sales opportunity, and he shan't scotch this opportunity!

He hasn't, has he??????

---Brian Powell

[Scocs]

Brian,

You make excellent points. I still don't understand why the dealer has to place them on eBay? I realize the answer is "maximum exposure" leading to a potential private sale without all those pesky buyer and seller fees.

Still, if you owned the Hope Diamond, would you list it on eBay with a Buy it Now for $75 million dollars...? It's like Kate Upton using Match. com for a date....

Scott

[Wildfireschulte]

I made a best offer of $150,000 on the 2.5 and got a message from eBay that said that I have not established sufficient credit and need to call them. Oh well, I tried.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Wildfireschulte

I made a best offer of $150,000 on the 2.5 and got a message from eBay that said that I have not established sufficient credit and need to call them. Oh well, I tried.

Yeah, "insufficient credit." One more reason why I'll never own a Cobb back.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Wildfireschulte

I made a best offer of $150,000 on the 2.5 and got a message from eBay that said that I have not established sufficient credit and need to call them. Oh well, I tried.

Over a certain limit of a bid on ebay and you (at least) used to, if not now, have a cc on file. If not, then a high bid or snipe won't take place. It happened to a friend once when I won a card for 20k+. He sniped more but didn't have a cc on file so his bid didn't get placed and I won it. He wasn't happy either.

[baztacula]

Originally Posted by Wildfireschulte

I made a best offer of $150,000 on the 2.5 and got a message from eBay that said that I have not established sufficient credit and need to call them. Oh well, I tried.

I offered $1,500 and was immediately rejected. It was the one with the unfortunate crease.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by Scocs

Brian,

You make excellent points. I still don't understand why the dealer has to place them on eBay? I realize the answer is "maximum exposure" leading to a potential private sale without all those pesky buyer and seller fees.

Still, if you owned the Hope Diamond, would you list it on eBay with a Buy it Now for $75 million dollars...? It's like Kate Upton using Match. com for a date....

Scott

Scott, you yourself have brought up a most valid point, concerning the dealer listing the remainder of the Lucky 7 Find on eBay. It is difficult to pin down his modus operandi for the remaining few specimens, though I would think the EBAY people would take an extremely dim view of said dealer using their services as a high-powered spotlight to attract buyers, then steer clear of the Bay to actually do the deal, thus eliminating EBAY's rightful, though increasingly high middle man percentage fee. Since the Lucky 7 is a major hobby find, and national news item, if word gets out that sales were consummated apart from EBAY, after they were known to be listed, the Bay may have the last say---and tie a 10,000-pound boulder to the dealer's eBay business, and drown him where their BAY is concerned.

I well remember an incident soon after Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed in the 2001 Daytona 500. This guy where I worked had an absolutely BANZAI Earnhardt collection. He listed the whole thing on eBay, "just to see what kind of action he would get". I heard the collection had gone past $14,000, when this guy took it down. The EBAY watchdogs were boiling, and told him if he ever pulled a trick like that again, he would be banned from eBay for life. I do not know what became of that character, as I got laid off the job a couple years later, but in retrospect, if he really intended to eventually sell his Dale Earnhardt collection, THAT was the time to do so. I think he blew it, but no doubt his collection had a very strong emotional attachment to him.

As Moe Howard said in "THREE LITTLE PIRATES", "We shall see, but we shall see." ---Brian Powell

[rats60]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Scott, you yourself have brought up a most valid point, concerning the dealer listing the remainder of the Lucky 7 Find on eBay. It is difficult to pin down his modus operandi for the remaining few specimens, though I would think the EBAY people would take an extremely dim view of said dealer using their services as a high-powered spotlight to attract buyers, then steer clear of the Bay to actually do the deal, thus eliminating EBAY's rightful, though increasingly high middle man percentage fee. Since the Lucky 7 is a major hobby find, and national news item, if word gets out that sales were consummated apart from EBAY, after they were known to be listed, the Bay may have the last say---and tie a 10,000-pound boulder to the dealer's eBay business, and drown him where their BAY is concerned.

I well remember right after Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed in the 2001 Daytona 500. This guy where I worked had an absolutely BANZAI Earnhardt collection. He listed the whole thing on eBay, "just to see what kind of action he would get". I heard the collection had gone past $14,000, when this guy took it down. The EBAY watchdogs were boiling, and told him if he ever pulled a trick like that again, he would be banned from eBay for life. I do not know what became of that character, as I left that job a couple years later, but in retrospect, if he really intended to eventually sell his Dale Earnhardt collection, THAT was the time to do so. I think he blew it, but no doubt his collection had a very strong emotional attachment to him.

As Moe Howard said in "THREE LITTLE PIRATES", "We shall see, but we shall see." ---Brian Powell

Ebay caps their fees at 750.00. I would think on a 500k card the seller wouldn't be trying to evade such a small fee compared to 18-20% that auction houses take.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by rats60

Ebay caps their fees at 750.00. I would think on a 500k card the seller wouldn't be trying to evade such a small fee compared to 18-20% that auction houses take.

As someone who has never sold on EBAY, I was not aware that they capped their fees at $750. That puts a totally different light on the matter. Thanks for enlightening me, rats. ---Brian Powell

[botn]

Originally Posted by brian1961

As someone who has never sold on EBAY, I was not aware that they capped their fees at $750. That puts a totally different light on the matter. Thanks for enlightening me, rats. ---Brian Powell

Actually rats was not entirely accurate. If the seller has an eBay store and is a Top Rated Plus seller, his final value fees on any single card sale over $2,778.00 would only be $200.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Scott, you yourself have brought up a most valid point, concerning the dealer listing the remainder of the Lucky 7 Find on eBay. It is difficult to pin down his modus operandi for the remaining few specimens, though I would think the EBAY people would take an extremely dim view of said dealer using their services as a high-powered spotlight to attract buyers, then steer clear of the Bay to actually do the deal, thus eliminating EBAY's rightful, though increasingly high middle man percentage fee. Since the Lucky 7 is a major hobby find, and national news item, if word gets out that sales were consummated apart from EBAY, after they were known to be listed, the Bay may have the last say---and tie a 10,000-pound boulder to the dealer's eBay business, and drown him where their BAY is concerned.

I well remember an incident soon after Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed in the 2001 Daytona 500. This guy where I worked had an absolutely BANZAI Earnhardt collection. He listed the whole thing on eBay, "just to see what kind of action he would get". I heard the collection had gone past $14,000, when this guy took it down. The EBAY watchdogs were boiling, and told him if he ever pulled a trick like that again, he would be banned from eBay for life. I do not know what became of that character, as I got laid off the job a couple years later, but in retrospect, if he really intended to eventually sell his Dale Earnhardt collection, THAT was the time to do so. I think he blew it, but no doubt his collection had a very strong emotional attachment to him.

As Moe Howard said in "THREE LITTLE PIRATES", "We shall see, but we shall see." ---Brian Powell

It is right there within the eBay's rules That sellers are allowed to cancel a transaction because Item is no longer available ... Which implies that sellers are actively trying to sell their items elsewhere it happens all the time . In your dale Earnhardt case I find it hard to believe that Ebay would make such a statement towards a seller .

[botn]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

It is right there within the eBay's rules That sellers are allowed to cancel a transaction because Item is no longer available ... Which implies that sellers are actively trying to sell their items elsewhere it happens all the time . In your dale Earnhardt case I find it hard to believe that Ebay would make such a statement towards a seller .

There are 4 choices for reasons you can end an auction early. I too find it hard to believe eBay would threaten a lifetime ban on a seller for ending an auction early unless it was habitual. Here is eBay's stance on ending auctions early.

Fees

Ending an auction-style listing early once it has received a bid can lead to disappointed and frustrated buyers who may be less likely to bid on listings the next time around. For this reason, we may charge a fee if you end a listing early. This fee is equal to the final value fee you would have paid if the listing had ended on its own and sold for the highest bid received at the time you ended the listing.

We charge this fee if you cancel bids and end an auction-style listing early without a buyer.

We don't charge this fee if you end an auction-style listing early and sell to the high bidder. (In this case, normal final value fees apply.)

This fee doesn't apply to listings in the Real Estate and eBay Motors vehicle categories, and the Classified Ads selling format.

Because we understand that sometimes it may be necessary to end a listing early, we don't charge a fee for the first auction-style listing you end early (where a fee applies) per calendar year (January 1 to December 31).

[vintagetoppsguy]

And since these are BIN, not auction-style listings, the seller can end them early w/o any fees or consequences. It's basically free advertising.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by botn

There are 4 choices for reasons you can end an auction early. I too find it hard to believe eBay would threaten a lifetime ban on a seller for ending an auction early unless it was habitual. Here is eBay's stance on ending auctions early.

Fees

Ending an auction-style listing early once it has received a bid can lead to disappointed and frustrated buyers who may be less likely to bid on listings the next time around. For this reason, we may charge a fee if you end a listing early. This fee is equal to the final value fee you would have paid if the listing had ended on its own and sold for the highest bid received at the time you ended the listing.

We charge this fee if you cancel bids and end an auction-style listing early without a buyer.

We don't charge this fee if you end an auction-style listing early and sell to the high bidder. (In this case, normal final value fees apply.)

This fee doesn't apply to listings in the Real Estate and eBay Motors vehicle categories, and the Classified Ads selling format.

Because we understand that sometimes it may be necessary to end a listing early, we don't charge a fee for the first auction-style listing you end early (where a fee applies) per calendar year (January 1 to December 31).

Hang on folks. We're talking the difference between today and 2001. And we all know that ebay's policies seem to change daily, so there's no reason to doubt that what happened in 2001 might not happen today (and vice versa).

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

It is right there within the eBay's rules That sellers are allowed to cancel a transaction because Item is no longer available ... Which implies that sellers are actively trying to sell their items elsewhere it happens all the time . In your dale Earnhardt case I find it hard to believe that Ebay would make such a statement towards a seller .

Well, Pete, this is what I was told about my former colleague listing his massive Earnhardt collection on eBay, and then pulling it before it ended. However, this instance was, after all, late February - early March, 2001. --Brian Powell

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Well, Pete, this is what I was told about my former colleague listing his massive Earnhardt collection on eBay, and then pulling it before it ended. However, this instance was, after all, late February - early March, 2001. --Brian Powell

well i guess ebay was like the donald back then!