Sellers without back scans...affect your bid?

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Posted By: Dave F

To what extent does not having a scan of the back of a card affect your bid? For me, I guess once it gets into the level of a card i dont see at least each month or so, I'll take a chance if the card is graded higher than a 10 or 1...if its ungraded..i'm not taking a chance no matter what it is, at least not at my "highest" bid....

I would assume however if it were a T208 or a E271 Darby's that it wouldn't much matter to anyone and you'd bid just as strong not seeing the back?

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Posted By: MVSNYC

hi dave, good question...

it is very important to me to see back scans. my focus is high-grade T206 rare backs, so i MUST see back scans. if a seller does not have a back scan, i write to them and ask for one, the majority of the time they will post it or email ti to me, otherwise i deprioritize that card.

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Posted By: Dave F

Michael-

For you, I would think they would be of even less importance....if you see say a T206 PSA 8, but don't have a back scan...you don't trust PSA at that point with it being in a PSA 8 holder that there isn't a dot of paperloss or something?

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Posted By: Rob D.

The more information I have that the item I'm bidding on is what I think it is, the more aggressively I'll bid.

Not too long ago a Lajoie card I was interested in was listed on eBay with a scan only of the front. The seller stated in the description that the back was clean. I e-mailed, about five days before the auction was to end, asking for a scan. The reply I received was an assurance that the back was clean, but if I really wanted a scan, let him know and he'd e-mail me one.

I didn't bother to ask a second time for a scan and didn't bid. Was the back free of problems? Probably. Would a scan that erased any doubt changed my decision not to bid? Positively.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

"The more information I have that the item I'm bidding on is what I think it is, the more aggressively I'll bid."

rob- that is a great way of putting it, i agree totally...

dave- quite the opposite, if it's a PSA 3 or 4, i'll throw a bid in and care less about a back scan, but if i'm slapping down thousands $$$ on a card, i NEED to see every inch of it, front & back. i'm not worried about paper loss, for me it's more about centering, and boldness of ink. they have to be crisp. i have owned many T206 9's and even a 10, and believe it or not, some of the backs weren't anything to write home about, so i really need to see back scans.

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Posted By: peter ullman

for me it depends on the card. blank backed cards I don't care too much...when i see more obscure sets w/rarer backs and no back scan...i think how stupid the seller is and I'm less likely to bid. Common backs...t206's some caramels it's not too important...but...personally...i expect back scans of every card I see.

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Posted By: James Gallo

I would like to see the back and I see no reason to not show the back on any card $100 an over regardless of the grade. I have passed on several cards that didn't have back scans and have had many people never bother to get back to me even after I ask for one.

Pretty silly to piss off a customer...

James G

Looking for 1915 Cracker Jacks and 1909-11 American Caramel E90-1.

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Posted By: Jason

As a seller I try to include back scans of everything over $200, especially HOFers. As a buyer I do not buy $200+ cards if they are raw, PSA, or GAI without back scans. If the card is SGC graded and is a decent deal then I will more than likely pull the trigger. I will not say never, but I do put them lower on the priority list.


Jason

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Posted By: John S

I always email the seller and ask for a scan of the reverse.

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Posted By: boxingcardman

I trust that a graded card from a major service will generally reflect its grade. I am extremely careful with raw cards in any kind of allegedly decent shape or value.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

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Posted By: Doug

I recently passed up bidding on a card because the seller wouldn't email me a back scan so it definately makes a difference to me.

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Posted By: JK

"I trust that a graded card from a major service will generally reflect its grade. I am extremely careful with raw cards in any kind of allegedly decent shape or value."


I dont really agree with that statement. I almost always ask for a back scan if the card is graded by psa or gai. Ive seen too many psa/gai 3s, 4s and 5s with paperloss on the reverse. I'd be more likely to take my chances with SGC (though usually I still ask for a scan). While they ocassionally may have a grading issue with the reverse, its not common. SGC is more likely to go easier on corners (for example, some sgc 60s have softer corners than one would expect or compared to psa) but that is an issue that I dont need a back scan to see.

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Posted By: Ed Hans

As a seller, I provide a scan of the back of all single cards I sell (not usually lots) except for those with blank backs. Even for cards with blank backs, I post a scan if there is a) an unusual feature (a ghost image or stamp), or b) an important flaw on the reverse that a potential buyer should be aware of before a bid is placed.

As a buyer, I don't necessarily trust the grading companies to catch everything. We have all seen too many 5's or 6's with paper loss on the reverse.

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Posted By: John S

I didn't bother with this one and was surprised by the reverse when the card arrived.

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Posted By: Ed McCollum

But then again, all I'm collecting are cards with Howe McCormick's stamp on the back. But probably ten to fifteen times a day, I'm e-mailing someone asking for a description or scan of the back.