I agree high grade, high quality vintage is much harder to come by these days. My snipe success rate is very low compared to in years past. What I do win is often close to my snipe max bid.
@1982FBWaxMemories said:
Trading card prices is one of the most and easily manipulated of all hobbies.
Even pumping threads here are tantamount to small scale manipulation. Recent threads like "Vintage drying up" or the infamous "Excitment Brewing" are examples... Honest Dissenters are often flamed by those with fiscal interests.
Not saying this is good or bad, merely pointing out that it simply is.
Posting threads on PSA is hardly the same as people fake bidding on ebay.
@1982FBWaxMemories said:
Trading card prices is one of the most and easily manipulated of all hobbies.
Even pumping threads here are tantamount to small scale manipulation. Recent threads like "Vintage drying up" or the infamous "Excitment Brewing" are examples... Honest Dissenters are often flamed by those with fiscal interests.
Not saying this is good or bad, merely pointing out that it simply is.
Posting threads on PSA is hardly the same as people fake bidding on ebay.
Its why I stated "small scale manipulation" as well as "Not saying this is good or bad, merely pointing out that it simply is."
if you want to perceive it as bad, well that's on you.
"Pumping is as Pumping does"
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972) Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform. To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.
The first of his auctions should have ended today. I placed bids on some high-end graded, which were much lower priced than what I have seen the same card and grade sell for on eBay. I was curious on the uptake of bidders and buyers and whether or not the site is getting any high-profile buyers. As the site has become "technically" unavailable, it will be interesting to see if the expected auctions ended, the prices of items sold, and/or whether these auctions will be magically rebooted due to lower than expected bidder interest. I am not saying that anything is shady at this point, but I am cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the "technical issues".
@smallstocks said:
We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform. To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.
Translation: prices were too low and we couldn't find enough bidders.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
_The main feature that allows a bidder to put in a “snype” — a pre-programmed last-second bid — instead triggered the auctions themselves to end, no matter how much time was left. For other auctions, the bidding features were completely disabled.
The site was taken down as the glitches were discovered, Probstein told cllct.
“We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform,” a statement read on the website. “To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.”
Probstein said he is also looking into the possibility snype was a target of a hacking scheme and is not sure of a timeline for its return.
Collectors who won auctions and were automatically charged will be refunded._
As for the last sentence, I'm 100% sure that wont be the case for at least some of them !
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972) Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Tired of being a cash cow for the corporate vultures, our hero decided to flip the bird and walk away from a guaranteed payday playing every day for the New York Yankees of the business world and instead will now become a part-time role player for the Savannah Bananas.
The main feature that allows a bidder to put in a “snype” — a pre-programmed last-second bid — instead triggered the auctions themselves to end, no matter how much time was left. For other auctions, the bidding features were completely disabled.
“We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform,” a statement read on the website. “To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.”
Collectors who won auctions and were automatically charged will be refunded.
As for the last sentence, I'm 100% sure that wont be the case for at least some of them
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972) Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
So if the main idea of his actions are sniping? No mater how long his .99 cent auctions went for. Sounds like no action at all till the last second of the week. No action till last second for everything someone is selling is scary if you are a seller. Seems stressful. Add on new and not proven, less eyes and bidders. Also site goes down. Tough
@handyman said:
So if the main idea of his actions are sniping? No mater how long his .99 cent auctions went for. Sounds like no action at all till the last second of the week. No action till last second for everything someone is selling is scary if you are a seller. Seems stressful. Add on new and not proven, less eyes and bidders. Also site goes down. Tough
Most of the sellers Im sure knew all about the type of person and business model they were dealing with , but decide to take their shot out of greed. No sympathy for them.
As for those who were someway somehow oblivious hope they will learn from the experience
Same goes for the percentage of buyers who plausibly won't be refunded.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972) Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
this has to be worse case scenario for Rick. He sees the forum/social media posts about how many feel about his integrity/customer service.
this launch needed to be perfect. it was anything but. consumer confidence in his new platform has to have plummeted. He was already getting MUCH fewer views than he did on ebay. how many of those new users will completely give up on SNYPE after this? I bet we see Probstein back on the bay before next 4th of July.
@BBBrkrr said:
It takes a lifetime to build your reputation and minutes to destroy it...
It never has to be this way for any business. Unfortunately, it happens to many of them. Inconsistency and greed undo lots of companies.
Not sure this debacle will tarnish his rep any more than it already was.
He also no longer has ebay shielding him from the consequences of his questionable business practices.
Without eBays Buyer Protections he, actually his platform is now subject to various and sundry Federal and State actions. Based on just the eBay feedback that was not removed I forsee plenty of FTC complaints or outright crimal investigations that wil stem from those that never receive what they paid for and do not receive refunds.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972) Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
To Rick I suspect nothing more than a ripple. A billion bucks later he has a fabulous life, is privately wealthy, and quite likely still has more stuff than the combined efforts of all who post in this forum and more. However he achieved it is up to him and his conscience. A failed experiment is a common to the rich.
@ElMagoStrikeZone said:
To Rick I suspect nothing more than a ripple. A billion bucks later he has a fabulous life, is privately wealthy, and quite likely still has more stuff than the combined efforts of all who post in this forum and more. However he achieved it is up to him and his conscience. A failed experiment is a common to the rich.
I was being smug. He’s been discussed here, there and everywhere and somehow seems to keep doing the deeds. People gonna get scammed by him no matter what we say.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Probby should be pissin his pants right about now. Ol' eBay wont be protecting him and the evidence is likley tantamount to a smokin' gun.
Seems like there is a mountain more evidence against Probby than there was against Mastro years back. Probby may have a 100s of millionz but he may still end up in a federal pen!
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972) Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
If true, that is pretty damning stuff even by Probe standards.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Comments
maybe thats the plan. buy everything for half then flip it all back to the original Prob on ebay. Sell the company. Retire. See ya.
JK
I agree high grade, high quality vintage is much harder to come by these days. My snipe success rate is very low compared to in years past. What I do win is often close to my snipe max bid.
Posting threads on PSA is hardly the same as people fake bidding on ebay.
Its why I stated "small scale manipulation" as well as "Not saying this is good or bad, merely pointing out that it simply is."
if you want to perceive it as bad, well that's on you.
"Pumping is as Pumping does"
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform. To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.
Late 60's and early to mid 70's non-sports
Oh no they forgot to feed the hamsters.
New plan. Grab what you can and run!!!
Jk but bad news is good news if it gets eyes on it.
The first of his auctions should have ended today. I placed bids on some high-end graded, which were much lower priced than what I have seen the same card and grade sell for on eBay. I was curious on the uptake of bidders and buyers and whether or not the site is getting any high-profile buyers. As the site has become "technically" unavailable, it will be interesting to see if the expected auctions ended, the prices of items sold, and/or whether these auctions will be magically rebooted due to lower than expected bidder interest. I am not saying that anything is shady at this point, but I am cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the "technical issues".
TGF Collection
TGF Sports
He's done for.
Translation: prices were too low and we couldn't find enough bidders.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Maybe Start with buy it nows. Then slowly add auctions then. Hard to watch but welp
_The main feature that allows a bidder to put in a “snype” — a pre-programmed last-second bid — instead triggered the auctions themselves to end, no matter how much time was left. For other auctions, the bidding features were completely disabled.
The site was taken down as the glitches were discovered, Probstein told cllct.
“We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform,” a statement read on the website. “To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.”
Probstein said he is also looking into the possibility snype was a target of a hacking scheme and is not sure of a timeline for its return.
Collectors who won auctions and were automatically charged will be refunded._
As for the last sentence, I'm 100% sure that wont be the case for at least some of them !
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
dupe post
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Tired of being a cash cow for the corporate vultures, our hero decided to flip the bird and walk away from a guaranteed payday playing every day for the New York Yankees of the business world and instead will now become a part-time role player for the Savannah Bananas.
From https://www.cllct.com/sports-collectibles/memorabilia/rick-probstein-s-snype-platform-disabled-following-technical-glitches
The main feature that allows a bidder to put in a “snype” — a pre-programmed last-second bid — instead triggered the auctions themselves to end, no matter how much time was left. For other auctions, the bidding features were completely disabled.
“We’re experiencing a system-wide technical issue due to high volume that affected all auctions on the platform,” a statement read on the website. “To protect the integrity of bidding and ensure a fair experience for every buyer and seller, we are temporarily taking snype offline. All impacted auctions will be canceled and relisted with full visibility once the issue is resolved.”
Collectors who won auctions and were automatically charged will be refunded.
As for the last sentence, I'm 100% sure that wont be the case for at least some of them
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
No you're not scammer, its toasted!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
So if the main idea of his actions are sniping? No mater how long his .99 cent auctions went for. Sounds like no action at all till the last second of the week. No action till last second for everything someone is selling is scary if you are a seller. Seems stressful. Add on new and not proven, less eyes and bidders. Also site goes down. Tough
Most of the sellers Im sure knew all about the type of person and business model they were dealing with , but decide to take their shot out of greed. No sympathy for them.
As for those who were someway somehow oblivious hope they will learn from the experience
Same goes for the percentage of buyers who plausibly won't be refunded.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
new platform
no oversight
sketchy to begin with
no folks, nothing to see here...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
to be serious though.
this has to be worse case scenario for Rick. He sees the forum/social media posts about how many feel about his integrity/customer service.
this launch needed to be perfect. it was anything but. consumer confidence in his new platform has to have plummeted. He was already getting MUCH fewer views than he did on ebay. how many of those new users will completely give up on SNYPE after this? I bet we see Probstein back on the bay before next 4th of July.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
He needs to go to the buy it now approach for awhile.
It takes a lifetime to build your reputation and minutes to destroy it...
It never has to be this way for any business. Unfortunately, it happens to many of them. Inconsistency and greed undo lots of companies.
Not sure this debacle will tarnish his rep any more than it already was.
He also no longer has ebay shielding him from the consequences of his questionable business practices.
Without eBays Buyer Protections he, actually his platform is now subject to various and sundry Federal and State actions. Based on just the eBay feedback that was not removed I forsee plenty of FTC complaints or outright crimal investigations that wil stem from those that never receive what they paid for and do not receive refunds.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
To Rick I suspect nothing more than a ripple. A billion bucks later he has a fabulous life, is privately wealthy, and quite likely still has more stuff than the combined efforts of all who post in this forum and more. However he achieved it is up to him and his conscience. A failed experiment is a common to the rich.
Some pretty crazy info about the site vulnerability and some suspicious user activity in this thread on E4 - https://www.elitefourum.com/t/backend-vulnerabilities-of-snype-expose-user-information-and-alleged-shill-bidding/59369
Hunny Bunny?!?
Wow ….that is not surprising but incredible for how stupid and brazen that dork is. Nice coding on the website you loser. Total scumbag.
He is also most likely in breach of privacy laws by exposing bidders birthdays, generally considered personal data.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Yes, but hopefully this failure has saved at least a few if not more from being scammed - for now.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
I was being smug. He’s been discussed here, there and everywhere and somehow seems to keep doing the deeds. People gonna get scammed by him no matter what we say.
we really need a sad face reaction on this forum
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
😢☹️😭🥴
wonder what wes spece thinks about all this excitement
If Wes was still there he would have pencil and papered the auction and the day would have been saved. That kid’s the hero kind.
3% fees is just an attempt to draw people in. That'll be up to 15% to 20% as soon as he feels he can pull it off.
If Wes was still consignment director, this thread wouldn't even exist.
So pwcc & probstein123 gone. Rick was selling cards cheaper over 1k than what it cost to sell myself. So surprised he’s gone.
Whatever became of Wes?
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
goodness, I sure am glad I never signed up for this platform.
also read that one of the email addresses visible on snype is associated with Kevin Burge. ooof.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Oh wow, Kevin Burge aka shoesless-joejackson from his eBay days.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/655763/ebay-id-shoeless-joejackson-queencity-sportscards-kevin-burge-the-worst-seller-i
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball cards
also collecting US & Canadian silver coins
Probby should be pissin his pants right about now. Ol' eBay wont be protecting him and the evidence is likley tantamount to a smokin' gun.
Seems like there is a mountain more evidence against Probby than there was against Mastro years back. Probby may have a 100s of millionz but he may still end up in a federal pen!
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
I think I read a while back that he owns a card shop and is a show promoter in the Charlotte area.
Its probably a significant step up from toiling for probe.
Get your popcorn and ready this is going to be a sh-tstorm!
TGF Collection
TGF Sports
https://www.elitefourum.com/t/backend-vulnerabilities-of-snype-expose-user-information-alleged-probstein-shill-bidding/59369
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
If true, that is pretty damning stuff even by Probe standards.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Rick Shillstein and his partner are one of the most vilified in the hobby, Kevin Burge.
The problem, the hobby always has a short-term memory. Much like PWCC people just can't help themselves buying from criminals.