Evaluating vintage vending boxes on Ebay

TheCARDKid

Interesting 1958 Topps vending box

Whenever I see auctions like this, it always makes me wonder about the potential buyer on the other end. It seems very difficult to try to evaluate such an auction. On the one hand, it sounds very enticing. Who wouldn't want to go through a potentially undisturbed vintage vending box.

Yet the description and the seller makes me wonder. Why are there 497 cards. The low level of feedback (1) is always a cause for concern.

There was another seller, topps11 who has recently sold many valuable Topps vending boxes ('59, 60). The '59 box went for $2,500 because the seller had a solid reputation.

Has anyone ever bought a vintage vending box on Ebay from a random person?

packCollector

I just looked at everything this guy is selling. I think the concern is that he has no concept of cards. It does not look like a scam based on the random items that he is selling. Without seeing the box opened it is impossible to evaluate. If it was his uncles , there is no way of knowing if he went through them 100 times looking at them and "playing" with them and just put them back in the box he got them in. another tough risky transaction if one chooses to purchase this box

Cubfan

He kind of cut off the edges on the scans too so you cant really see what his vg-ex means with corners. Too bad.

Also, how do you count exactly 497 cards without seeing or noticing other big names or stars? If he recognizes that Jim Bunning is a Hall of Famer and put him in a scan, he would certainly recognize Koufax, Clemente, Banks, Mays, etc.

Many unanswered questions and doubts.

highend

when i saw this item i had visions of psa 9's and 10's, i know it's going to take a considerable amount of cash to win the auction. my wife was in the kitchen preparing my favorite snack of lobster tails and filet mignon, i told her i was going to the bank to cash in her IRA account to get the cash for the auction. she replied, "go tiger" as i was walking out the door she said, "hurry back , carmen electra will be here shortly to give you a massage".

not even in a perfect world.

if it sounds too good to be true it probably is , the box is probably full of well thumbed 58's, with the aaron being the only significant card.

Hubcap

First of all, how do you know it's even a 1958 vending box? They all looked the same from about 1957 until 1960, and then some perhaps. You can tell the difference between years from the stamp on the side of the box. Second, in another 1980 rack box auction, he says that he is sorry that he doesn't have a camera to take a picture of the product. So what I am guessing he has done is steal a picture of a vending box and 1958 Aaron and Bunning cards. And idiots are bidding this junk up to over $500???? Yes, if it is too good to be true, then it isn't true. Duh!

packCollector

hubcap, that was my initial thought also. I looked at the 58 auction and it is an actual scan , not a picture so it makes sense what he is saying. an 80 rack box is not going to fit on a scanner. that said, the people bidding are still idiots! you can't buy an old vending box without seeing the box opened to try and assess the condition . the box could be real but if it has been looked through 100 times and not stored properly then it is not worth that much. even with the open picture it is a real gamble anyway without the assesment of an auction house or an experienced collector