SMR vs. VCP

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I did some quick research on the T207 and M116s to prove my theory. I took the first three HOFers in the T207 set (Bender, Bresnahan and Carey) and the last three HOFers in the M116 set (Wallace, Willis and Young - I skipped Walsh because there was no pricing data) and looked at the SMR vs. VCP price for each of those cards in a PSA 5.

T207 (all common backs)
Bender - SMR $430 vs. VCP $385.99
Bresnahan - SMR $430 vs. VCP $223.07
Carey - SMR $500 vs. VCP $450

M116 (blue backs)
Wallace - SMR $265 vs. VCP $208.32
Willis - SMR $265 vs. VCP $277
Young - $900 vs. VCP $822

As you can see, only 1 card (M116 Willis) had a higher VCP than SMR (and it was less than 5%). I tried to be as fair as I could in my 15 minutes of research. I'm sure someone can give other examples of cards in these sets (or other sets) where the VCP is higher than the SMR, but that holds true of any set/any year. I still stand behind my original statement that for the most part, VCP is lower than SMR (on most cards).

Hello David,

The examples you chose for T207 and M116 are not really good ones for those sets. Those sets are not so much about the HOFers - they are much more about multiple levels of scarcity and even rarity in terms of many subjects. Although you chose HOFers, those cards are "common" in those sets.

Where SMR utterly falls down in a laughable way is failing to recognize the scarce/rare cards in these sets. Their across-the-board broad brush price setting had nothing to do with what the market is paying.

I don't have time to cite hundreds of examples, but there are literally hundreds.

Want one that I just looked at that made me laugh?

SMR says T207 Mike Donlin in a 1 is $22. It says that card in a 3 is $55. Hahahaha!

Wanna know the real prices people are paying (ie. the real value) found by looking at VCP? Try over $1,000 for a 1 and almost $3,000 in a 3.

Wonder if those buyers knew they were paying 50 TIMES SMR?

There are tons of examples similar to this.

Cheers,
Blair