Hobby Myths Most Accept as True

[mintacular]

Myth: Cards are worth Beckett book $'s...

[bcornell]

Originally Posted by mintacular

Myth: Cards are worth Beckett book $'s...

That's an easy one... any time someone quotes you 'book price', tell them "then go buy it from Beckett or SCD". I learned that line from SB1...


Bill

[batsballsbases]

Myth: Coaches Corner has the fairest prices on Mother Theresa Autographs No Really.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by bcornell

That's an easy one... any time someone quotes you 'book price', tell them "then go buy it from Beckett or SCD". I learned that line from SB1...


Bill

Bill, this is not directed at you (I don't know you), but that line has been for years my surefire dickhead detector.

If I reasonably try to talk to a seller about a card, and I put forward some indication of what similar cards have sold for elsewhere in recent times, I expect to be treated with some respect and I expect a dialogue. All too often, I get this dickhead response inviting me to go buy it from someone else...and I gladly oblige every time. Not only on that item, but on every item in the future (ie. I never do any business with anyone who feeds me that stupid line).

Now, if someone wanted to have a discussion about how they felt certain price guides were not accurate, but they had some more accurate info on recent sales, I'd be very happy to discuss that. It is the dismissiveness of saying "go buy it from X" to a prospective customer that is utterly idiotic from a person who is actually trying to sell something.

Cheers,
Blair

[bcornell]

No offense taken, Blair. I thought that snarky line was one possible reply to being quoted book prices, which are often wildly wrong. However, those prices are sometimes a starting point in a face-to-face negotiation between a buyer & seller at the National.


Bill

[Rich Klein]

Was also a favorite of mine back in the 1980's when the mid-60's tough hi numbers were priced way too low.

This would be the typical conversation:

Collector: How much do you want for the 1967 Shaw/Sutherland Card

Me: $20 (or whatever seemingly insane price I wanted)

Collector: But Beckett says it's only $7

Me: Here is the phone # to the Dallas Office, buy it from them

Collector: But the book says this.

Me: How long have you been looking for that card to finish your set

Collector: 3 years

Me: Don't you think there is a reason you have not been able to find that card then at that price

Collector: Yeah; but I still want it only for $7

Repeat conversation about 10x a show

Rich

[yomass]

What is the evidence that W502 is a candy issue?

What is the evidence that W575-2 was issued as a boxed set? Almost all of mine are hand cut, so how do they get that way?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by yomass

What is the evidence that W502 is a candy issue?

What is the evidence that W575-2 was issued as a boxed set? Almost all of mine are hand cut, so how do they get that way?

I think he might have meant the W503's have been known to be a candy issue by most hobby veterans. I am not sure about anything definitive though. As for W575-2 my only source for what they are is a small strip card example....Nice thought for a thread!!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by yomass

What is the evidence that W575-2 was issued as a boxed set? Almost all of mine are hand cut, so how do they get that way?

Me too! I have a mix of both what appears to be hand cut and what is probably machine cut W575-2 cards. Is it possible that they could have been distributed both as a box set and as a strip issue? Leon's example shows me that a strip issue is not out of the question. I would also like to hear about the the box set...just never have heard the actual story behind it.

Brian

[ChrisStufflestreet]

Originally Posted by bcornell

No offense taken, Blair. I thought that snarky line was one possible reply to being quoted book prices, which are often wildly wrong. However, those prices are sometimes a starting point in a face-to-face negotiation between a buyer & seller at the National.


Bill

As far as buying at shows, I have always taken the position that I decide what I want to pay. If a seller wants to bargain, that's fine, but I've always understood that it's my ultimate power to say "no, thanks" and walk to the next table.

As for the sellers who rely too much on "book" values, I've always gotten a kick out of sellers who:

#1. Don't put prices on their cards
#2. Can't tell you what the price is without consulting the Great Oracle of Beckett
#3. Pay little attention to the condition when they assign a price.

One show I attended in a local mall a few years back had one of these moments. I saw a beat-up '51 Bowman high number. It was a common but the paper had darkened, the corners were missing and several creases were evident even inside the top loader. Asking what he wanted for it, the seller took out his Beckett, looked at the listings for a minute and said, "twenty."

I thanked him for his time, but then he started saying, "But look right here!" (pointing at the guide) "This here is a $30 card!" So I took the guide, opened it to the section that explained condition...showed him that a card that rated Fair/Poor should only command about 15-25% of the value at most...but he wasn't quite so eager to follow The Book at that point.

But...I know that goes both ways. Most of the 54 guys who also sell are sure to have plenty of stories where somebody brought in a childhood collection that had been thoroughly thrashed and had calculated the Hi Beckett value of every single card before walking into the store to sell them.

[Rob D.]

High bidders "win" items in auctions.

You don't win things in auctions, you buy them. If I were the owner of an auction house (or the former owner), I would love that the idea of "winning" items has become the accepted verbiage. You might be winning the right to buy an item for your bid, but the last time I looked, if I win something, money isn't leaving my pocket.

[tbob]

Hobby myths:

1)T207 Davis with a blue C is a legitimate variation.

One exists and is a printing freak.

2)There is a P2 Mullins large letter variation pin with black cap.

It does not exist and has has incorrectly been assumed to exist for over 30 years.