VCP rant

[D. Bergin]

They probably don't record most retail or BIN sales.

Probably because they are easier to manipulate.

Not that an auction with 3-10 days of exposure from a seller who doesn't publicize their auctions outside of the Ebay framework and throws up blurry photos and minimal descriptions should be an accurate representation of actual market value either.

I guess you have to pick and choose your poison.

[barrysloate]

That's a good point I may have missed. Were these BIN's or actual auctions? BIN's have never been part of VCP, only auctions. That would explain it.

[ZernialFan]

Hi All,

I agree with David. I'm relatively new to Net54, but had some, although limited,
experience with VCP prior to and after joining Net54. A friend that is on the board regarded it as "The Source" for average pricing sold. He allowed me to use his subscription for awhile to help me out. I soon noticed that a number of my
purchases from Ebay were not recorded, and I keep very good records. Although I view it as another "Tool" for prices paid, I decided not to join as I
did not think it was as good as I was being told. I did not go any further in investigation, but maybe they pick up Auctions better then Ebay. Not long after I joined Net54 I had an experience where I told a potential buyer on the board I was trying to get what I paid for a card. I told him the price I paid and he later came back and said that VCP showed no such price during the time period I bought the card from Ebay. I told him they did not pick it up. Needless to say I do not think he belived me. So at this point I believe it is another "Tool", but it may not be as accurate as many believe.

Regards,
Charlie

[Exhibitman]

I don't know the specifics of your deal but I did a one-day VCP signup recently and I was surprised at how few cards had transacted in the last 2-3 years according to it. I found listing after listing for T, E and W cards that showed no sales for years, in any grade. Seemed inaccurate to me.

Slightly off topic but how do you capture a screen shot like those?

[byrone]

For easier tracking of Ebay purchases, all you need to do is click "Purchase History", then click "Archive" , and you can bring up all of your purchases for all of 2009, 2010 and the current year.

Comes in handy.

[wonkaticket]

Use the print screen key on your keyboard, then paste into a photo program or Word etc. Adam.

John

[3-2-count]

FYI, I cancelled VCP a few weeks ago after being a member for years.
It's just not cost effective anymore for the information you receive imo.

[rhettyeakley]

I will never understand why BIN's or Best Offers that are accepted are not included. When did the Market price become synonomous with "at auction" only. If you go buy something at Wal-mart for a set price is that not what that item is currently selling for? IMO every transacted card should be included or you are only getting part of the picture. Don't give me that it is easier to manipuate because you can shill an auction just as easy. I have never been a member of VCP and probably never will for the reason stated above.

[sycks22]

There are a good amount of auction houses that are not currently updated in VCP: Goodwin, CSA, Baggers, Heritage and more. Going to all the sites that have an area where you can find previous records is almost more useful. I still subscribe to VCP to save some time on the more commonly sold cards (Mantle's, etc) as stated above by someone.

[steve B]

But you can't shill an auction to a lower price. And that's the bit of price manipulation that would really hurt if all BINs were included. 4-5 fake sales over a couple months to drive the average down, negotiate a couple purchases based on the lower average. Then shill or generate a few more fake sales to raise the average and sell above average since "it's taking off".


Steve B

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

I will never understand why BIN's or Best Offers that are accepted are not included. When did the Market price become synonomous with "at auction" only. If you go buy something at Wal-mart for a set price is that not what that item is currently selling for? IMO every transacted card should be included or you are only getting part of the picture. Don't give me that it is easier to manipuate because you can shill an auction just as easy. I have never been a member of VCP and probably never will for the reason stated above.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

I will never understand why BIN's or Best Offers that are accepted are not included. When did the Market price become synonomous with "at auction" only. If you go buy something at Wal-mart for a set price is that not what that item is currently selling for? IMO every transacted card should be included or you are only getting part of the picture. Don't give me that it is easier to manipuate because you can shill an auction just as easy. I have never been a member of VCP and probably never will for the reason stated above.

+1

Larry

VCP records both BIN's and auctions. I use them as well as data I gather from watching sales both here, eBay, and other sources. I believe this was discussed before and it's a keyword issue for the spiders searching out this data via the web. Problem is if you don't do your research dont blame VCP for not doing it for you. I don't agree with the fact I spend X amount every year for me to continually research my cards when I have paid for a service that claims to do it for me but it is what it is. For as little as I use it now I don't think it's worth half of what I pay a yr but before I could cancel renewal I got charged. Oh well there is always next yr. Maybe this thread will light a well needed fire to get the system fixed.

Bobby has a great product and it is still fairly new. It takes time and money to make anything work. Also I wonder how many people have ever contacted him in regards to this issue? One complaint every now and then may not have warranted a red flag to be raised and looked at. All we can do is tell him the issues and hope he handles them. I wish him all the best on his business.

[glchen]

I'm just totally guessing here, and only Bobby can say when/if he decides to chime in, but does VCP get the data based on the listing title or just the item details on ebay? For example, a lot of sellers don't fill in the item details on the listing (which would include manufacturer, card, grade, etc), and perhaps that is why these are not being picked up by VCP. Or not sure if VCP parses in the listing in some other way.

[BobbyVCP]

We try our best to capture as much data as we can and there are circumstances where some fall through the cracks. We get notices from members about once a month for something we missed and verify the auction and add it to our system. In this case we had no way of verifying the results. I see that it happened looking at the screen shots he posted which he never sent to me to view. All he sent was a eBay ID that expired and showed me no proof it ever happened.

At the beginning of the year eBay decided to change their API system and of course as we all know about them they failed to tell their licensees about it so there was a time period we where not pulling all the data. Since then we were finally able to implement a workaround in March and the reports of missing transaction dropped dramatically.


We never want to get in a situation where we are posting results without the proof. We have always been here and available for all of our members needs and answer any question or fix any problem that should arise.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I don't know the specifics of your deal but I did a one-day VCP signup recently and I was surprised at how few cards had transacted in the last 2-3 years according to it. I found listing after listing for T, E and W cards that showed no sales for years, in any grade. Seemed inaccurate to me.

Some of these cards don't trade very often and it's important to capture every public sale (that is their business). If it were a '56 Mantle or some card like that that trades several times a month, it wouldn't be as big a deal to miss a transaction every now and then because it would still equal out. However, it's frustrating knowing they are missing cards like the ones I've mentioned.

[Bosox Blair]

BTW sport, don't get all agitated when people don't agree that your four little BIN transactions somehow make a valuable business into "a joke".

You couldn't care less about my views...guess that makes us even.

But here's a free business tip for you - if you think BIN results are so valuable, go ahead and set up a business accurately tracking BINs and sit back and wait for subscribers to line up with money in hand...and wait...and wait...

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Bosox Blair

BTW sport, don't get all agitated when people don't agree that your four little BIN transactions somehow make a valuable business into "a joke".

Sport? My four little BINs? Don't insult me, douchebag. VCP is in the business is capturing eBay sales - BINs or auction formats.

****************************************

Leon,

If this a-hole wants to continue this arguement, he should put his full name in his post.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Sport? My four little BINs? Don't insult me, douchebag. VCP is in the business is capturing eBay sales - BINs or auction formats.

****************************************

Leon,

If this a-hole wants to continue this arguement, he should put his full name in his post.

It is a board rule that if you are going to argue with someone or say anything derogatory about a company or person then your name does need to be out here. You are arguing with B.lair C.urtis.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Sport? My four little BINs? Don't insult me, douchebag. VCP is in the business is capturing eBay sales - BINs or auction formats.

****************************************

Leon,

If this a-hole wants to continue this arguement, he should put his full name in his post.

You have shown yourself to be exactly what you are. I don't stoop to namecalling.

You would never do this to my face - believe me.

Happy collecting, David James.


Blair Curtis

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

That's a good point I may have missed. Were these BIN's or actual auctions? BIN's have never been part of VCP, only auctions. That would explain it.

Barry,

Yes, they were all BINs. However, the one card that they did record was a BIN as well (E102 Eddie Collins SGC 40 $310 2/26/11). I'm not sure why they would record some BINs, but not others.