Levi @ 707
goose3
Posts: 11,471 ✭✭✭
I don't know how to politely say this but does he really get the prices he has on PSA cards or is he very flexible?
He has several cards I'd like to buy but prices are close to double going rates on a couple I looked at.
thanks
He has several cards I'd like to buy but prices are close to double going rates on a couple I looked at.
thanks
0
Comments
a 48 Leaf Newhouser. They let me walk away.
I came back a few hours later and they gave it to me for just $50 below their price ($550 for a PSA 1). A PSA3 sold recently for $650.
I was tired of chasing that card and paid more than I should have. Actually the PSA 1 was nicer than the PSA 2 they wanted much more for.
This year at the Reading show there were plenty of people at their booth (not sure how many actual buyers). I think they sell enough at their prices to make a
nice profit (their not in the volume business).
My opinion, they'll come down a little on their price but you'll still be paying 30-50%+ more than the "going rate". I would only buy cards from them that are very seldom found
on EBAY and you understand going in that you're paying too much and are OK with that.
Good Luck.
Dan
Levi's is the cardboard rule: "I have the cardboard, I make the rules."
He does have some amazing stuff and he retails to the hilt. Good luck. I rarely buy from him unless it's that really special relatively low dollar wacko card.
he takes a lot of heat for being overpriced.. he does usually sells several thousand dollars worth on 20cent listing days though..
i check his site when im looking for a card i cant find anywhere else right then.. i was happy with my purchase and i believe i could re-sell it and make a profit if i wanted to..
Steve
Yes, it is a different business model.
Yes, it works out very well for him.
Probably not the person you buy from when you're first starting a set, but when you're down to the last 1-2 cards and can't find them any where else he'll have them.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
so he must be doing something right.
As was stated, he's more of someone you go to when you need those last few cards for a set (since you're willing to pay more anyways) and try and make a deal on them.
* C. PASCUAL BASIC #3
* T. PEREZ BASIC #4 100%
* L. TIANT BASIC #1
* DRYSDALE BASIC #4 100%
* MAGIC MASTER #4/BASIC #3
* PALMEIRO MASTER/BASIC #1
* '65 DISNEYLAND #2
* '78 ELVIS PRESLEY #6
* '78 THREE'S COMPANY #1
WaltDisneyBoards
Most of us would sell almost anything in our collection at OUR price. He is the same. And he makes a living out of it. Good for him!
Don't waste your time and fees listing on ebay before getting in touch me by PM or at gregmo32@aol.com !
When you are looking for those last 2 or 3 cards for your set, 707 is the best place to go if you just want to finish your set. You will pay a little more for that convienence.
262
Collecting all cards - Gus Zernial
Post Cereal both raw and PSA Graded (1961-1963)
<< <i>I purchased several cards from Levi. He does accept credit cards through his website or over the phone. I believe I paid a bit more than I woud have liked for every card I have bought from him, however, he had the cards when I wanted them & he ships very quickly.
When you are looking for those last 2 or 3 cards for your set, 707 is the best place to go if you just want to finish your set. You will pay a little more for that convienence.
262 >>
Exactly.
You may overpay but satisfaction is guaranteed.
However, I must admit that when he starts his auctions at SMR, it does get a tad annoying on my searches...
I just like his name!
Levi has a large inventory but he is one of the most expensive dealers around. He usually sells to those looking for that one last card to finish a set or to people who do not care about overpaying for cards.
<< <i>Does anyone know if Levi has any cards that would be good for someone looking for a couple of cards to finish up a set? >>
Sure, his inventory is online.
FWIW -- there are many different dealer models. Levi has an astounding amount of inventory (he regulary has 5-12 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles in stock, for instance, across the various grade ranges) -- and, especially as it relates to star cards, he will have most vintage cards available in many different grade ranges.
~ms
<< <i>Does anyone know if Levi has any cards that would be good for someone looking for a couple of cards to finish up a set? >>
Thanks for all of the comments. I guess I'll take my time and pick stuff up here and there as I see it and save some money in the process!
Everytime fleabay has their .10 listing day, they list that sweet Carew RC for $750
He has sold over $8,000 of product on Ebay in the last 30 days -- and there wasn't even a $0.10 listing day.
He does have a huge inventory -- probably one of the biggest in terms of bulk amounts of graded cards in the hobby. But please don't kid yourself by thinking that he never sells any cards. On the $0.10 listing days -- he sells tens of thousands of dollars of product. Not to mention nearly 6,000 positive feedbacks without any negatives.
Is our hobby so full of shady dealers, that a guy who simply delivers what he promises can command such a premium for his cards? Maybe so...
<< <i><<he doesn't seem to care if he ever sells any of them. >>
He has sold over $8,000 of product on Ebay in the last 30 days -- and there wasn't even a $0.10 listing day.
He does have a huge inventory -- probably one of the biggest in terms of bulk amounts of graded cards in the hobby. But please don't kid yourself by thinking that he never sells any cards. On the $0.10 listing days -- he sells tens of thousands of dollars of product. Not to mention nearly 6,000 positive feedbacks without any negatives. >>
I would not think he would get any negatives anyways because he does ship cards out very fast and if your going to over-pay for a card, that is on you... so no need to give him negative feedback.
I think most of the fun of collecting is the chase of finding the cards at a reasonable price. I would think that most of us can tell the story of both cost spectrums of their collection. We all have the story(s) of the card where we picked up super cheap and the ones we paid over book value. We hardly remember the cards we bought for a fair mid price in most cases.
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
Al
You have to go through his inventory and really look.
Picked up a couple of 59 commons last month during his Ebay dump. They are well centered and were at SMR. Not a bad "Levi price" and worth it to me for NM-MT examples.
Used his website credit card checkout for the first time. He missed the payment and was very apologetic when I inquired about it.
Good businessman and good for the buyer if you look hard.
The transactions were painless.
He tends to be more willing to give price breaks to
folks who request the same in a VERY humble manner.
<< <i>You know whats funny about his prices. I thought sense he asks for so much that he may have decent buying prices. Well I called him one day offering him a 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA graded MINT 9. They were selling for around 3300 on the bay when I offered him that. And I told him I was looking for about 2500. YOu know what he told me?? Those are fantasy prices the card is not even worth that. Fantasy prices??? Come on look at your prices!! >>
Yea and if he bought the card @ $2500, you can bet your a$$ he would list it at around $4200 and not budge.
The people who won Levi's auction, had no money left to leave a negative.
<< <i>The people who won Levi's auction, had no money left to leave a negative.
Premium pricing (depends on the figure, if its $10 elsewhere, maybe $12-13-14), big selection, fast, very professional service.
Why buy, if you can get it cheaper elsewhere?
You know what you're going to get.
Saves time and hassle looking elsewhere. There's no suprises.
You already have a relationship with them.
Similar to the Larry Fritsch model. I don't know...it just seems to work.
Feel free to check out February's 707 thread for my thoughts...or january's...or decembers...or novembers...or octobers...or...
-- Yogi Berra
it wasn't my intention. I only wanted to know if the guy dealt on his prices.
TheCardKid, I can understand and appreciate what you're saying when it's only a few dollars. Would you do the same if it was a few hundred or more?
Forget blocking him; find out where he lives and go punch him in the nuts. --WalterSobchak 9/12/12
Looking for Al Hrabosky and any OPC Dave Campbells (the ESPN guy)
thanks again all!
<< <i><<he doesn't seem to care if he ever sells any of them. >>
He has sold over $8,000 of product on Ebay in the last 30 days -- and there wasn't even a $0.10 listing day.
He does have a huge inventory -- probably one of the biggest in terms of bulk amounts of graded cards in the hobby. But please don't kid yourself by thinking that he never sells any cards. On the $0.10 listing days -- he sells tens of thousands of dollars of product. Not to mention nearly 6,000 positive feedbacks without any negatives. >>
But how much does he actually clear on these cards? And what's the opportunity cost of holding them, instead of flipping them for a smaller profit? I recognize that you aren't arguing that Levi's business model is optimal, but my feeling is that it isn't even close. Why wouldn't you sell something for $600 if the market price is $500? It's just stupid. It makes no sense. Sell the damn card and go buy another for $500 if you're that attached to it, and pocket the $100 for 5 minutes of work.
Let's say Levi can sell all he wants at the market price, but the quanitity he can sell for,say, 20% above market price and the quantity he can sell for 50% above market price are exactly the same. Well, at that point it 'may' make sense to not sell at 20% above market price. But my understanding of sports cards is that they demand curve basically slopes downward, so that the quantity you can sell at 1.2M (where 'M' is the market price) will be higher than the quantity you could sel at 1.5M. If I'm right-- and I'm pretty sure I am on this point, but I'm certainly open to counterarguments-- then it's just flat out dumb not to sell at 1.2M if you can buy a 1M. Again, assuming that these premeses are correct then this is such an obviously flawed business model that I don't know what else to say. And things start looking even worse when you figure in the fact that many of the cards Levi's holding onto are not particularly rare, and haven't beaten inflation over the past 5 years or so, in which case he's LOSING by holding these cards.
<< <i>
Why wouldn't you sell something for $600 if the market price is $500? It's just stupid. It makes no sense. Sell the damn card and go buy another for $500 if you're that attached to it, and pocket the $100 for 5 minutes of work.
Again, assuming that these premeses are correct then this is such an obviously flawed business model that I don't know what else to say. And things start looking even worse when you figure in the fact that many of the cards Levi's holding onto are not particularly rare, and haven't beaten inflation over the past 5 years or so, in which case he's LOSING by holding these cards. >>
Boo -- you are really just speculating on his business model. If the market price of a card is $500, Levi bought it for $400, and he sells it in eighteen months for $750 instead of today for $600, is that a bad business decision? Probably not.
He turns enough inventory (I would speculate >$1MM a year in sales) that having a few dogs probably doesn't hurt his business model. Also, it would appear that he makes enough margin on the cards he sells that from one perspective -- he may have little to zero cost in many of the cards he has, depending on how he allocates his costs on larger buys for himself.
One last point re: inflation -- to the extent that 99% of us here would like to purchase cards today at the prices they were five years ago (even after adjusting for inflation), perhaps Levi has done extraordinarily well simply by holding much larger inventory than many of his counterparts. Surely, as Levi has had a dozen or two 1952 Mantles in stock -- that is a card that seems to have routinely had double-digit gains annually over the last few years. Buy and hold may well work very well for him, especially since very little of his inventory is post 1970.
<< <i>
Boo -- you are really just speculating on his business model. If the market price of a card is $500, Levi bought it for $400, and he sells it in eighteen months for $750 instead of today for $600, is that a bad business decision? Probably not. >>
I would submit that this IS a bad business decision. Again, why not sell the card for $600 today and buy another off Ebay for $500, and keep THAT one and try to sell it for $750? It makes no sense to me to keep cards that aren't thinly traded-- '56 Mantles, etc.-- with the hopes of getting 150% of the market price IF you know you can get 120% of the market price right now, for the reasons I mentioned in the prior post. It's like passing up $20 that's lying on the ground because you think you may find $50 later on down the road. I mean, it really is that ridiculous.
I don't know what kind of cards make up Levi's inventory. If it's pre-war then I agree that just holding that stuff and waiting for a big buyer may be the way to go. If it's post-1952 then I would think this is a bad idea-- a very bad one, in fact-- since I don't believe that post-1952 cards, in the aggregate, have beaten inflation over the past 5 years. Certainly post-1960 cards haven't, but I don't think the '50's stuff has either. Although if I'm wrong on either of these counts then that would definitely change things.
"He turns enough inventory (I would speculate >$1MM a year in sales) that having a few dogs probably doesn't hurt his business model. Also, it would appear that he makes enough margin on the cards he sells that from one perspective -- he may have little to zero cost in many of the cards he has, depending on how he allocates his costs on larger buys for himself."
He may not have any real cost in many of these cards, but there is definitely an opportunity cost in holding them, and really that's the only cost-concept here that's relevant. Whether the opportunity cost of holding them exceeds the appreciation of the cards is a point we could argue, but I think that's the way you have to look at it.
I guess we can agree to disagree. Whether or not I agree with all of the intracacies of Levi's model -- I know that he makes a nice amount of coin, and that his model has been successful for him.
Your scenarios rely on a few premises: a) that there is a limitless number of opportunities by which Levi can acquire cards and make 20% returns. (e.g. sell his inventory, use it to buy more inventory that he flips more quickly at a lower mark-up). I would posit that that is perhaps a somewhat flawed notion, in that there are absolutely a finite number of opportunities for flipping cards at superior returns.
Yes, I do agree that there is always an opportunity cost in holding items. But you have to also understand that there is a benefit, too, of which it is harder to calculate a dollar amount. If there are a handful of cards I need -- I could probably call Levi and he will either have them in inventory or might know where I can get them, simply because he has such an extensive inventory. For many other dealers -- their inventories are often very sparse...so I won't specifically contact them for specific cards unless I know they have a good track record of finding cards I need. So the benefit must be weighed against the cost.