This might be the first and last time selling low $ cards on eBay.

jswieton · October 6, 2009 1:42PM

I am a pretty active buyer on eBay but I rarely sell any cards. I figured I’d try selling a few to supplement my spending. Well, I think this might be the last time I try selling any cards using the auction format. Can someone tell me why my cards sold for so cheap? I know that using the auction format can often sell for less than the average sales price but this seems extreme. I figured I would at least cover my grading fees. Here is a list of the cards I sold or didn’t sell and the final sales price of a few of them. If someone could give some advice for future sales it would be appreciated.

1987 Leaf Greg Maddux rc #36 PSA 9 mint- ID 270463143800 $1.81
1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds rc PSA 8 NM – mint- ID 270463152209- $0.99
1991 Ultra Brett Favre rc #283 PSA 9 Mint- ID 270463156102- $3.04
1957 Topps Larry Foust #18 PSA 7 (oc) near mint- ID 270463127029 $0.99
2001 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. #1 PSA 9 mint- ID 270463142483 UNSOLD
2001 Upper Deck Tiger Woods Golf Gallery rc PSA 8 nm-mt-ID 270463153567- UNSOLD
1961 Topps Rudy Larusso #57 PSA 7 (st) near mint- ID 270463134732- UNSOLD

daddymc · October 6, 2009 1:49PM

To be honest, those are somewhat typical results from what I've seem for modern graded via the auction format these days. Unless it's a popular player in a low pop 10, and maybe not even then, it's hard to achieve a price high enough to cover the grading fee. I've moved away from the auction format unless it's something I want to dump, or I use it in an attempt to drive traffic to my Ebay store. Fixed price or better yet store inventory is the way to go IMO.

1966CUDA · October 6, 2009 1:53PM

Possibly partly because of the category they were listed in?? I just checked the Maddux and Bonds and they were in this category: Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Cards > Other

skilow · October 6, 2009 1:56PM

Just look at the cards you were selling and their grades. obviously you did not want them, so why should someone else? These cards were produced in the millions, so a PSA9 is almost a downgrade from a personal collectors raw example. IMHO.

Buccaneer · October 6, 2009 1:57PM

And those two vintage PSA 7 with Qualifiers would never sell for grading fees in the best of times.

leathtech · October 6, 2009 1:58PM

I've stopped using auctions and now just use BIN's with best offers... Stuff will sell just takes the right buyer - I sold the same Ripeken for $9.99 back in September.

Be sure to set the auto BIN settings to reject stupid offers.

leathtech · October 6, 2009 2:00PM

another idea might be to just lump all your oooops subs into one large lot and clear them out... I have to do this soon just to move some crap!

storm888 · October 6, 2009 2:00PM

"...If someone could give some advice for future sales ..."

//////////////////////////

30-day BINs, with high-prices.

Use BO with auto-accept/decline, if you want to cut down
on dealing with lowballers.

If you have enough carp, open a store AND run a few CORE BINs
to draw traffic.

Unless you just want to buy some feedback, it is silly to run auctions
for commodity items.

.............

Also, we are in a financial depression that is not anywhere near
as bad as it will be eventually.

LOTS of folks know that and are holding onto their money.

SDavid · October 6, 2009 2:29PM

The Maddux in 9 usually sells for over $10. Not sure why it didn't this time, but remember it costs almost next to nothing to start the price at 9.99. With lower end stuff, it makes more sense to start it at an acceptable price since bidding wars are much more rare for cards in that price range.

VCP on the Bonds is $2.85.

Vintage 7's with qualifiers are tough to sell in any format, and commons are also tough to sell unless you list a fairly large amount from the same set. (This doesn't apply to low pops...no rules apply to those).

akuracy503 · October 6, 2009 2:34PM

Storm...how will our financial depression worsen? I'd like to pick your brain a bit....
Does it start with higher rate of unemployment, jobs lost exceeds jobs created? continued climb in home foreclosures? continued drop in home sales and prices?

Every situation thinkable getting worse?

Ahmanfan · October 6, 2009 2:41PM

no offense but low $ cards will get low $, heh.

VintageCardLover · October 6, 2009 2:52PM

modern graded crap. to be blunt.

Boopotts · October 6, 2009 2:56PM

<< Storm...how will our financial depression worsen? I'd like to pick your brain a bit....
Does it start with higher rate of unemployment, jobs lost exceeds jobs created? continued climb in home foreclosures? continued drop in home sales and prices?

Every situation thinkable getting worse? >>

It will continue for the following reasons: 1) The American consumer is going to continue to deleverage (partly by choice, but also partly because of frozen credit markets for consumer debt). 2) At some point interest rates will be forced to rise if government spending continues to outpace the proceeds from taxes (note that this is NOT an argument against national health care, which could actually increase taxes if a government plan is able to dent some of the monstrous inefficiencies that occur in the market for medical care services, and increase labor mobility). 3) Labor mobility, which is the key to maintaining functioning labor markets, will continue to worsen as more and more workers find themselves unable to move, either because they can't get out from underneath their mortgage or because they are scared of losing employer-sponsored heath care plans. This point can't be overstated; in fact, one of the primary reasons behind the formulating of the EMU was to facilitate labor mobility.

Related to these points are a few others, like the fact that the housing market isn't going to bounce back. Basically, all indications are that the best case scenario is a long 'U' shaped recovery, with a very wide trough, and not a 'V' shaped recovery. We don't need to worry much about long-term inflation, because the increase in gov't spending has only filled the gap left by the decrease in private spending (you'll notice that the CPU hasn't bumped up, despite all the howling by inflation hawks), and I don't think anyone at the Fed is dumb enough to try to print our way out of debt, but in the short run there could be some inflationary pressure which will only serve to retard the recovery.

The short story is this: Things will not be as good as they were in 2005 for at least 15 years, and maybe longer. And things could get much worse if the wrong pieces fall into place. All in all, this is not a good forecast for going long in graded baseball cards (except for perhaps very, very high end pieces that are less likely to see their value affected by poor economic growth). But for all the low to mid range stuff, the market has almost certainly topped out and will continue to decline.

Edit to add: Here's a link to a blog that's run (written?) by the Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman. You might find some of his insights useful.

skilow · October 6, 2009 2:56PM

that 90% of us own, or did own multiples of. You are too late to the game.

storm888 · October 6, 2009 3:07PM

"...Every situation thinkable getting worse? ..."

////////////////////////////

It's kind of ironic that just as everything started to
turn to caca, EBAY closed itself out of the "used item
for sale to get cash" market.

Their plan to be the world's "largest outlet mall" was
set in motion in early 2004, and I guess it was just not
possible to put it on hold.

Real unemployment is likely 2X+ the official number.
Under-employment is likely close to 50%+.

In some areas of flyover country, half the folks have
no jobs. Bartering is back.

Americans will soon be used to 20%+ systemic unemployment.
That will become the new normal and the new-age of the
entrepreneur will be born. MILLIONS of folks will start their
own biz; most will fail and MANY will succeed. The rebuilding
will get underway.

We are undergoing the largest transfer of wealth in
history. The financial institutions will have grabbed
the real-property of most poor folks within a couple
of years.

1.2 million foreclosures at the current annual rate. Three or
four times that as soon as the banks can get 'er done.

When the "too big to fail" concept is jettisoned - soon -
the "rescued" banks will all be in the toilet.

Residential RE will continue its sideways/downward trend,
for years. Commercial RE will be hit the hardest and will
signal the final flushout.

One weather event, a natural disaster, or a manmade
disaster will crush even more folks.

Most folks just don't have the confidence to spend money
on collectibles right now. They will in the future, but that
time is likely pretty far away.

csmtampa · October 6, 2009 3:27PM

Without getting into the whole economy effect (which isn't affecting the modern card, ungraded market) I will give my opinion.

1987 Leaf Greg Maddux rc #36 PSA 9 mint- ID 270463143800 $1.81 (I wouldn't pay more than $2 for this card in a high condition ungraded)
1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds rc PSA 8 NM ï¿½ mint- ID 270463152209- $0.99 (same as above)
1991 Ultra Brett Favre rc #283 PSA 9 Mint- ID 270463156102- $3.04 (I would pay $2 - $5 for a raw condition of this card)
1957 Topps Larry Foust #18 PSA 7 (oc) near mint- ID 270463127029 $0.99 ( 7 oc, if it was raw I would expect to pay $.50 - $2.00 for it)
2001 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. #1 PSA 9 mint- ID 270463142483 UNSOLD (Why pay for a 9 when you can buy raw examples of this card for $.50?)
2001 Upper Deck Tiger Woods Golf Gallery rc PSA 8 nm-mt-ID 270463153567- UNSOLD (This doesn't need a reply)

All in all, most collectors who collect PSA 10 examples are set registry driven, or like higher grades for their collections.

As someone who doesn't collect for the set registry, I can tell you this.

A graded 7, 8 or 9 of a card is not going to make me want to buy it more compared to an ungraded copy.

But if I find deals on graded 9's, than yes I will pay the $1.

This is where the whole sub game comes into effect. Sub a card that has millions of ungraded copies out there, hope for a 10, and if it doesn't, than its going to sell for the same price as an ungraded one.

But if you do get that 10, enjoy the profits your going to make off of it.

akuracy503 · October 6, 2009 3:51PM

<< 

<< Storm...how will our financial depression worsen? I'd like to pick your brain a bit....
Does it start with higher rate of unemployment, jobs lost exceeds jobs created? continued climb in home foreclosures? continued drop in home sales and prices?

Every situation thinkable getting worse? >>

It will continue for the following reasons: 1) The American consumer is going to continue to deleverage (partly by choice, but also partly because of frozen credit markets for consumer debt). 2) At some point interest rates will be forced to rise if government spending continues to outpace the proceeds from taxes (note that this is NOT an argument against national health care, which could actually increase taxes if a government plan is able to dent some of the monstrous inefficiencies that occur in the market for medical care services, and increase labor mobility). 3) Labor mobility, which is the key to maintaining functioning labor markets, will continue to worsen as more and more workers find themselves unable to move, either because they can't get out from underneath their mortgage or because they are scared of losing employer-sponsored heath care plans. This point can't be overstated; in fact, one of the primary reasons behind the formulating of the EMU was to facilitate labor mobility.

Related to these points are a few others, like the fact that the housing market isn't going to bounce back. Basically, all indications are that the best case scenario is a long 'U' shaped recovery, with a very wide trough, and not a 'V' shaped recovery. We don't need to worry much about long-term inflation, because the increase in gov't spending has only filled the gap left by the decrease in private spending (you'll notice that the CPU hasn't bumped up, despite all the howling by inflation hawks), and I don't think anyone at the Fed is dumb enough to try to print our way out of debt, but in the short run there could be some inflationary pressure which will only serve to retard the recovery.

The short story is this: Things will not be as good as they were in 2005 for at least 15 years, and maybe longer. And things could get much worse if the wrong pieces fall into place. All in all, this is not a good forecast for going long in graded baseball cards (except for perhaps very, very high end pieces that are less likely to see their value affected by poor economic growth). But for all the low to mid range stuff, the market has almost certainly topped out and will continue to decline.

Edit to add: Here's a link to a blog that's run (written?) by the Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman. You might find some of his insights useful. >>

Thank you for the link to Paul Krugman's column.

akuracy503 · October 6, 2009 3:52PM

<< "...Every situation thinkable getting worse? ..."

////////////////////////////

It's kind of ironic that just as everything started to
turn to caca, EBAY closed itself out of the "used item
for sale to get cash" market.

Their plan to be the world's "largest outlet mall" was
set in motion in early 2004, and I guess it was just not
possible to put it on hold.

Real unemployment is likely 2X+ the official number.
Under-employment is likely close to 50%+.

In some areas of flyover country, half the folks have
no jobs. Bartering is back.

Americans will soon be used to 20%+ systemic unemployment.
That will become the new normal and the new-age of the
entrepreneur will be born. MILLIONS of folks will start their
own biz; most will fail and MANY will succeed. The rebuilding
will get underway.

We are undergoing the largest transfer of wealth in
history. The financial institutions will have grabbed
the real-property of most poor folks within a couple
of years.

1.2 million foreclosures at the current annual rate. Three or
four times that as soon as the banks can get 'er done.

When the "too big to fail" concept is jettisoned - soon -
the "rescued" banks will all be in the toilet.

Residential RE will continue its sideways/downward trend,
for years. Commercial RE will be hit the hardest and will
signal the final flushout.

One weather event, a natural disaster, or a manmade
disaster will crush even more folks.

Most folks just don't have the confidence to spend money
on collectibles right now. They will in the future, but that
time is likely pretty far away. >>

All very valid points, lets continue this discussion.

Thank you..

hammered · October 6, 2009 4:03PM

<< The short story is this: Things will not be as good as they were in 2005 for at least 15 years, and maybe longer. And things could get much worse if the wrong pieces fall into place. All in all, this is not a good forecast for going long in graded baseball cards (except for perhaps very, very high end pieces that are less likely to see their value affected by poor economic growth). But for all the low to mid range stuff, the market has almost certainly topped out and will continue to decline. >>

I enjoyed your analysis, and I even understood most of it.

Yet I generally believe (and have no empirical info to prove it) that hobbies are unaffected by larger economic troubles. If anyone has tracking data to show otherwise, that is fine.
But in a down time, people still need diversions, maybe more than before. They just give up their ski vacations and spend money on cheaper hobbies instead. Relatively speaking, ours is a very affordable hobby, and ideal for a recession. What this might mean (assuming a continued recession) is more collectors entering the hobby, and keeping competition on those low to mid range items healthy.

akuracy503 · October 6, 2009 4:18PM

<< 

<< The short story is this: Things will not be as good as they were in 2005 for at least 15 years, and maybe longer. And things could get much worse if the wrong pieces fall into place. All in all, this is not a good forecast for going long in graded baseball cards (except for perhaps very, very high end pieces that are less likely to see their value affected by poor economic growth). But for all the low to mid range stuff, the market has almost certainly topped out and will continue to decline. >>

I enjoyed your analysis, and I even understood most of it.

Yet I generally believe (and have no empirical info to prove it) that hobbies are unaffected by larger economic troubles. If anyone has tracking data to show otherwise, that is fine.
But in a down time, people still need diversions, maybe more than before. They just give up their ski vacations and spend money on cheaper hobbies instead. Relatively speaking, ours is a very affordable hobby, and ideal for a recession. What this might mean (assuming a continued recession) is more collectors entering the hobby, and keeping competition on those low to mid range items healthy. >>

Hammered - Excellent points, I have also felt that low to mid grade vintage cards are very favorable to the average joe looking to purchase for hobby sakes.
This places the low-mid grade (otherwise unaffordable in high grades) in a larger pool of potential buyers.

Of course this scenario would keep prices stagnant and consistent.

With that said I am still having a difficult time understanding the opinions/concept of high end vintage out muscling recession and inflation.

I guess in the collectors world rarity outclasses most. But when we mention high end vintage is it really rarity or quality that keeps the value up?
Would I be better off purchasing a PSA 8 1956 Mantle or a low grade Babe Ruth?

Boopotts · October 6, 2009 4:28PM

<< 

<< 

<< The short story is this: Things will not be as good as they were in 2005 for at least 15 years, and maybe longer. And things could get much worse if the wrong pieces fall into place. All in all, this is not a good forecast for going long in graded baseball cards (except for perhaps very, very high end pieces that are less likely to see their value affected by poor economic growth). But for all the low to mid range stuff, the market has almost certainly topped out and will continue to decline. >>

I enjoyed your analysis, and I even understood most of it.

Yet I generally believe (and have no empirical info to prove it) that hobbies are unaffected by larger economic troubles. If anyone has tracking data to show otherwise, that is fine.
But in a down time, people still need diversions, maybe more than before. They just give up their ski vacations and spend money on cheaper hobbies instead. Relatively speaking, ours is a very affordable hobby, and ideal for a recession. What this might mean (assuming a continued recession) is more collectors entering the hobby, and keeping competition on those low to mid range items healthy. >>

Hammered - Excellent points, I have also felt that low to mid grade vintage cards are very favorable to the average joe looking to purchase for hobby sakes.
This places the low-mid grade (otherwise unaffordable in high grades) in a larger pool of potential buyers.

Of course this scenario would keep prices stagnant and consistent.

With that said I am still having a difficult time understanding the opinions/concept of high end vintage out muscling recession and inflation.

I guess in the collectors world rarity outclasses most. But when we mention high end vintage is it really rarity or quality that keeps the value up?
Would I be better off purchasing a PSA 8 1956 Mantle or a low grade Babe Ruth? >>

The problem you have with midgrade cards is that the supply is, for all practical purposes, unlimited. There are likely still 100's of 1000's of nm-mt cards from the 1970's which are still ungraded, and there's no clear way to see how demand can outpace supply. Just look at the price trajectory for everything post-1960. It has gone down across the board in the last six years. I can remember when PSA 8's from the 1974 Topps baseball set sold for $20+ a piece, and now they won't recoup the grading fees.

So-- while more people may (or may not) begin to see the hobby as a pleasant diversion, the nearly limitless supply of midgrade cards that are still ungraded assures us that the market price for these cards will continue to trend down towards, and eventually settle at, the marginal cost of bringing these cards to market. That's very bad news for the guys spending $150 on 1973T PSA 10's.

The super high-end stuff isn't affected by this dynamic (very few NM '33 Delong Gehrigs are still floating around out there, I would guess), and the people who buy these cards are less likely to have their wealth stripped from them in a stagnating economy. That's why I would encourage anyone who enjoys baseball cards to save, save, save, and maybe buy one $5000 card a year as opposed to 1000 $5 cards.

csmtampa · October 6, 2009 4:28PM

If anyone thinks the hobby was hit hard by the "recession" were in, go to freedomcardboard, sportscardforum, sportscollectors.net, traderretreat, net54 and gameusedforum and let me know about how the recession has hit our market.

Yea maybe no one is purchasing PSA 7's ,8's , and 9's of a card that had millions produced, but to say this hobby has been hit hard is ridiculous.

NickM · October 6, 2009 4:30PM

I missed the Rudy LaRusso card - possibly due to a mislisting. I don't know what the auction title said, but that's a Fleer, not a Topps, card.
When I'm looking for that year's basketball cards, my search has Fleer in the name. PSA 7(ST) from that set is a very intriguing card, because of the potential to remove a wax stain.

Most of the others just won't sell for grading fees.

Nick

tunahead08 · October 6, 2009 4:39PM

You just need to sell low pop PSA 10 Ripken cards:

Link 1

Link 2

akuracy503 · October 6, 2009 4:41PM

<< I missed the Rudy LaRusso card - possibly due to a mislisting. I don't know what the auction title said, but that's a Fleer, not a Topps, card.
When I'm looking for that year's basketball cards, my search has Fleer in the name. PSA 7(ST) from that set is a very intriguing card, because of the potential to remove a wax stain.

Most of the others just won't sell for grading fees.

Nick >>

I believe you've mistaken this for another topic, this thread has officially been hijacked with a more interesting topic.

Thanks for playing.

storm888 · October 6, 2009 4:48PM

"...With that said I am still having a difficult time understanding the opinions/concept of high end vintage out muscling recession and inflation..."

///////////////////////////////////////////////

In theory, the folks who own "expensive" cards should
be the last ones to "need" money. Thus, the prices
ought to stick best.

BUT, nobody on here has ever lived through this kind
of a cycle; so, we don't really know for sure how things
are going to play out.

My grandfather and father made their fortunes in the
1930s thru the 1950s. They both noted that even rich
folks run out of money in hard times. The key for them
was having capital to "steal" good stuff from folks who
needed money for food and shelter.

If the same dynamic plays out as we move forward, even
the best collectibles will likely take a pretty hard hit.

The cheap/common stuff is already pretty worthless. To
think that the general economy did not impact the low
end of the collectibles market is incorrect. As late as 2005,
all was still REALLY good in EBAY-land. Today, 9s often go
for 99-cents, or go unsold.

Hobbies go through cycles. Dry spells can last a long time.
Folks who don't need to sell their stuff should prolly keep it.

jlzinck · October 6, 2009 9:26PM

<< "

30-day BINs, with high-prices.

Use BO with auto-accept/decline, if you want to cut down
on dealing with lowballers.
. >>

I just did this with an Aaron Curry 2009 Absolute RC with a Reebok patch #2/5.

There was only 1 other on Ebay and the guy had shilled it up to $45 or so but had a legit $42 offer.

I listed BIN/OBO $50. Set my auto reject to bids $35 and under (had 4 of them. One was $5) Set my Auto accept to $42 and it sold last night for $42.50.

You pay a huge % more in fees but get somewhat better results.

Sportsamerica · October 6, 2009 9:50PM

I agree.. If you are trying to make grading fees, you should list as a store inventory or Fixed Price... Auctions won't do, the only auctions which seem to work for me are new raw cards (get some bidding wars at times), but most of my stuff is in my store, I just let them sit there and I get offers well above VCP prices..

CDsNuts · October 6, 2009 10:27PM

But in a down time, people still need diversions, maybe more than before. They just give up their ski vacations and spend money on cheaper hobbies instead. Relatively speaking, ours is a very affordable hobby, and ideal for a recession. What this might mean (assuming a continued recession) is more collectors entering the hobby, and keeping competition on those low to mid range items healthy.

This is a misconception similar to the one that bars will always be fine in a recession because people will need to drown their misery in alcohol. Simple fact is when people have much less money coming in they buy far fewer things.

itzagoner · October 7, 2009 1:00AM

<< But in a down time, people still need diversions, maybe more than before. They just give up their ski vacations and spend money on cheaper hobbies instead. Relatively speaking, ours is a very affordable hobby, and ideal for a recession. What this might mean (assuming a continued recession) is more collectors entering the hobby, and keeping competition on those low to mid range items healthy.

This is a misconception similar to the one that bars will always be fine in a recession because people will need to drown their misery in alcohol. Simple fact is when people have much less money coming in they buy far fewer things. >>

i've found that increased drinking leads to increased spending and a remarkable increase in "What-the-heck-was-I-thinking?" stuff being added to my collection.

this information may or may not have any basis in fact to back up any theories presented here.

metsfan · October 7, 2009 1:11AM

List the cards at higher then .99, if you list it that low, it could sell that low. Look at closing prices to get a feel for how much your cards can sell for. The Maddux probably should have sold for more, the other cards maybe not. You may be better selling low priced cards on a site like checkoutmycards.com,or sportsbuy.

MBMiller25 · October 7, 2009 1:22AM

This is the best thread I have read in a long time. Very informative, I can't add anything that hasnt already been said.

MeteoriteGuy · October 7, 2009 1:35AM

<< But in a down time, people still need diversions, maybe more than before. They just give up their ski vacations and spend money on cheaper hobbies instead. Relatively speaking, ours is a very affordable hobby, and ideal for a recession. What this might mean (assuming a continued recession) is more collectors entering the hobby, and keeping competition on those low to mid range items healthy.

This is a misconception similar to the one that bars will always be fine in a recession because people will need to drown their misery in alcohol. Simple fact is when people have much less money coming in they buy far fewer things. >>

The coin and stamp hobbies have historically saw large increases of collectors during lower economic times, which is the basis of this argument. The dynamics of collectibles now however I think throws this out the window. Its not your daddy's card market.

In a sort of related note, I did do very well selling meteorites in 2002 when we had a mini-crash....but 2002 was a short dip.

Clear Skies,
Mark

akuracy503 · October 7, 2009 1:40AM

<< 

<< "

30-day BINs, with high-prices.

Use BO with auto-accept/decline, if you want to cut down
on dealing with lowballers.
. >>

I just did this with an Aaron Curry 2009 Absolute RC with a Reebok patch #2/5.

There was only 1 other on Ebay and the guy had shilled it up to $45 or so but had a legit $42 offer.

I listed BIN/OBO $50. Set my auto reject to bids $35 and under (had 4 of them. One was $5) Set my Auto accept to $42 and it sold last night for $42.50.

You pay a huge % more in fees but get somewhat better results. >>

BIN/OBO is the best idea if you have cards of decent value, be careful about setting the auto reject because your hindering your ability to counteroffer.
Lowballers will test the waters but often times i've counter offered back and forth to get the selling price I want.

jswieton · October 7, 2009 2:49AM

I want to thank everyone for the great info. I can see where I went wrong. I will use fixed pricing from now on with BIN and BO's instead of the traditional auction format.

SDavid · October 7, 2009 3:11AM

To think that the general economy did not impact the low
end of the collectibles market is incorrect. As late as 2005,
all was still REALLY good in EBAY-land. Today, 9s often go
for 99-cents, or go unsold.

The dow could be at 15,000 with a 2% unemployment rate--the junk modern non-rc graded card market was going down regardless. It has very little to do with the economy and everything to do with a fad losing steam in the marketplace and the fact virtually anyone with two steady hands can improve these cards and get them graded. People here correctly predicted this market would crash as early as 2003 (remember the old kallmalonesay threads), so I hope it didn't come as a surprise to anyone. The percentage of modern collectors interested in those cards was thin to begin with.

Actually, the modern market has held up much better than anyone could have expected. Around 2004 I bought a lot of the mass produced rookies of guys like manning, pujols, lebron, jeter, brady, etc, and their raw prices today ( as well as prices for 8's and 9's) are very much in line with where they were then. A lot of them have increased. These cards can be found on ebay virtually every day, and they are by no means expensive. Some other cards have gone down or up due to player performance, but that's normal.

Vintage cards from the 50's and 60's have held up well, with the usual declines in low pop cards. Mid grade cards have been steady. If anything has hurt their prices on vcp, it's collectors dumping their lowest end examples on ebay. 6's and 7's with good eye appeal have held up fine overall, but the quality of vintage cards on ebay has been softening for the last few years. Maybe people are just afraid to auction off their best cards, but ironically enough these are the cards that still bring strong prices.

KatsCards · October 7, 2009 3:31AM

It really is a buyer's market out there on probably 98% of the cards in PSA slabs. Key cards, cards with heavy Registry appeal are the ones to sell and make in most cases the money. But anything other than that is a rude awakening for most sellers. Prices are so low on auctions on commons, you could get a head start on sets from the 60's and 70's at a fraction of what it cost 6 years ago.

smtjoy · October 7, 2009 4:00AM

Well I only checked your Farve rookie because I just sold the same card. One your description is wrong and thats a big issue with a buyer not knowing what they will get so best to not bid. 2. You also need to link bigger pics of front and back so a buyer can see what he is really getting, many people want to see if the back is OC or not.

Here is the farve description- You are bidding on a 1994 Finest Jason Kidd rc w/ coating PSA 9 (oc) mint basketball card. Please bid with confidence as my feedback rating speaks for itself. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me.

yours-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270463156102&ru=http://shop.ebay.com:80/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m38.l1313&_nkw=270463156102&_sacat=See-All-Categories&_fvi=1&_rdc=1

I got $15 for my SGC 96

Mine-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300351395150&ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT

WinPitcher · October 7, 2009 5:40AM

yeah you have to make sure your descriptions match.

Steve

jswieton · October 7, 2009 6:07AM

yeah, Storm already pointed this bonehead mistake out. I deserve to get screwed with a careless mistake like that, it pays to proof read.

mtcards · October 7, 2009 6:21AM

After having watched a lot of reports in the last day or so about the dollar being "devalued". I wondered about how this would affect the credit market in general. For instance, if you were in debt, lets say owing $25,000 and the dollar devalued, but you owned commodities, such as stocks, gold, etc.., so you would have a positive income in that area. Would it not be easier to pay off your debt because of the debt amount itself being devalued or is there something I am missing?

italianstallionyankees · October 7, 2009 6:27AM

Interesting thread... I am just wondering if any of the board members do what I do. Buy gold and silver when its low and sell when its high to fund card collecting and repeat the same again and again. ?? Flipping coins buying raw and getting graded and using coin and numismatic money and then buying more cards.

storm888 · October 7, 2009 6:31AM

"...Would it not be easier to pay off your debt because of the debt amount itself being devalued or is there something I am missing? .."

//////////////////////////////

Of course.

That is the point of having mortgages hedged with LONG commodity
positions. You pay off the debt with cheap dollars by selling those
positions when the commodity prices go up.

Everybody I know either got rich or at least got a "free" house in 1980,
using that formula with gold and silver.

Obviously, it works the same now as it did then.

Boopotts · October 7, 2009 6:32AM

<< After having watched a lot of reports in the last day or so about the dollar being "devalued". I wondered about how this would affect the credit market in general. For instance, if you were in debt, lets say owing $25,000 and the dollar devalued, but you owned commodities, such as stocks, gold, etc.., so you would have a positive income in that area. Would it not be easier to pay off your debt because of the debt amount itself being devalued or is there something I am missing? >>

As a rule, inflation is great for debtors, and very bad for creditors. That's one of the reason why the expectation of inflationary pressure has a freezing effect on credit markets.

detroitfan2 · October 7, 2009 10:56AM

None of this really matters when your team was the first team in Major League Baseball history to blow a 3 game lead with 4 games to go. None of it I tell you.

This might be the first and last time selling low $ cards on eBay.

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