Buying from unknown sellers

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

I bought a high-dollar card on eBay from a low-feedback seller once. When the card was first listed, I sent the seller an email, politely explaining that I was interested in the card but concerned about his low feedback. I explained that in the card hobby as it relates to eBay, there is a great deal of fraud - and although I did not suspect the seller was trying to defraud me, if I was 100% comfortable with the seller, I would be likely to bid considerably more.

The seller responded by printing out my email, placing the card on top of it, taking a digital picture of it, and emailing me the picture, along with an explanation of how he acquired the card and why he was selling it. He was extremely friendly, and extremely legit.

I wound up winning the card, and although I bid more than the card was worth, I won it for less than the card was worth - presumably because others were hesitant to do business with an unknown seller. The seller sent it to me FedEx, and I left immediate positive feedback about his trustworthiness on high-dollar vintage cards.

The seller went on to sell about ten more high-dollar cards from the same era over the next few weeks, and did much better as he accumulated similar feedback.

Nice guy.

-Al