Candiman Auctions Explained

[LeftHandedDane]

I've slogged through the 30-some odd pages of this thread and must confess that I don't get why there is such an uproar here. Maybe its because I buy ungraded cards almost exclusively, in fact I strongly prefer them. Here is what my takeaway is from the Battles'. They freely admit they are selling some cards that have been altered - they have identified them as such in the auction. Additionally, they are guaranteeing that if any card sold in their auction that was NOT identified as altered comes back that way from a TPG they will offer a full refund. That seems like a reasonable position to take.

As a buyer of ungraded cards, I pay little to no attention to the sellers grading of the card - it is almost always overstated! I make my own decision based upon the scan. I do expect the seller to be honest about flaws that may not show up on the scan, or to identify if the card has been altered or trimmed, but just because the seller claims the card is "NM-MT" and its really only "VG-EX" or comes back from PSA as a 4 I don't see that as fraud.

I know that Battlefield was renowned for doctoring/photoshopping the photos of the cards so that the actual card did not match the photo. It does seem, however, that when the buyer took issue with this refunds were generally given.

So, if the photos are genuine, and you know in advance if you are buying a trimmed (or otherwise altered card), I don't see how this auction is any different from any other. Those who desire the lower risk of buying a card in a graded holder are certainly going to sit out this auction; those who prefer them out of slabs can jump in.

[oldjudge]

Is this the type of guarantee you are talking about? If you are unhappy with our product send back the unused portion and we will return the unused portion of your money.

Why are all these questions coming up after the auction? Shouldn't people have asked them BEFORE they bid?

[buymycards]

They had over 2400 items in their auction. 980 auctions did not receive a bid. around 650 auctions only received 1 bid. I wonder how many bids are a direct result of their exposure on this board?

I felt like many of the lower end items had starting bids that were way too high.
Even on the lower end items, many of the descriptions failed to mention inks stains, writing, etc.

I won 13 lots, mostly lower end items. I declined to bid on anything that didn't feel right to me. My only concern is with the lack of back scans. I hope I don't get some nasty suprises when I receive the cards and look at the backs.

Rick

[botn]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Is this the type of guarantee you are talking about? If you are unhappy with our product send back the unused portion and we will return the unused portion of your money.

Why are all these questions coming up after the auction? Shouldn't people have asked them BEFORE they bid?

Jay what shocks me the most is how many people here participated despite all that was brought up in this thread. That is remarkable.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by botn

Jay what shocks me the most is how many people here participated despite all that was brought up in this thread. That is remarkable.

That can be said about many AHs/eBay sellers and threads on this forum.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by botn

Jay what shocks me the most is how many people here participated despite all that was brought up in this thread. That is remarkable.

I bet there were a lot more that participated than we'll ever know. They just won't admit it. This thread was great free advertising.

[ZiggerZagger]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I bet there were a lot more that participated than we'll ever know. They just won't admit it. This thread was great free advertising.

I'm sure there were a number of board members who ended up bidding simply as a result of being made aware of an auction they may not have even known about prior. But the way I see it, that's not really the point.

The point is that it was necessary to give this a full airing up-front, and not let Candiman Auctions hang around and grow as if it were just another AH breaking onto the scene. This thread may have increased awareness of their AH temporarily with some "free advertising", and maybe put some extra bidders into their 1st Auction, but the Long Game here is what's important -- if they fly by night and screw people over even in the slightest, they won't be around anymore.

For better or worse, I was the one who opened pandora's box on Candiman Auctions possibly being Battlefield/War_Eagle on the old thread last Saturday. Other board members did some stellar work proving that it was indeed the Battles family who created this new AH, then prompting the Battles Brothers to then come on here to state their case. I think overall the restraint shown in the discussion has been pretty fair, given the eBay history of Battlefield/WEV.

As I've already said once, I think the board should be very proud of itself for acting to protect the hobby from any actors whose business practices even appear in the slightest to be designed to take advantage of collectors' naivete or greed.
Well done to all who have made their well thought-out points.

I for one can't wait to hear from the board once 1) the cards arrive in board members' hands, and 2) once these cards start to pop with the TPG's. This is going to rumble on for a while...

[frankbmd]

There are a significant number of board members who buy graded cards and when they arrive immediately crack them out of their so-called “tombs” to free them, so they can feel and smell them as part of their collection.

Now there are a significant number of board members who buy candiman cards and when they arrive immediately send them to PSA to be “entombed” to find out whether they have found a bargain or been ripped off.

I realize there are board members who don’t belong to either group or just one, but I suspect there is considerable overlap and members who belong to both. The irony of this situation does not escape me and I have to chuckle.

The goldmine is the TPG, who exploit this perfect storm and are more than willing to grade the same card every time it changes hands in some cases.

Who feeds the TPG gold mine? Look in the mirror?

Disclaimer: I belong to neither of the two groups. I have sent a few ungraded cards for grading though and I have also cracked a few slabs (to cross from GAI to SGC), but never for nefarious reasons.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by botn

Jay what shocks me the most is how many people here participated despite all that was brought up in this thread. That is remarkable.

Same here. I guess that explains why a guy like Mastro could stay in business for so long. I do understand the guys buying low grade cards for cheap prices. But I wouldn't have considered any of the relatively higher end stuff.

[danmckee]

Originally Posted by botn

Jay what shocks me the most is how many people here participated despite all that was brought up in this thread. That is remarkable.

Well I didn't see the thread until after the auction.

Dan Mckee

[Bpm0014]

There are a significant number of board members who buy graded cards and when they arrive immediately crack them out of their so-called “tombs” to free them, so they can feel and smell them as part of their collection.

Guilty all day, everyday

[ALR-bishop]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

There are a significant number of board members who buy graded cards and when they arrive immediately crack them out of their so-called “tombs” to free them, so they can feel and smell them as part of their collection.

Guilty all day, everyday

Me too, but "feeling and smelling them" does sound a bit like 50 Shades Of Cardboard

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

There are a significant number of board members who buy graded cards and when they arrive immediately crack them out of their so-called “tombs” to free them, so they can feel and smell them as part of their collection.

Guilty all day, everyday

Same here. I have to have the cards in my hands.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by danmckee

Well I didn't see the thread until after the auction.

Dan Mckee

Where did you hear about the auction, Dan?