Are my expectations too high? Creased vintage cards

[Kutcher55]

It's always worth emailing the seller and asking questions about the surface integrity, especially on raw. Generally on mid grade raw if they don't specifically say the card doesn't have a crease you almost have to assume it has a crease. This is especially true if the card is priced well, unfortunately.

I have been collecting '57s and I share your pain. Been burned numerous times. I have gravitated toward sellers that are communicative. I've probably had ~250 shipments sent to me in the past year and have returned one card. I could have returned 10 or 15 cards, easily, but if it's not big $ it's not worth the hassle to me.

You can get burned with creases on graded 5 cards as well, although it's safer in my experience and they are easier to resell.

Also, you can resell the creased cards, especially for 50s and earlier. I have 50 or 60 creased 57s that would grade anywhere from 1-3 and I figure I can get a buck apiece for them.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

Generally on mid grade raw if they don't specifically say the card doesn't have a crease you almost have to assume it has a crease. This is especially true if the card is priced well, unfortunately.

I have been collecting '57s and I share your pain. Been burned numerous times. I have gravitated toward sellers that are communicative.

It's a pet peeve of mine these days that so many sellers are unwilling to give their raw cards a grade, and just throw their hands up insinuating that because they don't work for PSA, it's not safe to hazard a guess as to the grade of the card. "I'm not a professional". Ok great, but stand behind what you sell. Describe the corners and the centering and the surface wear at least if you are afraid to say and let buyers judge for themselves. Grading was a thing long before professional graders. When I sell something online I'm going to tell you I think it's EX-MT, or VG-EX, or what have you. I may be wrong, but at least I'm telling you. That's the respectable thing to do.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

It's a pet peeve of mine these days that so many sellers are unwilling to give their raw cards a grade, and just throw their hands up insinuating that because they don't work for PSA, it's not safe to hazard a guess as to the grade of the card. "I'm not a professional". Ok great, but stand behind what you sell. Describe the corners and the centering and the surface wear at least if you are afraid to say and let buyers judge for themselves. Grading was a thing long before professional graders. When I sell something online I'm going to tell you I think it's EX-MT, or VG-EX, or what have you. I may be wrong, but at least I'm telling you. That's the respectable thing to do.

As a buyer, I hear you 100%. As a seller, i cant say i blame other sellers for not assigning a grade. I stopped assigning grades when i was ripped off several years ago selling a group of a couple hundred exmt commons, and graded them as such. Got an email from the buyer claiming they were vg at best, then he sent me vg commons back and of course ebay gave him a refund. I imagine had i not assigned a grade and just said “see photos” it would have given him another hurdle....idk. Point being, i see the risk and don’t judge those not willing to take it.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by conor912

As a buyer, I hear you 100%. As a seller, i cant say i blame other sellers for not assigning a grade. I stopped assigning grades when i was ripped off several years ago selling a group of a couple hundred exmt commons, and graded them as such. Got an email from the buyer claiming they were vg at best, then he sent me vg commons back and of course ebay gave him a refund. I imagine had i not assigned a grade and just said “see photos” it would have given him another hurdle....idk. Point being, i see the risk and don’t judge those not willing to take it.

I once sold a large lot of 71 commons and conservatively said the lot averaged ExMt, when they really were better than that. They guy that got them complained that they were NMt and not as advertised. I guess he wanted the lower grade. People are funny sometimes.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by conor912

As a buyer, I hear you 100%. As a seller, i cant say i blame other sellers for not assigning a grade. I stopped assigning grades when i was ripped off several years ago selling a group of a couple hundred exmt commons, and graded them as such. Got an email from the buyer claiming they were vg at best, then he sent me vg commons back and of course ebay gave him a refund. I imagine had i not assigned a grade and just said “see photos” it would have given him another hurdle....idk. Point being, i see the risk and don’t judge those not willing to take it.

I once sold a large lot of 71 commons and conservatively said the lot averaged ExMt, when they really were better than that. They guy that got them complained that they were NMt and not as advertised. I guess he wanted the lower grade. People are funny sometimes.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by conor912

As a buyer, I hear you 100%. As a seller, i cant say i blame other sellers for not assigning a grade. I stopped assigning grades when i was ripped off several years ago selling a group of a couple hundred exmt commons, and graded them as such. Got an email from the buyer claiming they were vg at best, then he sent me vg commons back and of course ebay gave him a refund. I imagine had i not assigned a grade and just said “see photos” it would have given him another hurdle....idk. Point being, i see the risk and don’t judge those not willing to take it.

I once sold a large lot of 71 commons and conservatively said the lot averaged ExMt, when they really were better than that. They guy that got them complained that they were NMt and not as advertised. I guess he wanted the lower grade. People are funny sometimes.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by conor912

As a buyer, I hear you 100%. As a seller, i cant say i blame other sellers for not assigning a grade. I stopped assigning grades when i was ripped off several years ago selling a group of a couple hundred exmt commons, and graded them as such. Got an email from the buyer claiming they were vg at best, then he sent me vg commons back and of course ebay gave him a refund. I imagine had i not assigned a grade and just said “see photos” it would have given him another hurdle....idk. Point being, i see the risk and don’t judge those not willing to take it.

I get it. In the modern hobby, precision with grading raw cards leads to nit-picking like this, unfortunately. I'm still going to give grades and detail on things I sell personally, because I think it's the right thing to do. For a lot, I guess you just have to put out disclaimers along the lines "some better, some worse". If you don't want to deal with someone getting picky - then be sure to highlight if you have a no-return policy. Though if a buyer decides to dig in and challenge it, eBay has a history of siding with them. It's a risk you take.

[wdwfan]

Thanks for this information. I am watching a couple of the star cards on eBay. I emailed the seller about creases (they were listed as VG-Ex and Ex). I haven't gotten a response in the 3-4 days since I sent the email. Not sure what that means. But with eBay's return policy, I can always return them if they don't meet Ex standards.

As far as selling graded, creased cards, why would you grade a 1-3 PSA and then sell for $1? It cost like $10 I imagine (or more) to grade cards. Or are you saying you sell the creased cards as raw for $1 apiece?

Either way, thanks everyone for the responses. They've been real helpful.

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

It's always worth emailing the seller and asking questions about the surface integrity, especially on raw. Generally on mid grade raw if they don't specifically say the card doesn't have a crease you almost have to assume it has a crease. This is especially true if the card is priced well, unfortunately.

I have been collecting '57s and I share your pain. Been burned numerous times. I have gravitated toward sellers that are communicative. I've probably had ~250 shipments sent to me in the past year and have returned one card. I could have returned 10 or 15 cards, easily, but if it's not big $ it's not worth the hassle to me.

You can get burned with creases on graded 5 cards as well, although it's safer in my experience and they are easier to resell.

Also, you can resell the creased cards, especially for 50s and earlier. I have 50 or 60 creased 57s that would grade anywhere from 1-3 and I figure I can get a buck apiece for them.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

Thanks for this information. I am watching a couple of the star cards on eBay. I emailed the seller about creases (they were listed as VG-Ex and Ex). I haven't gotten a response in the 3-4 days since I sent the email. Not sure what that means. But with eBay's return policy, I can always return them if they don't meet Ex standards.

As far as selling graded, creased cards, why would you grade a 1-3 PSA and then sell for $1? It cost like $10 I imagine (or more) to grade cards. Or are you saying you sell the creased cards as raw for $1 apiece?

Either way, thanks everyone for the responses. They've been real helpful.

OK I just have to ask. Why all the "i don't know how to sell cards" and "why do I not get exactly what I want" and the plethora of other silly posts/threads you make, seriously.

When you buy cards you quote current prices and sold prices on eBay pretty well. When buying you seem to be an expert behind the scenes. Oh yea isn't your PayPal account linked to a card shop, I know it was when you paid me.

So the big question, why the act?

[wdwfan]

Wait, what? I made 1 post asking if there was any interest in creased cards and 1 about Ex cards being creased (this one). I figured that was a legitimate question becuase I've seen some that are in VG range that are crease free and some in Ex or Ex-Mt that are creased. So I was trying to get some clarification. Thanks for helping me get that clarification.

Originally Posted by bnorth

OK I just have to ask. Why all the "i don't know how to sell cards" and "why do I not get exactly what I want" and the plethora of other silly posts/threads you make, seriously.

When you buy cards you quote current prices and sold prices on eBay pretty well. When buying you seem to be an expert behind the scenes. Oh yea isn't your PayPal account linked to a card shop, I know it was when you paid me.

So the big question, why the act?

[Kutcher55]

"As far as selling graded, creased cards, why would you grade a 1-3 PSA and then sell for $1? It cost like $10 I imagine (or more) to grade cards. Or are you saying you sell the creased cards as raw for $1 apiece?"

Just to clarify, I'm not suggesting I get these cards graded. I'm just saying if anyone were to get them graded, they would range from 1 to 3. Not too many pure 1s in there; probably several 1.5s though. At $1 each, I will take a loss on them for sure, but I don't mind getting 40 or 50 bucks for them or whatever it ends up being rather than throwing them away. With 57s as hot as they have been, I think you can convert even bad ones to a little bit of cash.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

"As far as selling graded, creased cards, why would you grade a 1-3 PSA and then sell for $1? It cost like $10 I imagine (or more) to grade cards. Or are you saying you sell the creased cards as raw for $1 apiece?"

Just to clarify, I'm not suggesting I get these cards graded. I'm just saying if anyone were to get them graded, they would range from 1 to 3. Not too many pure 1s in there; probably several 1.5s though. At $1 each, I will take a loss on them for sure, but I don't mind getting 40 or 50 bucks for them or whatever it ends up being rather than throwing them away. With 57s as hot as they have been, I think you can convert even bad ones to a little bit of cash.

As a friend once told me, everything will sell of a price.

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