What's with the lack of action.
Yankees70
Posts: 749 ✭✭✭✭
What's with the lack of action on the buy and sell board? Has it always been so dead? You would think with the ample collectors on this board and the amount of great cards people have there would be a lot of action. Years ago I was buying and selling CGC comics and the buy and sell boards on the CGC website had lots of great items for sale at or below market value. You pretty much could get any comic you wanted within a week of viewing the daily items for sale.
It would make sense to sell cards here as a seller would avoid EBAY fees plus the number of returns would be much lower. Instead there's a dead board and when someone has something to sell its usually above or at EBAY prices which again makes no sense because the seller is saving on fees.
Comments
I think it's just a numbers thing Dennis.
E.g., the US Coin forum, the dates of posting on the first page only goes back One day; while the Trading Cards forum goes back something like 16 days.
So there's in some way a mirror on the BST. The US Coin BST goes back to the 1st of July while the Card BST goes back to March 1st on the first page.
I remember a time when if you came here on a Saturday night? There would be dozens of people logged in and lots of chatter. Many have left the hobby and many post on other venues I believe.
Back in the day there was a lot of action on the BST board. People helping each other out to fill gaps in their collections. Other people spreading around their good fortune by offering members an opportunity to purchase something unique. There used to be U-Haul stories and folks unloading stuff regularly. We had numerous group breaks on this board and a lot of very happy hustlers in the room.
Today's environment is vastly different. The trust factor has changed dramatically thanks to some shady folks ripping off other members and then vanishing. The use of eBay and consignment dealers has become the norm. I've moved plenty of merchandise this way over the past few years with maybe a 1% return rate. I don't mind paying the fees. I could never accomplish the same thing here.
When you had your heyday on CGC we also had it going on at Collector's U. There was plenty of action. I miss those days. But ya gotta grow up and that's what this board did.
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I am a dinosaur and really enjoy the message board interface. A large portion of the hobby (lots of flippers) have migrated over to IG and lots of deals are going on over there. facebook as well.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
It seems like people would want to sell here instead of FEEBAY. Maybe the 1099k threshold drop for this year hurt it as well.
Hey Craig44,
Based on your experience - are the IG and FB sellers/buyer - Shiny Modern or Vintage?
If Vintage I may need to step out of my comfort zone and explore...
If Shiny Modern - No need to waste my time.
sjjs28@comcast.net
Collector of Baseball Hall of Famer's and Stars, 1965 Embossed, 1968 Topps Game and 1969 Topps Decals
Registered Sets: 1965 Embossed, 1968 Topps Game, 1969 Topps Decals
I've thought about the lack of activity on B/S/T a lot lately. The few times I listed items at reasonable prices were met with silence (probably due to a lack of eyeballs). A lot of times I see items for sale that are cheaper or same price here as on eBay (as a seller, I would always ask cheaper here because no eBay selling fees).
That being said, just two days ago, I purchased some cards from a board member here on B/S/T that I think was a good deal.
As Stone said, it isn’t just the BST forum that has less traffic, it’s all the forums. I personally feel like the set registry action was a huge part of the discussions and sales. Members were chasing both player and company sets, and the hunt was fun as was seeing the progress of others collections. Sadly with the new pricing, the set registry is a thing of the past. Unopened group rips were also a great way to kill time here, and yes there were a few unscrupulous folks, but I think the pricing and availability of unopened, plus the cost of grading what you ripped, has caused the group rip days to also be just a memory.
Noticed as well, when i visit here. Mostly on Net54....but their BST sections are getting dead too. People want great deals, otherwise they just buy on Ebay or auctions.
Personally i like the BST to save on fees.
Hey- i just did a PSA sub, thanks to them giving a voucher discount for doing it otherwise i would not done so.
I regularly buy through this board and Net54. I think lots of buyers have moved to Facebook. I don’t like Facebook so haven’t migrated there.
All the facebook groups probably has a lot to do with the lack of sales on this board.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ohio State Buckeyes - National Champions
I dont know about cards, but I am on the largest ticket FB group, and seems mostly a modern ticket collector fan base. Which I have no interest in. Very hard to sell pre 1980 sports tickets on that group.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ohio State Buckeyes - National Champions
I have MUCH more experience on FB, and there it is both modern and vintage. I have bought, sold and traded. I have been scammed one time for $250. that was very early on for me and i stupidly paid for an item with friends and family. I barely use IG. the barrier to entry seems much higher to me. instead of just searching for groups like on FB, you seem to just happen across cards from individual sellers, or need to be invited to a group. the search function leaves a lot to be desired as far as i am concerned.
but, i also am a dinosaur
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Seems like there are more BUY threads than SELL threads. No one is selling those cards.
I just checked the Registry Forum and the bottom thread dates back to Sep 29, 2024. That used to be a lot busier than that? I'm a bit surprised and disappointed.
I don't track the prices on cards that much, but recently checked the PSA estimate on the ones I have listed there on my collection. I was shocked at how much they've gone up in value in the year since I'd last checked. Mine are 99% vintage.
I think the new grading standards have made any vintage go up in value a lot in the past few years. Now that the same standards seem to have migrated to SGC a new level of scarcity has been created. (might be some inflationary issues too)
I'd planned on selling a big part of my collection last fall but just didn't get the time to get the sale organized. Now I'm just sitting on them until I'm really ready. I won't sell a thing until then.
The wide variety of Facebook card groups has effectively supplanted legacy message boards for buying and selling cards, etc.
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.
A buddy of mine has been swindled twice...The second time speaks to his lack of common sense thus there will be a third.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
You definitely need to do your due diligence when dealing with others with whom you are not familiar. Common sense goes a long way, too, as well as making connections with fellow collectors.
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've made several purchases with no problems in the past. The guys on the coin side are great. Being a mid-grade (5,6,7) vintage collector I don't want to embarrass myself listing anything for sale on a board that collects or at least talks about high grade material.
Agree 100%. One issue with selling on FB is the algorithm pushes sales posts down so quickly if it does not move in the first hour or two people don’t see the post. Also, far too many offers of $100 for a $250 listing or no offers but “what is the lowest you will take on the card?” 🙄