the frustration of building a registry set..

olb31

Facts: i am number 1 on the 1978 opc set registry. I need about 17 cards to finish it. I've been collecting it for 5 years.

1) if a psa 10 comes to auction, it is shill bid just about everytime
2) see #1, when I lose, it is rarely to another person collecting the set, even the commons(who pays $60 or more for commons if you are not collecting the set)
3) generally the same seller has all the 10's and rarely has any competition, thus no incentive to make a deal.
4) see #3, this "monopoly" really puts collectors at a huge cost disadvantage
5) trying to build the set yourself is pointless. I will never be able to get 9's and 10's even I pull them straight out of the box.

i just lost on three 10's a few minutes ago, all from the same seller. I put in bids triple the price with 1 minute to go and i was already out bid. 2 of them from the same buyer, who is not one of the registry collectors. i guess they are just overpaying for the fun of it.

seebelow

Unfort thats one reason I quit two of my sets. Some of the large online retailers know this and have their BINs at crazy prices for POPs 1-3s
But if they keep shilling their own card and winning, won't they have to come down eventually? even after 2-3 years?

(how do you determine that its a particular bidder on ebay? that doesn't have a registry) thought the ID was scrambled.

Very frustrating. Maybe write them privately and work a deal. And paying 100s for commons....ugh. I know your pain.

Coucher73

Just because a buyer isn't on the registry doesn't mean they aren't collecting a top-notch set that isn't registered.

I know of a number of buyers who are active in PSA graded cards in player sets that I collect but who aren't active on the registry.

Griffins

most of my sets aren't on the registry. I had one prominent dealer tell me less than 1/3 of his sales were from active registry participants.

mccardguy1

If I was building a top end set there would be no way I would register it. No need to let the entire world know I was looking for top end cards and having those prices driven up on me.

skrezyna23

I've seen a collector submit a 3rd place set immediately after registering for PSA (adding all cards at once after collecting for a while), pushing me to 4th.

seebelow

All three of the above. Ive had head of AHs and very prominent sellers tell me the same with a wink.

I stopped registering mine after 1/3 into it. Its unfortunate how some abuse what is and meant to be a great idea.

DavidPuddy

Sets can be 'unpublished' as well.
I have a set that I''m currently #1 in that I just don't want to advertise.

skrezyna23

<< <i>I have a set that I''m currently #1 in that I just don't want to advertise. >>



Looking back, I think I wish I would have done that.

JoeBanzai

Just don't bid more than you are willing to pay and forget about it if someone is willing to pay more. This way you don't have to worry about shilling.

Ebay does not care about shill bidding or the abuse of bid retractions and will NEVER do anything to stop it, that would cost them money.

If 9's and 10's are out of your price range, why not settle for nicely centered 8's?

People with more money and a willingness to spend it will get what they want every time.

Have fun collecting!

halosfan

Just be disciplined on what you want to spend on a given card ...

Eventually patience wins out

CollectorAtWork

I just use the registry as a checklist, and not for the contest part of it. It just lets me look quickly to see which cards I need and which ones that I need to upgrade. I wouldn't want to be held "hostage" like the OP has either. I would just purchase a cheap 8 or 9 as placeholders for the cards you need, and upgrade to the 10 when the price is right. In the meantime, spend your funds on other things.

bobsbbcards

<< <i>If 9's and 10's are out of your price range, why not settle for nicely centered 8's? >>



9's and 10's are the same cards that I magically turn into 8's by submitting them myself. Stupid 8's.

LuvOldPacks

So, are Registry Sets for bragging rights only???
Or just another PPPPP??? (Perceptive PSA Profit Producing Product)

jgrigali

historically i have only published sets when i complete them...but i completely understand your frustration, you'll get there!

MULLINS5

The world knows what you have and what you need. If they're selling, they've probably looked you up. If they haven't looked you up, someone else has and they're bidding for the cards you need.

So glad I'm out of competitive registry collecting.

Good luck with those final 17 cards!

DanBessette

I find the registry to be most helpful as a checklist and as an inventory tool.

With that in mind, I add any items I'm aware of to the player registries I collect. I want the checklist to be as comprehensive as possible.

VitoCo1972

I don't even view the registry as competition. At least as a signed card collector, it's a freaking art gallery. I love seeing other peoples stuff that I don't have in the sets I'm collecting.

seebelow

It def does its job. Got me back into collecting after leaving for 20 sum years. Its the competition that had me jump in without looking. Getting graded cards in the mail nearly every other day. Now I've transitioned to graded cards. Whoever came up with it at psa is the steve jobs...reinvented collecting and sold us something that we wanted all along.

lilmule

You know, when I was building my 68 topps complete set in a PSA 8 and above it took me about that long as well. There was one card i could never seem to get, when it did pop up eventually, I always got outbid on it didn't matter how much I put on it or snipped it for. So that card was in a PSA 7 in my set which was annoying. I far from sold my set already, but still pretty bad when I see the card to this day and I still go after it just to make a point, But still get outbid on it lol.

Stooge

A while ago I was contacted by the #1 set holder in a set I was actively collecting. He literally told me he knew the eBay ID of everyone in the top 10-12 sets including mine and monitors the current cards for sale, including all of the corresponding teams sets to make sure "His investment" was safe and looked after. He discussed with me buying strategies and said he routinely picks up dupes and trips of PSA 10 cards he already has to keep others from purchasing them. I don't quite remember whether he said if he ran up prices but it was very uncomfortable that someone was "Tracking" my purchases on eBay to see what cards I was buying whether or not I update my set.

Because of this, I have "Hidden" most of my sets so no one can see what I am building. Some sets, such as my "Homemade" sets I really do not care if someone sees me building them.

I will go on to mention that I put the brakes on that above set. I stopped collecting it for some time. Not that I let another person dictate what I do, I just gave it a rest, and the next thing I know, it has been a couple of years.

My recommendation would be to NEVER EVER list a set public that you are working on that gives other the potential to "Drive prices up on you" You may not like to collect that way, but it may just save you 100's or 1,000's of $$$ along the way.