heads-up: ebay pulled about 30 of my PSA 1/1's yesterday!

rbdjr1

I had about 40 PSA 9s and PSA 10s, mostly 1/1's, that I transferred from my ebay store to an ebay auction format. These cards have been in my store for well over 90 days.

ebay, with their wisdom, decided that because I had PSA 9 1/1 and PSA 10 1/1, claimed that I had misleading titles and pulled 30 auctions of mine, refunding me all ebay fees.

Strangely, ebay left about 10 cards that also had "1/1" in the title, including three auctions that had "featured item, bold, highlighted, etc." (i.e., expensive ebay listing features). In other words ebay left alone three expensive listings, even though "1/1" was in my title (plus around 7 other "1/1" listings were "left alone" by ebay!)...

I ended all the 10 remaining listings, before ebay could pull them.

I spent over an hour with ebay customer service on the phone. Hoping that ebay customer service would bring-up all those "pulled listings" of mine and then list them in my "unsold area" of "My ebay", so I could take out the "1/1's" and then just relist them. No such luck! So if I want to relist these items, I will need to start from scratch, all over again, to relist them! That really sucks!

The ebay customer service rep was nice and tried to help me by walking to the other side of ebay to talk with the guys responsible for pulling "deceptive title auctions".

The explaination given was if there is more than one graded PSA example of any card, no matter what the grade is, you cannot put 1/1 in your title. So if you have a PSA 10 1/1, for example, you cannot put "1/1" in the title if there are other lower graded PSA examples.

It doesn't make any sense, but that is the way ebay wants it!

My reason for posting this tonite, is I know of at least three guys that post here were bidding on my items. I'm sorry for me pulling the remaining 10 items. I will be relisting them, along with the 30 cards that ebay pulled in the near future.

I just didn't understand why ebay left about 25% of my auctions? Either did the ebay customer service rep? We went over the SMR/Pop reports together on the phone, and she began to agree with me, which lead her to walk over and talk to the ebay guys who pulled my auctions. These guys have no phone access, and I wasn't in the mood to even try to explain myself via emails.

IMO, it would be just have been a waste of time. I think the only way to get ebay to "rethink" pulling these "1/1 in the title" auctions would be a letter from the President/CEO of CU to the President/CEO of ebay, explaining that 1/1's are appropriate and the correct way in describing PSA graded material, and as such are NOT misleading at all!

In any event, my apologies to you guys that were bidding on some of my material (i.e., cards like OPC Schmidt PSA 9 rookie, 1973 OPC Aaron PSA 9, 1976 OPC "Eck-man" PSA9 rookie, '73 OPC Ty Cobb PSA 9, etc.). I ended them all! Look for them soon! Sorry!

Happy collecting!

rd

itzagoner

Bob,
Instead of 1/1, put POP 1 on your title line, they won't mess with it. This has been a random practice by eBay in recent weeks which has affected all dealers, myself included, as they pulled a few of my listings which included the 1/1. That was about 2 months ago! They've nailed DSL, 4SC and a host of others. The randomness of it is quite silly. I've tracked numerous auctions that made it all the way to closing with the same darn 1/1 in the title. Further proof that the right hand often doesn't know what the left hand is up to. Just roll with it....until they find something else to f*** with. Good luck with the sales.

MorrellMan

I know it's tough, but the TRAINED and CERTIFIED EXPERTS at eBay know how to spot a DECEPTIVE auction title, and we, the ebay buying public, are well-served by their THANKLESS DILIGENCE.





....what a load of crock....

zef204

Bob-

That sucks. I haven't had any pulled but some other guys here have. Someone has to report them for them to be reviewed and then pulled.

I agree with itzagoner and I have began doing pop 1 in the titles.

storm888

I finally got someone at eBay to explain their position
on this a couple of weeks ago.

Her story made sense:

1/1 has to be reserved for "1/1 from-the-factory cards," or
there "will be confusion." There ARE a ton of such cards.

She said that "POP 1" is just fine. She tried to encourage
subtitles like "This Is The ONLY PSA 10."

Everybody knows what POP 1 means anyway; expressed
as "POP1" it is only one line character more than 1/1.

storm

LWMM

<< <i>The explaination given was if there is more than one graded PSA example of any card, no matter what the grade is, you cannot put 1/1 in your title. So if you have a PSA 10 1/1, for example, you cannot put "1/1" in the title if there are other lower graded PSA examples. >>



Yet that PSA 8 Munson was pulled...

1966CUDA

Yes I know, I was the one with the Munson. And it was the ONLY Munson graded and still got pulled!! It has since been relisted but still irks me!!! Sorry to hear about all the auctions they ended on you. Would have been nice to get an email from Ebay on the ones with no bids so you could change the title! I think I had over 150 views on the Munson and a handful of watchers. But no bids so I could have changed if if they just let me know!!! -Claude

bri2327

<< <i>I finally got someone at eBay to explain their position
on this a couple of weeks ago.

Her story made sense:

1/1 has to be reserved for "1/1 from-the-factory cards," or
there "will be confusion." There ARE a ton of such cards.

She said that "POP 1" is just fine. She tried to encourage
subtitles like "This Is The ONLY PSA 10."

Everybody knows what POP 1 means anyway; expressed
as "POP1" it is only one line character more than 1/1.

storm >>




Of course she tried to encourage subtitles, it costs extra to have one.

JoeBanzai

I have seen a few threads lately regarding this, and I have to agree with eBay's decision.

To me a 1/1 designation means that this is the only one there is........period. In the case of a POP1 card, any number could surface in the future. With the large number of cards being graded, a POP1 that's listed as a 1/1 could conceivably have another with the same grade listed a day or two later.

I have seen plenty of listings claiming to be 1/1's because "it's his jersey number". Using this reasoning every numbered card is a 1/1.

Some vintage cards that are POP1 may stay that way forever, but the newer cards have several 10's in even the most "condition sensitive" examples. Should a seller be allowed to list a 2006 card as a 1/1 just because he got the first "9" or "10", even if he knows the odds are there will be more to follow?

To eliminate confusion and possible ill will between buyer and seller, of which there seems to be plenty already, I think the only cards that should be listed as 1/1 are the ones marked as such by the factory.

I also think that eBay should be consistent in enforcing this rule.

JoeBanzai

rbdjr1

<< <i>I have seen a few threads lately regarding this, and I have to agree with eBay's decision.

To me a 1/1 designation means that this is the only one there is........period. In the case of a POP1 card, any number could surface in the future. With the large number of cards being graded, a POP1 that's listed as a 1/1 could conceivably have another with the same grade listed a day or two later.

I have seen plenty of listings claiming to be 1/1's because "it's his jersey number". Using this reasoning every numbered card is a 1/1.

Some vintage cards that are POP1 may stay that way forever, but the newer cards have several 10's in even the most "condition sensitive" examples. Should a seller be allowed to list a 2006 card as a 1/1 just because he got the first "9" or "10", even if he knows the odds are there will be more to follow?

To eliminate confusion and possible ill will between buyer and seller, of which there seems to be plenty already, I think the only cards that should be listed as 1/1 are the ones marked as such by the factory.

I also think that eBay should be consistent in enforcing this rule.

JoeBanzai >>



Joe, we are talking about PSA graded material. Maybe once in a "blue moon" would there be any confusion. Maybe when someone emails you asking what PSA means, or what PSA 9, or PSA 10 means, maybe thay would ask just what does "1/1" mean. But would they find it deceiving!

As far as I'm concerned, when we put "1/1, 1/2, or 1/3" in the title, we are doing a service for our potential buyers. To me, it means the seller took the time to look up the PSA POP REPORT, and give potential buyers a "heads-up". Some of my customers do not know the PSA population reports and DO appreciate it, when we put that info in the title!

I for one always appreciated sellers who took the time to list the PSA POP for vintage material they listed. And for me, 1/1 is a "natural way" to describe it!

And it is in no way deceiving to do so. Any "listing lookers on ebay" that may be confused or think it to be deceiving to put 1/1 in a title, would rarely, if ever bid on PSA graded material to begin with.

ebay has given different excuses and reasons why they think it to be deceiving to use "1/1's" for PSA material. It just does not make sense!

I was given a reason that unless my listed item is the only one that was graded, I cannot use "1/1" in my title description. We all know that does not make too much sense to us PSA collectors. Why? Well if a peticular PSA graded card has 20 graded PSA examples: two PSA 5s, three PSA 6s, five PSA 7s, nine PSA 8s and one PSA 10, is it not clear to everyone that the PSA 10 is a 1/1?

Others here were given different reasons for pulling "1/1 auctions", like factory items, limited edition autographs, etc. All a bunch of BS!

As far as I'm concerned, ebay pulls these listings because someone is complaining about it. I do agree that "once in a blue moon" I have listed a vintage card as a 1/1, as a "one and only" or as a POP 1, only to have another one "sprout-up" in the PSA population report, right at the same time as my listing. I have had buyers email me a "heads-up" to correct my listing to a "1/2", and I would comply, unless a bid was already placed on the item.

Big deal! Leave me alone ebay!

rd

P.S.

Maybe we should not put PSA in our title descriptions either? Why? Well PSA in the title description means to some on ebay, a type of sandpaper. We may be confusing or deceiving a potential sandpaper buyer? And we don't want to do that! Here's a good example of a current ebay listing of a PSA 6 that has nothing to do with PSA graded material, but is 6" sandpaper of some sort:
SUNGOLD PREM + 400 GRIT 6" PSA SANDPAPER DISC ROLL , Maybe ebay will make me put in my title, "...NOT 1/1 & NOT SANDPAPER"!

just what in the Hell is PSA sandpaper anyway? PSA sandpaper comes in different grades too (...well, we call em' grades, and the sandpaper guys? Well, they call it grit! )

Oh my!

jimq112

<< <i>

just what in the Hell is PSA sandpaper anyway? PSA sandpaper comes in different grades too (...well, we call em' grades, and the sandpaper guys? Well, they call it grit! )

Oh my! >>





PSA sandpaper is peel and stick. It has glue on the back of the paper so it sticks to the grinder without adding adhesive. Has nothing at all to do with grit.



Ebay decided months ago that they don't allow 1/1 unless the card maker stamped the 1/1 on the card. It's simple, they own the company so they make the rules. They've been closing auctions like that for a while. If somebody reports it, chances are it gets closed.

They should also close all the misleading auctions like PSA 9 when the card is PSA 9 oc, or the ones that say bgs 4 psa 5, and the ones listed as graded when they're not.

DeutscherGeist

I am surprised so many auctions get closed by ebay, because when I report some dubious auctions, I never see them taken down.

1966CUDA

That's where I have a problem. People spamming like "not PSA" when graded by another grading service..or "PSA" when it's not even graded...or "PSA Mint 9" when the card has a qualifier!! These happen all the time and you never see them pulled. Why is it wrong, as in my case with the Munson, if I stated "as of 7/14/06 the PSA pop report shows only ONE graded". The consumer knows now that as of that date, it was the only one. Yes it is conceiveable that another got that grade before the auction ended, but unlikely at best.

As a side note too, I had another auction ending at vitually the same time that was a Frank Howard 1964 Topps Tatoo 1/1...I had 1/1 in the title of that auction but Ebay let it run.

Wizardsguildcards

Ebay does not pull auctions unless they are reported by other users. So either a user got ired of being spammed by 1/1 or just a competitor getting your listings pulled. There are some card sellers who look up auctions of other sellers looking for mistakes that will get the item pulled.

Ebay does have a shoot first policy though. Many times they will just pull the auction since it was reported and then let he seller sort it out.

Bottom line is if you sell on Ebay you need to know and follow all their rules.

I personally feel 1/1 is deceptive and see where Ebay is coming from. 1 of 1 means it is the only one and it is marked on the card that way. Pop 1 is a better way to list a 1/1 on Ebay. Remember just because a card is a 1/1 today does not mean that tommorow it will not be a 1/5. If that happens then technically you have misrepresented the item and if they pay you using Paypal that is almost an automatic chargeback if the buyer is crooked.

XanaduNow

What about the 50/50 use in title and/or description? Do they let that fly or will they pull it? I'm referring to the description of centering. Just curious.

storm888

The eBay lady I spoke to did NOT raise the issue of "deception."

Her understanding of the policy was that it was meant to prevent
"confusion," on the part of the search functions; she said it is not
about consumer protection.

ALL on this board know how disgusting it is to be taken to listings
with "PSA" in the title when there is no PSA item for sale. I suspect
that many 1/1 cards are purchased by folks who do not collect PSA
cards. Thus, 1/1 in the title might waste those folks' time; that was
my understanding of eBay's position in the matter.

I doubt that many PSA people search 1/1 for the purpose of finding
the "only PSA card graded." Both 1/1 and POP1 - as they relate to
PSA cards - are used by us "to provide info about populations."
Since "POP1" works just fine, I do not see the controversy as a
real problem for any of us.

That all said, eBay should consider giving sellers a brief chance to
fix their "good faith errors" b4 yanking the listings of honest sellers.
Either an e-mail or a recorded SKYPE message could give sellers
60-minutes - or some other reasonable time period - to do the fix.
Also, the cancelled listings should be archived somewhere so the
sellers do not have to waste time re-typing tons of body copy.

storm

pandrews

i think its absolutely ridiculous that ebay pulls these auctions.. and its obvious whoever runs ebays sports memorabilia categories knows nothing about sportscards..

storm888

"...it's obvious whoever runs ebays sports memorabilia
categories knows nothing about sportscards.. "

///////////////////////////////////////

That FACT is at the heart of MOST of the eBay controversies
that are discussed on this board. It also breeds fraud.

Seems like such an EZ fix, yet they do NOTHING.

storm

Stone193

If it's a 1/1 - how can they pull it?

If it's not? Then pull it.

Does sound like someone complained?

mike

Kurtman9

<< <i>What about the 50/50 use in title and/or description? Do they let that fly or will they pull it? I'm referring to the description of centering. Just curious. >>



I've used 50/50 many times recently and never had an auction pulled.

DeutscherGeist

As a buyer, I rather see a POP 1 than 1/1 if it is referring to PSA population reports. Ebay is right, it is to avoid confusion.


I second what Wizard said.

Let us all learn from this and start using POP 1, which is more accurate of a description anyway.

JoeBanzai

rbdjr, yes I understand we are talking about PSA graded cards. I feel that 1/1 should not apply to a POP1 card. I also feel that PSA should not be used in the title if it is not a PSA graded card, and that qualifiers should be listed in title if the card carries one. JB

Wizardsguildcards

I've used 50/50 many times recently and never had an auction pulled.

Main reason for that is because nobody has ever reported it, not excatly sure that would be against the rules though.

The 1/1 rule really comes from the crooks who were taking regular cards getting a foil stamper and stamping them 1 of 1, even though they are not.

Why even put the population in the description? I don't think too many buyers search using those terms. The word in your title are money use them for words someone will search for. If I am putting together a PSA 9 1974 Topps set, I am going to search "1974 Topps PSA 9." Most buyers of such items already know the population numbers so why not just put that in the description.