Trying to understand the merchants on Loupe
JolleyWrencher
Posts: 605 ✭✭✭
It seems as though you can come across almost anything from vintage to modern, non-sports to sports, cards to player used relics, etc.
It seems some merchants have options for things such as the following:
$5 appreciation (gift/tip)
Mystery items (cards or relics)
Purchase a team for a break (some allow you to pick the team with every team listed, others have limited team options, and others are random team pics.
It seems ebay often has boxes or packs for less than some of the merchants are asking. Ebay is fairly volatile and so I'd imagine some days eBay is more costly and less on other days.
Some have live breaks, some are live auctions, some appear to be able to purchase anytime like an online store.
Still trying to figure out where to use the credit.
Comments
I don't know what to do with my credits either.
My understanding is you can't buy individual cards with it, it has to be live rip (although some have said they bought unopened boxes with the credit).
I'm not having these careless clowns rip my packs. They tear through them like a guerilla through a banana.
I watched one guy dump the pack on the table and shuffle them, sliding them around banging into each other, then says "I know some of you wrote that you're concerned the cards get damaged when I do this, this doesn't hurt them." Then he grabs all the packs and bangs them on their edge on to the table, spinning them to align them like a deck of cards, saying "I'm not damaging them guys, I'm being careful." It was unbelievable to watch. I'm supposed to let that guy and guys like him on Loupe handle MY cards? No way.
And Loupe has the worst customer service. I asked them a specific question, and several days later I get a copy/pasted response, nothing to do with what I asked, and the support ticket closed as resolved.
How anybody does business with Loupe app is beyond me, and the fact PSA partnered with these guys is really discouraging.
I won't have any credits. I'm not going to renew until they do something different. I'm sure I'm not alone. Just sent a sub to SGC and it was done 3 days after received. Unless PSA got a huge kickback there's no reason to partner with them.
You’re not buying from Loupe. Loupe is just the App. You’re buying from different sellers. Each seller has different policies and shipping procedures etc. We almost always ship next business day unless we are overwhelmed by orders over the course of a weekend or Event we are doing.
You can buy individual cards if a seller is offering. Looks for auction events. Yes can also have boxes purchased from us shipped sealed as well. Again, sellers have different policies on how they handle their stream.
You usually have some nice individual OPC cards from what I remember. Why don't you guide this board through the process of purchasing some of your individual cards and make a ton of money?????
I would direct you to our website www.OPCBaseball.com. Now I know that doesn’t help you on Loupe. If you’re looking for just raw or graded singles, keep checking the sellers menu for events or go in to their streams asking about them. Breaks is more of the theme but singles be it raw or graded are sold or auctioned. Loupe is just the platform and every seller has their own unique way to sell.
There are so many new users on Loupe from the $100 credit and it has been very successful. Lots of happy customers. While some are not happy because it’s not all slabs or singles, there are other ways to use that credit there. Maybe grab a sealed box of 2023 Topps baseball, get in to some case breaks etc…
Fireman rips doing singles and slab auctions now
I understand it's the Loupe app, where sometimes I just wrote Loupe.
I found the write-up which led me to think individual cards couldn't be bought using credits. It said you can't use the credits on a static store, it has to be through a stream. Now finding a stream with actual vintage cards is the challenge.
The streams I've viewed so far, are loud, in your face, dealers who don't care about the cards they're pulling other than the "sick pull" auto card numbered to whatever, of a guy you won't here from next year. They basically toss the base cards, not caring about the card design or pics, etc. It's pure lottery, not for collectors.
Yes they sell individual cards on occasion, but it's mostly modern stuff, or "vintage" 2018. Umm yeah, no thanks.
And I forgot to mention the other Loupe app hurdle. Google pay or Apple pay only. Huh? No credit card or PayPal? Great. I have to set up yet another payment method for future identity theft.
Yes, I understand their target audience and clearly the Loupe app is not for me. I just want to use up the credits, but the Loupe app is such a chore and sucks the fun out of collecting.
I don't know of any seller that's on there that's in your face and don't care. My guess is you and most people bought the PSA Collectors Club package to have the ability to submit cards at PSA'S best pricing at a cost of $99. With that package, they are giving you a $100 credit to use on Loupe! Now maybe Loupe sellers do not offer what you want or collect. There are so many levels to this hobby and what people collect. You can make the most of it and use that FREE $100 credit in many ways. Like I said, grab a box of 2023 Topps baseball or something else to enjoy. Not for you? Think of someone else and grab something for a friend, son or a present for someone you know. You can come on here and complain but your complaining that they gave you a FREE $100 credit to use
Well, they’re complaining that they’re receiving that $100 credit INSTEAD OF the free grading vouchers that used to be the norm, something that is a lot more appealing.
Not to change subjects but I joined because submitting 20 cards at $19 instead of the $25 nonmember price had canceled each other out. The credit was a bonus as I figured spending $10 to get $100 would net something of value one way or another. I do agree that a barrier I've not overcome yet is getting another payment method since I've been loyal to PayPal since the inception and every problem I've encountered has been resolved 100% with great customer service everytime.
Since I have only been around for 3 months, I am limited on knowing when changers were made, but I've read content from PSA highlighting the Silver membership and the benefits. I haven't looked for a higher tier membership package but vouches don't appear to be something available at the Silver level.
I have watched a dozen breaks and some guys like to have fun with it. Given that my kids are almost 15/17, I'm less annoyed by seeing some stuff that is likely similar to how annoying I was to the more contemporary folks I was around. In an era where kids are inspired by content creators, it is sort of neat to see the younger people trying their hand although not all of them will get it right. Over time we will see established faces and names for vintage, TGC, modern, etc. as we are at the forefront of an evolution in the online distribution of merchandise.
A handy thing would be for the app, forgive me if this exists already, to have ratings and reviews so both the customers and the merchant can use the feedback to their advantage.
I would imagine it be a violation to request cards we know the vendors have (seeing their stores online outside of Loupe app) to be put into one of their sessions for a chance at it in a live stream. I bring this up because I'm betting this will cross the mind of others if it hasn't happened already.
Sure, but you never got free grading vouchers for the $99 membership anyways. Of course that is why everyone bought the $249 membership, but those have been unavailable for years now and grading was only $10 back then. I
There were two membership tiers. The $149 membership for which you got 6 free grades, and the $249 membership that came with 15 free grades. The membership without any vouchers was $59. So the price is up slightly if you don’t care about Loupe.
Here’s how it stood pre-COVID….
It was even cheaper a few years before that.
Now that's twice already you're pushing 2023 Topps. We get it. You're a dealer and the money's in pushing new product, but please stop telling me what or how I should collect.
And when did I ever complain about the FREE $100 credit? If you're paying attention, the complaint is about the process, poor customer support, and limited availability of product for the 'collector', that's not a gambler hoping for that one 'sick pull'.
I have yet to find a dealer on Loupe app I would want to give my money to, let alone finding one that sells stuff I'm interested in. They have all been new product pushers, HSN style.
Anybody have a suggestion of a chill Loupe app dealer that has raw/graded vintage (pre-80) on their stream, I'd love to know.
Thanks.
I am not pushing anything here, I was throwing out suggestions to try and help. Clearly your not interested in them which is all good. Just keep complaing about Loupe and the dealers there. Just remember, you didn't buy the PSA package for the Loupe credit. Paid $99/PSA Package and get $100/Loupe credit sounds like a win to most people, clearly not you
I reluctantly renewed my membership (been a member since 1996) mainly because PSA was kind enough to extend my previous membership for 14 months during the backlog, took advantage of the $15 vintage February special and sent in 10 cards for grading. In my reasoning it was the same as before membership minus 5 grading vouchers. (inflation/corporate greed). $100 Loupe credit had nothing to do with my decision and still sits as unclaimed in an e-mail somewhere. I'm not complaining and could care less about Loupe.
Yup, you're one of them alright. LOL
Guess I can stop looking on your website at cards I was interested in.
And I wasn't complaining about Loupe. It's the Loupe APP. The platform. Remember?
"Sounding" like a win, and actually being a win, are two different things.
Good luck selling those 2023 Topps.
This is odd. Like just about everybody else, I found out about Loupe when I got the $100 credit for reupping my PSA membership. I would have reupped anyway because it would have paid for itself with the discounted tier pricing so the $100 credit was a nice bonus.
I've watched a lot of streams and have hung out in OPC Baseball's a lot, as well as had them rip a number of boxes for me. I actually really like the entire setup. I'm not saying it's without faults, I just think that they're small things that they'll be able to iron out.
I'm the type of guy that would drop $1k on boxes at Blowout and pay for the overnight shipping because I had "the itch" and it needed to be scratched ASAP. With Loupe, you can scratch that itch immediately. You can buy a box of cards and they'll rip it for you right then and there on camera and show you what you got, then ship it to you. I love it. I ripped a box of 2022 A&G Chrome with Tom and hit a redemption for a gold auto RC of Wander Franco. I've found 95% of the dealers on Loupe to be laid back and accommodating to their customers.
I don't know. Maybe you caught a few guys on a bad day or something. I'm certainly not dismissing your experience. I do think that if people spent the time to get the lay of the land there they would come to enjoy it. I'll drop into OPC Baseball just to wish people luck and shoot the breeze with the guys. They really make a concerted effort to emphasize the fun in the hobby.
Arthur
So after a few more days of Louping it occurred to me what the actual main draw is -- the personalization of the owners and employees of the businesses we use.
Each live stream is from a unique company and each company obviously has their own owner and employees handling the rips and streams. They have their own personalities and their own "playlist" of music going as background noise. You can literally find the individuals that most fit your personality and build actual real life relationships with these people that, otherwise, you would only talk to via email once or twice a year.
This makes the experience more FUN. You're basically going to a digital card store and pulling up a chair to hang out with the guys you know, maybe you rip something, maybe you don't. But these are "your guys" at "your store."
I remember Tom Salem from this very message board years ago and following his awesome trips to Canada and all the gold he would find and bring back. I feel like I've gotten to know him more in the last few weeks on his store OPC Baseball on Loupe than in all those years here on this board. I've also gotten to know his guy Mike as well as a few others. I like their stream because they really place an emphasis on making sure people on their stream are having FUN. They even laugh at my asinine jokes, which I'm quite grateful for.
I love just hopping in and seeing what's going on, just like you would with your local brick & mortar. I've seen products I didn't know anything about and fell in love with them and then ripped some. Or I'll just hang out, root everyone else on, and shoot the breeze with Tom and the guys.
I'm NOT saying that the other streams on Loupe aren't good or that they're "lesser than." I'm simply saying that OPC Baseball is the best fit FOR ME, just like the other streams would be the best fit for other collectors.
Between this post and the previous one, it probably seems like I have a dog in the fight. I don't. I just really, really enjoy this hobby product and think a lot of people would enjoy it as well. Do I want the app to do well? Absolutely. I'd love to see them expand and add more options and make it even better. But if I'm going to come on a message board and gripe about a bad actor in the hobby then it's only fair that I come on and champion something that I'm genuinely excited about in the hobby. Fair is fair.
Arthur