eBay sales baffle me...

[xdrx]

I've begun to slowly sell off some cards. Got 10 nice cards from the 60s graded. Most came back very low vs my expectations, and based on Ebay sale price did not justify paying for grading. But that was a necessary learning experience for me.

What is really baffling to me is what clearly damaged cards sell for. I just sold a 64 and 69 Clemente together for $44. 64 has a big crease across face of card; 69 has a chunk out of Bob's head. I would have guessed these were maybe worth $5 each. Maybe. I previously sold a 58 Clemente with huge crease, a beat to hell 59 Koufax with tape on it, a 64 Mantle with a hole punch hole through his head, and a 62 Mays that was covered in some kind of goo for $45. I know the buyer at least doubled his money when he resold those same cards on eBay.

I also just sold a 60 McCovey graded SGC40 for $20. I know McCovey isn't Clemente, but that is his rookie card. Also sold a 61 Mays, also a 40, for $17.50. Those two cards were in very nice shape, just had typical wear on corners. Combined for $37.50 vs two Clementes for $44 that have major flaws.

Maybe I'm just seeing some weird variants in sales here. You obviously can't draw big conclusions based on a couple of data points. But it sure is beginning to seem to me that cards either are in nice shape with sharp corners, or they are not. There doesn't seem to be much room for a middle class in the hobby. To me a crease is worse than four rounded corners, and a hole or missing part of face of card is way worse than a crease. When I was buying cards from 50s and 60s in the early 80s I don't recall seeing a helluva lot with four sharp corners. That was not even an expectation.