Is this real? Beckett

haiku808

Just finished reading this article. Is this a April Fools or real?

http://www.cardboardconnection.com/news/law-cards-beckett-comc-break-ends-lawsuit

LarkinCollector

Real, it's been all over the COMC forums for months.

mtcards

Basically, COMC will have to come up with another database to draw unrealistic prices from.

digicat

<< <i>Basically, COMC will have to come up with another database to draw unrealistic prices from. >>



As I understand it, they'll be using on-site sale prices.

fur72

<< <i>Basically, COMC will have to come up with another database to draw unrealistic prices from. >>

matthewbschultz83

Why haven't they gone after sportlots?

DaClyde

<< <i>Why haven't they gone after sportlots? >>



I don't think Sportlots is even on Beckett's radar. But based on Beckett's assertions, Topps, Upper Deck, Panini, ITG and Leaf are all also in violation of Beckett's exclusive right to publish checklists of sports cards. And the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards doesn't exist. So says Beckett.

TNP777

11. Beckett is the only recognized publisher in the world that values sports memorabilia, It is both a service and content media publisher. It is as trusted and equivalent to the Kelley Blue Book ("KBB").

Heh. Heh heh.

Edit: Link to Beckett's complaint

Edit #2: Beckett asserts that BV stands for "Beckett Value". Since when? Anyone I have ever talked to in this hobby understands that BV means "book value". 'Sides, who even uses BV to valuate anything these days? As far as I'm concerned all realistic sales should be based on either VCP or real sales data, not Beckett's attempt to artificially influence the market.

jeffcbay

Beckett hasn't been relevant for over a decade, so who cares?

otwcards

Beckett has taken themselves far too seriously for far too long. When a dinosaur erroneously believes that they are the leading figure in their realm, they are not too far from slaughter... If not for their presence in the modern grading market, they'd be completely irrelevant. Alas, the sub-grades and the autograph grades on modern cards has given them enough positional strength to fund their otherwise failing business model. The fact that they aggressively pushing their auction platform epitomizes that they are clutching for floatation devices in a sea of false illusion.

matthewbschultz83

I'll say this re: Beckett their pricing may be off the charts, but their checklist and databases are impressive. I graph at the Ranger games sometimes. Rangers had a couple of non roster invitees make their roster. First place I went was beckett to see how many and what cards they had. Thats a big part of this. I don't see how they can make that claim with the actual manufacturers of the cards though.

DezHood

I'm lost as to why Beckett wouldn't want to get money for the use of their pricing data - how does it help them not to get income from COMC? I don't get it. And what about the COMC Beckett grading option? Hopefully that goes away - maybe they can strike a deal with PSA......

digicat

<< <i>Beckett hasn't been relevant for over a decade, so who cares? >>



Beckett may be a joke, but a team of Beckett's corporate lawyers trying to kill competition through legal action makes the joke a lot less funny.

digicat

<< <i>I'm lost as to why Beckett wouldn't want to get money for the use of their pricing data - how does it help them not to get income from COMC? I don't get it. And what about the COMC Beckett grading option? Hopefully that goes away - maybe they can strike a deal with PSA...... >>



Beckett's trying to pump some life into their Beckett Marketplace. COMC is a competitor, and if you can't beat competition, you kill it off with lawyers.

miwlvrn

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm lost as to why Beckett wouldn't want to get money for the use of their pricing data - how does it help them not to get income from COMC? I don't get it. And what about the COMC Beckett grading option? Hopefully that goes away - maybe they can strike a deal with PSA...... >>



Beckett's trying to pump some life into their Beckett Marketplace. COMC is a competitor, and if you can't beat competition, you kill it off with lawyers. >>



There are an awful lot of sellers that have their entire inventory on both Beckett Marketplace and Sportlots too. You'd think that would catch Beckett's interest a little bit. Interesting thing is how wide a price variance there is for the same item from the same seller from one site to the other based on fees the sites charge. Checkout the difference between Burbank on Beckett vs. Philstop (their alt) on Sportlots.

eagles33

Price guides these days are completely irrelevant. You can get an accurate price for any common card by just checking eBay completed listings. Any card that doesn't frequently trade on eBay you can get it on vcp.. Anything not on vcp or eBay is prob so rare or obscure it prob won't be in a price guide anyways and will just come down to individual buyer and seller. I do really like becket'a checklist though.

tedh111

There is a big difference between checklists and the beckett database. The beckett database is much more comprehensive as it includes all player and team names, card numbers, all types of attributes (gu, auto, numbered, rc) etc and it is completely searchable by any of these attributes. That is where their advantage lies and if COMC was using these attributes and not paying for them, that is where I see beckett has the upper hand....Also, beckett values may not be accurate, but there is still a huge amount of collectors and dealers who use them in some, way shape or form. I get asked what something "Books" all the time on ebay and in my shop and at shows. While the pries might not be exact, they are definatly still used as a reference point for many.

mtcards

Unfortunately, it is true that too many people are computer illiterate when it comes to checking ebay listing results for prices. Relying on Beckett is like relying on a food critic to tell you if a food tastes good, it is simply their opinion. I can remember the day when people used to say things like "I like Tuff Stuff since it has higher pricing". Think about how stupid that is, you like a price guide because it tells you that your card is worth more.


Honestly, I would sell off every card I own for 10% of what Beckett says its worth, BUT you have to buy them all, including the 5000 ct boxes of 1988-1990 Donruss Commons as well

haiku808

Is it possible that Beckett wins this lawsuit?

LarkinCollector

Unlikely, IMHO. Anyone can 'scrape' the data other than pricing without even a subscription to their web service.