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$300 investment. Real? Fake? Grade? RARE FIND!!!

So I've talked to a few people on the board about this in another forum. So now I'm just gonna ask everyone. It is in PSA's hands now and should be done on Monday! So this will be a very long weekend. This was a rare find, I bought it as a BIN on eBay. The lady's story lines up and she obviously didn't know what she had. The card was very flimsy and lightweight. There is a small indent (possibly a fingernail imprint) on the left shoulder, hard to see in the pictures. The one picture with the yellow background was a quick picture I snapped when I had it out of the case. The top right corner in the picture looks bad I think it was the light. It's not all that bad as u can see in the other pictures.
Thanks for any opinions and I'm def hoping it's real!
image
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Comments

  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good luck!

    The back looks a little aged and I would think this works in your favor for being real.

  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    I think you'll come out ahead with this deal.

    What are your plans if it comes back unholdered?

    Good luck on the PSA sub!
  • The lady I bought it from had already said if it comes back fake she would reimburse my money.
    So that's good!
  • I'll be curious as the result for sure. I'd feel good about at this point. Even authentic altered would put you way ahead
    It never leaves you...
  • esquiresportsesquiresports Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭
    Real potential for a home run here! Get that card to PSA ASAP.
    Always buying 1971 OPC Baseball packs.
  • addicted2ebayaddicted2ebay Posts: 2,092 ✭✭✭✭
    I think your good, looks like she should have let that auction run. $10,000 mistakeimage

    Cal
  • PSA already has it, got it Friday.... Should be graded Monday.

    And I know I saw she had listed it then stopped and did a BIN.
    So her mistake is my gain I guess image
  • PSASAPPSASAP Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
    Wow, just wow!!!
  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Throngs

    She sells "throngs" too

  • PSASAPPSASAP Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
    That's just throng.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    It doesn't make any sense to end the auction and then to relist it for $300.

    No sense, whatsoever.

    All of her listings are auctions.

    Wonder if someone tried to make her an off-eBay offer, so she relisted it as a Buy it Now?

    It's very possible this woman was taken advantage of.
  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have purchased a few items where I email the seller and see if they will turn it into a buy it now.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    ...I'm not saying the OP did this, someone else could have done this and the OP picked it up before they could.

  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I have purchased a few items where I email the seller and see if they will turn it into a buy it now. >>



    If this lady had a card worth this much would you offer her $300 for it?
  • ChiefsFan1stChiefsFan1st Posts: 845 ✭✭✭
    Looking at the pics, im guessing this in the PSA3-5 range (of course im not at all familiar with this card)

    And judging that everyone seems excited about this deal, Im guessing very rare or spoof threadimage
    I dont wanna grow up, Im a Toys-R-Us kid!
  • LarkinCollectorLarkinCollector Posts: 8,975 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Looking at the pics, im guessing this in the PSA3-5 range (of course im not at all familiar with this card)

    And judging that everyone seems excited about this deal, Im guessing very rare or spoof threadimage >>


    Very rare, the white whale for many a Ripken collector.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    I contacted the lady on eBay and she said that another buyer offered her $300 and Ripkenfan126 bought it before the other person could.

    Apparently, the woman's husband died from Parkinson's Disease and she's living off of disability since he didn't have life insurance. This was one of his cards.

    She sold it for oil to heat her home.

  • So here's the story. And no I did not ask her to sell it as a BIN.

    So after I saw it on eBay I emailed the seller right away, asked if it was original or fake? She writes back pretty quick it's original. So I buy it right away, I figured if it's fake I have eBay and paypal to go back on. So wasn't to worried about that. So the next day she emails me and says people have emailed her saying she was dumb to sell it and it's worth a lot more if it's real. Thank goodness she had already sent it lol. She is a very nice lady(I suspect elderly). She also said she only sold it to buy oil for heat in the winter. She also said if it was fake please send it back and she would reimburse me my money. So I feel what do I have to lose really? (Psa fees I guess but worth the risk). I asked her how she got the card. She said her husband grew up in NC and a family member gave it to him years and years ago. He passed away 3 years ago and she said it has sat in a cedar chest for years. So I feel bad for the lady in one sense as she def didn't know what she had. (If it's real I may give her a little more money as it sounds like she might need it).
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,477 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What is the actual value of this card if holdered? Is this really a 10K card? I'd hate to think so if the woman who sold it did so for a $300 tank of oil. That seems wrong.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • Granted at this time still it's all speculation as I don't know if it's real for sure
  • ChiefsFan1stChiefsFan1st Posts: 845 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Looking at the pics, im guessing this in the PSA3-5 range (of course im not at all familiar with this card)

    And judging that everyone seems excited about this deal, Im guessing very rare or spoof threadimage >>


    Very rare, the white whale for many a Ripken collector. >>



    Ah. Thanks.

    Congrats on the find Ripkenfan126!!
    I dont wanna grow up, Im a Toys-R-Us kid!
  • I wonder who offered her 300$? I just saw it and bought it. Lol

    MULLINS5 when you talked to her did the lady seem mad?
    I was never trying to take advantage or anything like I said I just saw it and bought it.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I wonder who offered her 300$? I just saw it and bought it. Lol

    MULLINS5 when you talked to her did the lady seem mad?
    I was never trying to take advantage or anything like I said I just saw it and bought it. >>



    Not mad. I think she'd rather have her husband back than $10,000 to be honest.
  • We'll yes I'm sure.
  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You see this card listed on EBay being presented as real for $300 you buy it and hope it gets shipped.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭


    << <i>You see this card listed on EBay being presented as real for $300 you buy it and hope it gets shipped. >>



    Agree with you. If it's up as a buy it now, it's fair game.

    Asking a seller to convert an auction to a BIN is OK too.

    I don't like, however, intentionally deceiving someone by offering them what appears to be a great deal (three times the starting bid of $100) when they know darn well it's worth up to 97X more than the offered price.

  • fiveninerfiveniner Posts: 4,109 ✭✭✭
    Good Job.
    Tony(AN ANGEL WATCHES OVER ME)
  • hyperchipper09hyperchipper09 Posts: 1,438 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>You see this card listed on EBay being presented as real for $300 you buy it and hope it gets shipped. >>



    I gotta agree with this.
  • fergie23fergie23 Posts: 2,078 ✭✭✭✭
    So if a little old lady comes into your LCS with a $10k card and the card shop owner offers $300 that would be wrong. But if you over hear the conversation and when the card shop owner heads to back to get $300 in cash you give the little old lady $300 instead it is ok? I mean it is not like she is selling the card to pay for heat this winter or anything...

    I certainly know what I would do in this situation. I do hope the card grades out for you but I know I could never keep it and feel good about owning it.

    Robb
  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>So if a little old lady comes into your LCS with a $10k card and the card shop owner offers $300 that would be wrong. But if you over hear the conversation and when the card shop owner heads to back to get $300 in cash you give the little old lady $300 instead it is ok? I mean it is not like she is selling the card to pay for heat this winter or anything...

    I certainly know what I would do in this situation. I do hope the card grades out for you but I know I could never keep it and feel good about owning it.

    Robb >>




    First of all we don't know if she is really selling the card to pay for her heat. Most stories that surface from uniformed sellers of vintage cards get instantly discredited on this board.

    If you are shopping on EBAY as a buyer and come across a listing that is miss-priced that is part of the game. It is after all originally an online garage sale.

    There are countless collectors who buy raw cards and nail high grades where the card explodes in value. The sale was made and the results favored the buyer. There are plenty of examples where the seller wins.

    The OP did what was right. He bought the card. If he had not someone else would have.

    The jury is still out. Come Monday he will know if his $300 lottery ticket panned out. If not the card will be going back to the seller of "Throngs".


  • PSASAPPSASAP Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
    No wonder why the lady is cold, she shouldn't be wearing throngs instead of long underwear. image
  • fergie23fergie23 Posts: 2,078 ✭✭✭✭
    There was a 100% chance you would respond the way you did DPeck. Obviously for some people anything goes, I just happen to live my life a lot differently than that.

    The OP said in his Set Registry thread that if it was real he may give the lady a little more money for it. Hopefully it is real and he decides to give her something closer to its actual worth.

    Robb
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    The buyer knows an awful lot about the seller's circumstances and the card to be just someone who randomly found it and hit the buy it now button.

    I think there's more to this than just someone who hit the buy button.

    Even though there isn't much she can do to get her card back, eBay has been contacted with both user IDs and all correspondences to see if they are connected somehow.

    If this is all true, I can understand the OPs excitement, but show an ounce of class by not publicly announcing that

    "she obviously didn't know what she had"

    "she was dumb to sell it and it's worth a lot more if it's real. Thank goodness she had already sent it lol."

    "So her mistake is my gain I guess"

    "So I feel bad for the lady in one sense as she def didn't know what she had."



  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>There was a 100% chance you would respond the way you did DPeck. Obviously for some people anything goes, I just happen to live my life a lot differently than that.

    The OP said in his Set Registry thread that if it was real he may give the lady a little more money for it. Hopefully it is real and he decides to give her something closer to its actual worth.

    Robb >>





    So where do we draw the line on profit?
  • KNAPPKNAPP Posts: 654 ✭✭✭
    No risk, no reward. Well done, but if it comes back unholdered, just take the loss, since you were the one pushing for it. That's just me.
    the KNAPP collection - specializing in boxing and wrestling
    Always looking to buy or trade for Andre the Giant autographs
    psacard.com/psasetregistry/non-sports/famous-personage/andre-giant-master-set/alltimeset/180400


  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,477 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>No risk, no reward. Well done, but if it comes back unholdered, just take the loss, since you were the one pushing for it. That's just me. >>



    I agree. If you are going to accept a refund from her if it turns out to be NG, you ought to send her more money for the card if it turns out to be authentic.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • I like board arguments as much as the next guy, but this "do you tell uninformed sellers true value?" question has been asked and thoroughly argued a lot. There are two positions that have fundamentally incompatible worldviews. People tend to fall into one camp or the other and, once aligned, have a hard time seeing much of the other side's logic. GL OP.
  • swartz1swartz1 Posts: 4,911 ✭✭✭
    Not the buyers fault for their circumstances, another prime example of knowing what u are selling..this happens all the time...


    Looking for 1970 MLB Photostamps
    - uncut


    Positive Transactions - tennesseebanker, Ahmanfan, Donruss, Colebear, CDsNuts, rbdjr1, Downtown1974, yankeeno7, drewsef, mnolan, mrbud60, msassin, RipublicaninMass, AkbarClone, rustywilly, lsutigers1973, julen23 and nam812, plus many others...
  • P.S. I personally agree with Robb but, when confronted with eBay steals, tend to click the BIN and am happy about it. Guess that makes me the worst of all worlds?
  • georgebailey2georgebailey2 Posts: 1,036 ✭✭✭
    First, I need to get the image of an elderly woman selling throngs of thongs out of my head (is there a shiver emoticon?).

    With that out of the way....

    No one specifically answered the question regarding the value of an authentic version of this card, although $10k has been implied.

    Assuming it is authentic, then it is up to the OP to determine with what his conscience is comfortable. While no one wants to take advantage of someone else's misfortune or ignorance, we are entitled to take advantage of opportunities that are presented to us. The poster who used the analogy of listening in on another dealer's conversation is not an accurate one. The OP was not privy to that. He had asked a question when it was an auction and was the first to click when is suddenly became a BIN at $300. He had determined it would be worth the risk.

    If it turns out to be authentic, there really is no wrong answer to what the OP may or may not do with regard to the seller.

    Good luck.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    Last year a woman listed a beautiful Ernest Hemingway "Old Man And The Sea" first edition, first printing with the original jacket at a BIN of $30. It wasn't gobbled up quickly, I think, because she misspelled Hemingway "Hemmingway"

    Knowing it was worth about $1200, I quickly bought it and then asked the seller to keep the book and re-list it at auction since in the description she said she was selling her brothers old books to raise tuition money for her son.

    Book sold to the highest bidder (me) for a little less than $500 and I resold it that Christmas for $950

    I left about $400 on the table with that one, and really could have used the extra cash with a newborn in the house, but I still feel really good about what I did.

    To each his own.

    I'm letting my personal feelings get in the way here. Hope the card grades out well for the OP. Nice pick-up.
  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>P.S. I personally agree with Robb but, when confronted with eBay steals, tend to click the BIN and am happy about it. Guess that makes me the worst of all worlds? >>




    I find it comical but predictable that my ethics are being questioned. The free market doesn't hold a gun to her head to list this card. The notion that somehow the buyer should inform the seller of what they have is just mind blowing.

    The card business in many cases is a zero sum game. Somebody wins and somebody loses. I have found myself on either side many times.

    Active commerce could never take place if it were up to the buyer to notify the seller each in every time they feel that they are at an advantage in terms of value.

    Just imagine a market where you email sellers and say that price is to high and they must agree with you based on current market sales. Come on.

    If you want to sell items spend a few minutes and do some research. I am not going to do it for you and nor should I be expected to.

    This seller said the card was authentic and stated they would take it back if it were not. The buyer is sending it to PSA and has the right to take her up on the offer.

    I personally have never returned an item on EBAY and live by the code that if I bought it with the intent to win I must deal with the loss.




  • PSASAPPSASAP Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
    How about the folks at Goldman Sachs who were putting their clients into investment vehicles that they knew were lousy, while at the same making bets on the other side. What do you think their collective conscience is telling them?


  • << <i>I find it comical but predictable that my ethics are being questioned. >>



    I hope you didn't take my comment to mean that. I was actually trying to agree with you--saying that, when push comes to shove, I also usually make the same choice. I then tried to make a joke, poorly as usual.
  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I find it comical but predictable that my ethics are being questioned. >>



    I hope you didn't take my comment to mean that. I was actually trying to agree with you--saying that, when push comes to shove, I also usually make the same choice. I then tried to make a joke, poorly as usual. >>



    No it was not directed towards you.

    I just was responding to your comment that referenced the person who made the statement and your response.

  • PSASAPPSASAP Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
    I hope you didn't take my comment to mean that. I was actually trying to agree with you--saying that, when push comes to shove, I also usually make the same choice. I then tried to make a joke, poorly as usual

    I like your honesty and sense of humor; you see the disconnect between word and deed, which is a problem we all struggle to reconcile.


  • << <i>The buyer knows an awful lot about the seller's circumstances and the card to be just someone who randomly found it and hit the buy it now button.

    I think there's more to this than just someone who hit the buy button.

    Even though there isn't much she can do to get her card back, eBay has been contacted with both user IDs and all correspondences to see if they are connected somehow.

    If this is all true, I can understand the OPs excitement, but show an ounce of class by not publicly announcing that

    "she obviously didn't know what she had"

    "she was dumb to sell it and it's worth a lot more if it's real. Thank goodness she had already sent it lol."

    "So her mistake is my gain I guess"

    "So I feel bad for the lady in one sense as she def didn't know what she had." >>





    So I'm not sure how this thread became what it did . I was simply asking other peoples opinion on this card.
    As for your remark about me knowing a lot about the seller, it's because after I bought it I asked the seller a few questions about the card. Obv in looking at her other items she is selling the card was out of plAce. So I was just inquiring about how she obtained the card.
    I have no relationship or knowledge of this seller prior to buying this item. I know about this card because I am an avid Ripken collector and most Ripken fans are aware of this card. Coincidently she lives about 20 min away from where I live. I am not sure how that even really makes sense to be honest. If this card is real I plan to keep it for my PC I have NO plans to see this card.
    And if you read above the comment about her being dumb for selling it was not made by me, somebody told her that and she told me that. I did say she must not have known what she had and I'm sorry if I offended you but I was not trying to be rude, she obviously did not know what she had. I did post in another thread that I do feel bad she didn't know what she had and if it is real I do plan to send her some additional money.
    So I am sorry if I offended anyone in any way not trying to do that. I'm not really sure why this thread turned into this. I was just curious to know other peoples opinions on the card.
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