SMR vs Ebay
runningman
Posts: 165
So I've decided to move into football a little and buy some of the Steelers cards I remember from my youth. Not big money cards but just for fun. I'm looking at psa 8 for the most part and the first card I looked at was 1975 Topps Bradshaw. SMR is $16.00, most on ebay are much more about three times as much. Is this the norm? If so why is SMR so far off ? Thoughts?
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Comments
I wouldnt exactly say that. SMR is pretty good and I would say that a lot more people use that when bidding on ebay then say ... they use VCP or even know about it for that matter.
The only thing with SMR is that it gets a bit trickey once it gets into the 7.5 or 8.5's for those "rarer" vintage cards or low pops that dont show up too often. Best advise I can give is to check both SMR and eBay and then just decide what something is worth to you before entering your bid or making your purchase.
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/pdub1819/othersets/6204
I think useless is pretty close to accurate. Try getting a 1986 Topps Nolan Ryan PSA 10 for $220. You'd have to pay 3x-5x that if one should surface
VCP
<< <i>SMR is close to useless
I wouldnt exactly say that. SMR is pretty good and I would say that a lot more people use that when bidding on ebay then say ... they use VCP or even know about it for that matter.
. >>
Really? I very rarely see high end cards go for anything even close to SMR. I agree that it's useless at least for the premiere stuff....and I don't really get that. You'd think if anything SMR would want to embellish their prices to make PSA grades more desirable. It isn't good business to set prices so much lower than reality...
TheClockworkAngelCollection
It seems we agree based on the 2nd part of what I wrote which you didnt copy.
<< <i>Clockwork, you only copied me the 1st half of what I wrote but then added your words like if you didnt agree.
It seems we agree based on the 2nd part of what I wrote which you didnt copy. >>
I'm with you M. I was a bit confused but at the end I felt the agreement. And I would pretty much agree with both of you as well. I won't say I don't at least use or look at the SMR, but I do so knowing that for the most part I can't use it as a guide and instead must use the completed listings. I've always wondered why they are so low compared to reality when it comes to the more scarce cards.
<< <i>Clockwork, you only copied me the 1st half of what I wrote but then added your words like if you didnt agree.
It seems we agree based on the 2nd part of what I wrote which you didnt copy. >>
You are absolutely right. I utilized my ADD to it's fullest and only read the 1st half of your post....thanks for the clarification
TheClockworkAngelCollection
<< <i>I've found that SMR is fairly accurate at the set level. Meaning if you are putting together a complete set, the SMR complete set price is a good ballpark number. At the individual card level, it's not so accurate. I find that many cards sell for well below SMR while 10%-20% sell for above to well above SMR. These end up pretty much offsetting each other, leaving the total set quote fairly accurate. If you use SMR to bid on high pop commons, you will typically overpay greatly for them (assuming they are BINs or you have another bidder doing the same). VCP is really the best guide as it has actual sales data. It doesn't capture retail transactions or some non eBay auction houses but it's probably better than any other tool out there. >>
+1, especially in relation to pricing for complete sets. In my opinion, it's quite amazing, actually, to see how individual card values deviate dramatically from SMR, only to have complete set values trend back towards SMR. Print versions of SMR generally include disclaimers about the pricing of low-pop commons, and it's not all that strange to see pricing multiples (2X, 3X) for high-end and/or low-pop card transactions in the real world.
<< <i>SMR is a great guide for determining which cards were perceived to be more attractive a month prior to publishing. Beyond that not much value. >>
well, it does have pretty pictures, no?
<< <i>
<< <i>SMR is a great guide for determining which cards were perceived to be more attractive a month prior to publishing. Beyond that not much value. >>
well, it does have pretty pictures, no?
Yes
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>SMR is a great guide for determining which cards were perceived to be more attractive a month prior to publishing. Beyond that not much value. >>
well, it does have pretty Personal pictures, no?
Yes
Fixed that for you Dpeck..LOL
<< <i>Thanks for the feedback, does anyone have an opinion on the specific card I mentioned, the 1975 psa 8 Bradshaw ? >>
IMO, VCP is the way to go. If you want to try it you can subscribe for only one day if you want. Here is what you would find for 2013 sales of the card in question on VCPs website:
Latest Auction Prices for: PSA 8 - Average Price: $18.16
7/21/13 eBay Auction $10.03
7/4/13 eBay Listing $19.99
4/14/13 eBay Auction $14.95
4/7/13 eBay Auction $13.60
2/2/13 eBay $27.99
2/1/13 eBay $14.27
1/28/13 eBay $25.00
1/2/13 eBay $17.00
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
<< <i>SMR has prices for cards that don't exist. That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. >>
I'll assume you're referring to prices for cards that don't exist in a certain grade. How is that different from any other price guide?
SCD lists values for cards in NM, EX, and VG.
Beckett and other price guides have a similar format.
Many prewar cards and 1950's food issues don't exist in NM condition but the price guides still list a value.
How is this different from SMR?
df
dfanredsfan
<< <i>The best "guide" available.
VCP >>
No doubt. I like to check the completed listings on Ebay but I get my money's worth from VCP
<< <i>
<< <i>I've found that SMR is fairly accurate at the set level. Meaning if you are putting together a complete set, the SMR complete set price is a good ballpark number. At the individual card level, it's not so accurate. I find that many cards sell for well below SMR while 10%-20% sell for above to well above SMR. These end up pretty much offsetting each other, leaving the total set quote fairly accurate. If you use SMR to bid on high pop commons, you will typically overpay greatly for them (assuming they are BINs or you have another bidder doing the same). VCP is really the best guide as it has actual sales data. It doesn't capture retail transactions or some non eBay auction houses but it's probably better than any other tool out there. >>
+1, especially in relation to pricing for complete sets. In my opinion, it's quite amazing, actually, to see how individual card values deviate dramatically from SMR, only to have complete set values trend back towards SMR. Print versions of SMR generally include disclaimers about the pricing of low-pop commons, and it's not all that strange to see pricing multiples (2X, 3X) for high-end and/or low-pop card transactions in the real world. >>
A very insightful observation with an obvious explanation. VCP does not have raw set prices - so other than previous auctions only SMR offers a guide, this guide influences the previous sales prices, of course, so it is self-perpetuating. Therefore, there are definite arbitrage opportunities. However, there are fewer and fewer sets of a grade that one can convert to PSA single cards.
If you look at recent PSA sets offered by auction houses they almost always directly map to total VCP prices - indeed - peeps will calculate VCP price card by card (me being one