Craigslist ARRRRGHH!

Mphilking · April 22, 2009 9:37AM

I personally enjoy Craigslist and have bought and sold some things.
Today I'm reading and a seller is selling $.25-$2 cards and asking for $100 to $150 on them.
His promotion after payments are;
"trying to get rid of it." "Will increase in value" "Very Rare" and "Might increase in value"
Seriously a Scoreboard Kobe Bryant base card for $150. Not selling on Ebay for .15.
Michael Jordan all star card for $180.
I know it will happen and often, but Geez that's a lot of $$'s to ask.

metrotheme · April 22, 2009 10:45AM

On the BadWax.net website, there is a great section where the owner of this website actually emails these people from Craiglist and tries to engage them in a discussion about the value of their cards and then links them to a video of a man burning commons from the late 1980's to show that they have no value. Some of the sellers who AREN'T scammers really believe they are sitting on a goldmine. The scammers use language like what you listed to get some moron to bite.

EagleEyeKid · April 22, 2009 11:03AM

That is hilarious stuff.

bsidegrve · April 22, 2009 11:28AM

That was great!

MooseDog · April 22, 2009 11:28AM

I ran some test posts on CL a couple of years ago...if any one replied I let them know I was just doing research and let them know the item(s) were really not for sale.

Readers Digest Condensed version:

I found that overpriced things in all categories got a grand total of zero replies - that's for a universe of probably 50-60 posts. None, nada, zip, zilch...not even an offer. My conclusion is that people who are interested in things want to pay low prices, and aren't attracted by things like "rare", one-of-a-kind, etc. I even posted a couple of things where I stated a person could resell the item at twice the price on eBay but I was desperate for cash. No takers.

On the other hand, the Bernie Madoff rule (too good to be true but people wanna believe) proved true. When I posted things with a known value (laptop computers, game systems, digital cameras) at about half the relative market value I got HUNDREDS of replies to each post, most saying I can meet right away and have cash, etc.

Bottom line - there are people who troll CL looking for deals. No one is flipping through hundreds of classifieds to be captured with a pitch. However, make them think they are getting a great deal and they'll throw money at you.

Bottom9th · April 22, 2009 11:37AM

<< <i>On the BadWax.net website, there is a great section where the owner of this website actually emails these people from Craiglist and tries to engage them in a discussion about the value of their cards and then links them to a video of a man burning commons from the late 1980's to show that they have no value. Some of the sellers who AREN'T scammers really believe they are sitting on a goldmine. The scammers use language like what you listed to get some moron to bite. >>

Oh man...I think I found a new favorite website!

mtcards · April 22, 2009 1:05PM

Some of that is hilarious. Some of the CL people are legit scammers, but from some that I read, some of these people because of Beckett prices, probably ShopAtHome and other CL posters actually think these cards are worth a lot. I have people come into my store on an almost daily basis with the same type of stuff and have had some get mad because I wont even offer them anything (not even a penny) for their cards. Its the concept that things go up in value when they get older that hurts most people. Its hard for them to believe that the overprinted garbage from the 80's/90's is actually selling for half or less of what it used to sell for.

I have a guy that comes in and has a sealed case of 89 Donruss that he paid 200 for back in the day. I have offered him 125 for it and he want 250 even though I show in BBCE having cases at 160 (at least they did last I checked).

EagleEyeKid · April 22, 2009 4:17PM

Well, I just finished reading every single one of CL idiots.....gotta love it!
That was some good fun reading. Thanks for the site.

frankhardy · April 22, 2009 11:22PM

That is hi-larious! (I could do without the cuss words, though)

larryallen73 · April 23, 2009 12:17AM

That badwax thing is funny.

divecchia · April 23, 2009 2:39AM

Donato

JTB · April 23, 2009 3:06AM

Bad wax is hilarious. I didn't read them all, but I've always wanted to do this:

Long "negotiation" with idiot followed by his assertion:
Idiot: My 90 Score Griffey is worth at least $50!
Me: How many do you want to buy for $5?

The scammers won't bite, but some of those people are just plain clueless. I might find a way to unload my 1987 Topps Bo Jackson stash.

Badwax · April 23, 2009 3:17AM

He guys, thanks for the shout out on the forum. I have about 10 of these Craigslist Idiots that I work on at any one time so that I can get two done a week. Just trying to educate these people one snarky comment at a time.

stown · April 23, 2009 4:38AM

Ha! Reminds me of the 419 scammer sites..

kmnorton · April 23, 2009 6:17AM

Here's one that came up in my area...

1933 Ruth

Anybody want me to have a looksee?

mtcards · April 23, 2009 6:29AM

That actually could be a bargain depending on the condition and if they are not reprints. The scans are not the greatest, but if they are legit, I can pick out a 68 Mantle, Ryan RC, a 62 Aaron, Munson RC, a Play Ball, a Yaz rookie. The guy is either legit or has gone to great lengths to acquire the biggest collection of reprints in history

mcolney1 · April 23, 2009 7:08AM

<< <i>He guys, thanks for the shout out on the forum. I have about 10 of these Craigslist Idiots that I work on at any one time so that I can get two done a week. Just trying to educate these people one snarky comment at a time. >>

Welcome Badwax, I really enjoyed reading your blog. Outstanding work and keep it up. You've got a fan here. PS - sorry, I spelled everything correct and used the proper capitalization...I know that is such a challenge for people that spend a lot of time on CL

lsutigers1973 · April 23, 2009 7:23AM

This guy lives about a mile from me. Sent him an email asking for more details.

ElToroLoco · April 23, 2009 1:16PM

Those vintage cards look legit, like someone noted, too many cards to be a reprint scam. Of course, you'd have to inspect the cards. Now about Craiglist, I think there are people looking to make money off these cards but not everyone is out to scam. I thought some of the "articles" or "conversations" showed that and BadWax was a little to harsh on them. I do believe BadWax is doing a favor for the good of the hobby in general though. Another opinion I have is about eBay values, just as Beckett has a Lo and Hi column(not neccesarily wholesale and retail), eBay has it's own as well. Card values fluctuate here and there and I wouldn't put the current eBay value as my ONLY guide as I've purchased off Naxcom.com,Beckett Marketplace,Amazon.com,Target,Wal-Mart,and my local card shop. Another thing I don't believe is 1986-1992 cards are ALL garbage, if you look at the PSA 10 prices on certain cards, you'll understand my point.

lsutigers1973 · April 23, 2009 1:21PM

<< <i>Another thing I don't believe is 1986-1992 cards are ALL garbage, if you look at the PSA 10 prices on certain cards, you'll understand my point. >>

You are now my new best friend.

Craigslist ARRRRGHH!

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