Policy regarding selling/buying raw sets.....

CDsNuts

This has been annoying me over the last few months, so I thought I'd ask the board. I've sold a few raw sets from the 70s and 80s and have accurately described the overall (average) condition of the set. I've also provided large scans of the key cards. I've had a couple of the buyers emailing me after they received the sets sending me a list of 5 cards or so that "need to be replaced" because of a wax stain, dinged corner, or crease.

I replaced the cards via sportlots without saying a word, but am I wrong in saying that every card in the set doesn't need to meet the overall condition of the set? If I sell you a set that I describe as NM/MT overall, would you expect me to replace 5 cards that are in lesser condition? Seems very nitpicky to me, especially if the average condition of the set is exactly as I described.

Lee

perkdog

Personaly I would never bother a seller about 5 cards that did not meet a nm/mint description if the rest of the set met the quality you described unless ofcourse they were "key cards" but I get from your post that is not the case here. People are different and some might find it a problem but personally I would not. I guess the best policy would be to describe the set as NM/Mint with the exception of a few minor cards that are fillers. My 2 cents

tennesseebanker

I would be very satisfied IF only five cards didnt meet the description. Sounds like some of the buyers are expecting a little too much.

gemint

You should be able to eliminate this problem by adding a caveat that a small percentage of the cards will be in lower grade. Most listings will say something like 'overall condition of the set is NM with a few nicer and a few lesser grade.'

CDsNuts

All of the cards were commons.

Good call gemint. I haven't had much experience selling sets but that disclaimer should cover me. Glad to know I'm not the only one that thinks it's crazy to ask for 5 commons to be replaced.

Lee

jayhawke

I agree with Gemint. I would add that a small percentage(5% or less) may grade lower.

Estil

*comes out of the corner*, um... Well, on my sets, I've learned to be more realistic on set quality (at first, I thought even just a few creased/dinged commons meant the set was not really NRMT/MT), especially when you got guys like Bill Henderson and what not to help you upgrade those lower grade commons/semistars and such to make your sets the best they can be. Obviously I can't expect all 62,000 cards to be totally mint but at least free from major stuff like creases, miscuts, very noticably dinged corners, stuff like that. I haven't tried that sportslots place yet though; could they help you in upgrading say, early to mid 90s sets? (don't laugh)

Ahmanfan

sportlots is perfect for 90s commons

cardbender

Lee,
The way you're describing your sets sounds fine by me. As previously stated by gemint, with the added a few lesser and a few better line to your future set listings should cover your bases. If I bought a set with only 5 cards with problems, I wouldn't even care unless they were the key cards in the set and those problems weren't described in the listing. If they were minor guys or commons, no big deal to me.

Regards,
Rich

basestealer

Most of the time I am lucky to find 5 cards that do meet the advertised condition... 99% of them are pure overgraded garbage that I must resell or give to charity. So yeah, it's unreasonable to have to replace commons that didn't meet the "overall" or "average" grade advertised. If it were the key cards that just happened to not meet the average grade, that's a different story.

I find it's better for both parties to do a "breakdown" on the set condition (ie 5% EX, 50% NM, 45% NM/MT). Scan the key cards and provide additional details about other specific cards as requested by potential buyers.

Common seller tactics to shove garbage onto buyers:
"Average condition is NM/MT!, some worse, most better!" --the star cards are fair to poor, but the commons are decent.
"These cards are in EXCELLENT CONDITION, superb gems!!" --they really are in EX condition, just not the excellent you were expecting...
"Pack fresh vending set!" --the cards have sharp corners but every single one of them is miscut.
"Mint condition for their age!" --if you find a card that is whole, consider yourself lucky.
"MINT! I've been collecting for 40 years. I am not a professional grader" --run away fast.

Estil

So basically the best places for upgrading commons/semistars is Bill Henderson for 1980s and before, and sportlots for 1990s and later.

jradke4

I would agree with your description as well. When I would see something like that description I would assume nearly all the cards are in that condition with some maybe a little lower. Thats at least how poeple use to always grade sets. You would give the set the grade based on average condition of the cards, with a range of grades expected overall.