Deans cards

[japhi]

Also, people complain about his prices but if these cards are so easy to get for much cheaper elsewhere whats the problem? I’ve bought from him because I haven’t been able to find reliable online sellers. So paid a premium I guess, but was the best option for what I was looking for at that moment. That is obviously his marketing strategy....he knows that unless you have access to card shows or a great local dealer, its not that easy for set builders to find a stack of cards they need

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by japhi

Also, people complain about his prices but if these cards are so easy to get for much cheaper elsewhere whats the problem? I’ve bought from him because I haven’t been able to find reliable online sellers. So paid a premium I guess, but was the best option for what I was looking for at that moment. That is obviously his marketing strategy....he knows that unless you have access to card shows or a great local dealer, its not that easy for set builders to find a stack of cards they need

This is exactly the opposite of what I've found since I got back into the hobby recently I don't know if this is the case with pre-WW2 material (since I'm only into late '40s-mid 70s stuff), but I've filled sets and gotten whatever else I needed from various dealers and auction houses of all sizes on ebay, and reliability and customer service has never been an issue. Most of these people also "buy, scan, store, sell, and pack, etc" too. If you look into a seller's ratings/buyer comments, their merchandise, and how they present things, it's not that tough to see who to avoid. And there usually isn't a problem with finding what you need at a somewhat reasonable price either (especially with auctions). The big houses are always breaking all kinds of sets of various grades.

But, to each his own. And as far as Dean's business model, he's obviously free to do whatever works. But I just don't see eye to eye with anyone who makes his living off of knowingly charging people much, much more than something is worth for merchandise (partly the guise of "customer service" making up the difference, because it doesn't). There is also an element of taking advantage of those who are vastly overpaying but don't realize it.