Unpopular opinion on VCP an other "comp apps"

[BobbyVCP]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

HI Bobby,

Long time VCP subscriber! Does VCP capture ebay BIN prices? Also any new sources of data in the works you can share?

Yes we do capture BIN and BO sales and you should see them usually with the asking price X'd out and the price it sold for underneath. This take longer to post because mostly due to eBay API system. 1st it will not start our process until the time set by the seller expires. Normal systems will close once the item is sold. Then after this eBay makes getting the final value difficult so we then have to find that out.

In regards to new data sources we are always looking for new AH or others. We do not scrap and try to get live listings to help our members collect. If anyone would like us to get someone we currently do not have please let us know and we will try to connect.

[BobbyVCP]

Also since we have the BIN original price and the accepted price that let us create BOOST...you can now look up sellers on VCP and see their acceptance rate. This is a great tool for the buyer in knowing the what they typically accept according to price range.

[Republicaninmass]

Vcp has allowed anyone to become a "dealer" overnight. Not to mention the market has just been going up for the most part. I don't think condemning VCP is the answer.

[theshowandme]

Comps provide insight for both the seller and potential buyers.

They are not absolute.

More information is always a good thing.

[OhioLawyerF5]

It sounds like your problem isn't with the tools that are available, but with how people use (or misuse) them. Having data is useful (the opposite of worthless). It's what you do with that data that matters.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

In regards to new data sources we are always looking for new AH or others. We do not scrap and try to get live listings to help our members collect. If anyone would like us to get someone we currently do not have please let us know and we will try to connect.

You've been welcome to our data for years.

[BobbyVCP]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

You've been welcome to our data for years.

Can you give me your address I googled Aquarian Sports Cards and get only Net54 posts and other strange things...also can you supply a API feed?

Thanks

[Belfast1933]

Jumping into the comps discussion… I find that people sometimes forget that comps change (higher or lower) over time. “You’re charging over comp…”

Sometimes true - if not true, comp prices would never go up.

As others have said - comps are a good guard rail but they are not absolute (even though they may seem so to some)

(I’ll also add that I find VCP to incredibly valuable both as a seller and collector - keep up the great work)

[Snapolit1]

I mean you could be analyzing NASA data from deep space quasars and there are going to be limitations on the data. That's not a reason to say the data is not useful. Data sets have limitations. You take note of the limitations and use the data with the limitations in mind.

There are plenty of ways of analyzing some of the data on past sales. VCP is the best source that pulls the most info together in one place. And it's very easy to use.

[dbussell12]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I mean you could be analyzing NASA data from deep space quasars and there are going to be limitations on the data. That's not a reason to say the data is not useful. Data sets have limitations. You take note of the limitations and use the data with the limitations in mind.

There are plenty of ways of analyzing some of the data on past sales. VCP is the best source that pulls the most info together in one place. And it's very easy to use.

+1

physicist?

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by dbussell12

+1

physicist?

My son. I'm not smart enough for that gig.

[dbussell12]

Originally Posted by Belfast1933

Jumping into the comps discussion… I find that people sometimes forget that comps change (higher or lower) over time. “You’re charging over comp…”

Sometimes true - if not true, comp prices would never go up.

As others have said - comps are a good guard rail but they are not absolute (even though they may seem so to some)

(I’ll also add that I find VCP to incredibly valuable both as a seller and collector - keep up the great work)

its like any other market. the more actionable data you have the better decisions you can make, but you also have to be prepared for seismic market shifts based on changes in real time behaviors/circumstances/environmental factors, et al. its actually quite interesting how well this thread intersects with the other one posted by peter about bid inflation. it directly relates to and exemplifies one aspect of how comps can be inflated and/or deflated by even small scale (or large) market actions by 'good' and 'bad' actors alike.

[Vintagedeputy]

Comps are stupid and unrealistic. These are collectibles and there is no dedicated material cost or exact number. What someone bought and sold a card for yesterday is irrelevant to what I may buy and sell my card for.

[dbussell12]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Comps are stupid and unrealistic. These are collectibles and there is dedicated material cost or exact number. What someone bought and sold a card for yesterday is irrelevant to what I may buy and sell my card for.

real estate is a strong comparison for what market comps for cards function as. like jeff said, they're guardrails/guide rails. you as an individual can subjectively make the decision to 'list' your card at much higher than the going rate for similar condition sets/houses, or you can make the decision to 'buy' your card at a much lower than the going rate for similar condition sets/houses.

either way, that subjective decision may leave your card on the market for weeks, months, or years; may leave you on the market for a card for weeks, months, or years. that's why successful brokers and agencies use comps to help buyers and sellers advocate and achieve success on the market for properties at all scales. nothing exists in a vacuum; markets of all sizes elucidate this same fundamental truth.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Comps are stupid and unrealistic. These are collectibles and there is dedicated material cost or exact number. What someone bought and sold a card for yesterday is irrelevant to what I may buy and sell my card for.

What do you mean by the part I bolded in your comment?

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Comps are stupid and unrealistic. These are collectibles and there is dedicated material cost or exact number. What someone bought and sold a card for yesterday is irrelevant to what I may buy and sell my card for.

So were price guides also stupid and unrealistic when they used to aggregate the comp data for us back in the 1990’s and earlier?

Clearly no buyer or seller can be forced into paying a specific price, and at times other factors / reasoning surely comes into play - but if you don’t use market data to evaluate recent prices, then I’m imagining those who might find your pricing decisions out of line whether buying or selling stands to be a higher number.

VCP is certainly useful; to the OP’s notion that it has no utility at all one would have to generally agree that the prices being paid elsewhere not tracked on VCP (whether that’s Facebook, WhatNot, a discord, the local card shop / show / flea market, garage sale…) are vastly out of line with those reported in VCP. I am only one person with a small postwar vintage collection - but at least in my experience - that’s neither true or close to being true. Some dealers will balk at the fact that a VCP average price represents a longer duration of time than just the last 3 comps that they want to use on their items because they were higher and it’s trending upward.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[markf31]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Comps are stupid and unrealistic. These are collectibles and there is dedicated material cost or exact number. What someone bought and sold a card for yesterday is irrelevant to what I may buy and sell my card for.

How do you determine what a fair price is when you're buying or selling?

I think the term "comps" has a bad reputation. If you walk around a card show and decide to buy a card from the dealer who offers the best price on that card, you've used "comps".

If you have bought 10 T206 commons all in a similar condition over the past month for between $70-80 and you decline to buy another similar T206 today for $120 because you feel it's too much, you're using "comps".

If what you bought a card for influences what you try to sell that card for, you're using a "comp".

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

Can you give me your address I googled Aquarian Sports Cards and get only Net54 posts and other strange things...also can you supply a API feed?

Thanks

It's The Collector Connection. We talked a few years back. No problem supplying the API

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

It's The Collector Connection. We talked a few years back. No problem supplying the API

Bobby hopefully you can add...Would love to see VCP keep adding more AH's until you have all of them.

[dbussell12]

love to see this kind of collaboration here... clean data drives smart decisions; the more visibility and insight we have as a community and hobby the better it ultimately is for all of us

[UKCardGuy]

I've become a big fan of VCP. As others have said, it's a useful tool as an input to buying and selling decisions. It's great to compare past sales. It still needs people to use their judgment.

For example, if i compare 2 sales forna card and one swas a really old slab and another was just graded, I can make an adjustment accordingly.

Having that info is great. Where I've found it surprisingly useful is assessing scarce pre war cards. I've found some cards where there was something like 2 sales and the last one was 2011. That helps me understand how rare a card might be and that there really isn't a comp. So the seller can name their price.

Bobby, a couple of feature requests:
1. Search by serial number.
It would.be good to see how often a specific slab has been sold and at what price
2. Raw cards
I understand why you don't have these (eg the lack of standardization and people are inconsistent in their specification of condition), but it would be an incredible feature to be able to compare the price of a raw card vs it's graded equivalent. Perhaps you could rely on just a handful of raw providers (e.g. gregmorris cards) in the same way that you do with grading companies.

G@ry G01db3rg

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

In regards to new data sources we are always looking for new AH or others. We do not scrap and try to get live listings to help our members collect. If anyone would like us to get someone we currently do not have please let us know and we will try to connect.

Hunt Auctions: https://huntauctions.com

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