Would you take a shot @ this? 2010 Topps Chrome Mystery Box

So I have been thinking of creative ways to move product on ebay, I'm trying to pride myself on offering more value as a seller. Normally I do things like take two Blake Griffin rookies and sell them for the book value of one, or throw in a couple of other decent cards as a "bonus". Well I need to clear some room in my 2010 Topps Chrome set so I packed 75 cards into a box and the pack out is as follows;

33 Base Vets

27 Base Rookies

5 Base Refractors

3 Rookie Refractors

3 Vet Inserts

3 Rookie Inserts

1 Blue Refractor #/199

and the main event, you will get 1 Rookie Auto of either;

Tim Tebow, Dexter McCluster, or Earl Thomas.

I started the bidding off @ $19.99, BIN is $75 (don't expect anyone to go that route), and I guarantee at least ONE Tim Tebow refractor. Do you think this was a smart way to get people to take a shot @ the product? Or should I have just listed the contents card and for card and let the bidding fly?

I think that the people who do not get the Tebow Auto are going to be angry and demand their money back or load you up with negative feedback

So do you have one lot available or three?

If you have a Tebow auto, why not just sell that?

You could be the most honest guy on the internet but these type of things always seem fishy to me. I wouldn't touch it.

deceptikon1978 said:

So do you have one lot available or three?

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Nevermind, I found it. [ebay:20j54wre]280625658993[/ebay:20j54wre]

I would think it's safe to say that the winner has absolutely no chance of getting a Tebow auto. Pretty silly if you ask me but hey, there are millions of suckers on ebay.

deceptikon1978 said:

So do you have one lot available or three?

If you have a Tebow auto, why not just sell that?

You could be the most honest guy on the internet but these type of things always seem fishy to me. I wouldn't touch it.

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I don't know if I'm selling the gimmick or the card here @ this point. I tried to keep the bid at a reasonable price because I believe if it stays under $30 (which I predict), I'm sure they will be happy because two of the cards sell for around $30 combined.

These types of auctions scream "I'm trying to fleece you" even if you have the best of intentions.

And frankly, if it really is true that two of the cards in each lot will sell for $30 combined, I don't understand why you just don't sell those cards separately yourself.

In all of my years of dealing on eBay, I've always found it best if sellers (myself included) are 100% upfront about what someone is bidding on. No mysteries.

TexasHiro said:

deceptikon1978 said:

So do you have one lot available or three?

If you have a Tebow auto, why not just sell that?

You could be the most honest guy on the internet but these type of things always seem fishy to me. I wouldn't touch it.

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I don't know if I'm selling the gimmick or the card here @ this point. I tried to keep the bid at a reasonable price because I believe if it stays under $30 (which I predict), I'm sure they will be happy because two of the cards sell for around $30 combined.

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But there's obviously no Tebow auto. If you want around $30 for it and two of the cards sell for $30... Well, there's your answer right there.

You're setting yourself up for a whole lot of hassle misleading people like that. Good luck.

ccouch (Chad) said:

These types of auctions scream "I'm trying to fleece you" even if you have the best of intentions.

And frankly, if it really is true that two of the cards in each lot will sell for $30 combined, I don't understand why you just don't sell those cards separately yourself.

In all of my years of dealing on eBay, I've always found it best if sellers (myself included) are 100% upfront about what someone is bidding on. No mysteries.

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Ebay is like the flea market imo, someone may know good and well a card goes for x amount of dollars on average, but the typical buyer is always going to want the below average price. For some reason when you add the element of mystery people seem to spend money like it's going out of fashion, ie; lottery tickets, busting wax. I guess I'm looking at it like this; if yo win the bid under $30 your getting 75 of the 96 cards that normally come in the box and your guaranteed for a Tebow refractor, the auto rookie, and a refractor /#199. Not a bad deal, better than buying a box if yo ask me.

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

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I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

TexasHiro said:

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

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I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

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you didnt say if there is actually a Tebow auto to be pulled by a buyer.

TexasHiro said:

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

Click to expand...

I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

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C'mon be real, there IS NO CHANCE at getting the Tebow auto. Why be shady and misleading? With only 2 feedbacks on ebay, I would think you would try to be more honest. The negative you will probably get for that is going to crush your account.

deceptikon1978 said:

TexasHiro said:

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

Click to expand...

I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

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C'mon be real, there IS NO CHANCE at getting the Tebow auto. Why be shady and misleading? With only 2 feedbacks on ebay, I would think you would try to be more honest. The negative you will probably get for that is going to crush your account.

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Your right bro, I think I'll figure out a diffrent way to sell this lot. I mean everyone here read it and was pretty much well aware there was no Tebow there, as I'm asking nowhere near Tebow auto money for the lot. I think the buyer would have been happy with the outcome either way, but I don't want to risk the negative feedback from someone unaware they are taking a risk and nothing is promised.

TexasHiro said:

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

Click to expand...

I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

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So if other sellers put pics of a Bradford 1/1 in their auctions, you think it's ok to do the same? Hey, I jumped off of a 500 ft bridge earlier today, you should do it too!!! You know damn well that the buyer wouldn't be getting the Tebow auto, so why lie about?

TexasHiro said:

deceptikon1978 said:

TexasHiro said:

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

Click to expand...

I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

Click to expand...

C'mon be real, there IS NO CHANCE at getting the Tebow auto. Why be shady and misleading? With only 2 feedbacks on ebay, I would think you would try to be more honest. The negative you will probably get for that is going to crush your account.

Click to expand...

Your right bro, I think I'll figure out a diffrent way to sell this lot. I mean everyone here read it and was pretty much well aware there was no Tebow there, as I'm asking nowhere near Tebow auto money for the lot. I think the buyer would have been happy with the outcome either way, but I don't want to risk the negative feedback from someone unaware they are taking a risk and nothing is promised.

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So youre admitting to being a fraudulent seller and lying about the contents of your auctions.
I'll have to remember to block your ID so I dont have to interact with you in the future.

I think it's a mistake to assume anything regarding what the bidder is going to think in any auction like this.
You could be right and they could recognize the value and be happy regardless.....but it just as easily could be the opposite. Not to mention - from the threads on here - it only seems about 25% of bidders actually read and comprehend the full description anyways.

As a buyer - Nothing against you, but I'd most likely stay away from an auction like this. I'd assume it's probably going to be a waste of money. Only way I'd thinking of taking a shot on something like this (any blind lot) is if it super cheap (like $5 or something) so the risk is minimal and only then they'd probably have to have quite a bit of positive feedback.

I don't think it's a "bad" idea as a seller - thought/wished to do something similar......but I never have, because it seems like it's not worth the trouble in the long run.

yikes. ::facepalm:: ::facepalm:: ::facepalm:: :benson: ::facepalm:: :benson: :benson:

Calm down guys I did nothing fraud here, I NEVER said there was a auto Tebow in the box, I said that there was a chance that there could be and basically you had to buy the lot in order to find out. It's the chance the buyer would take, it's not like I said THERE IS A TEBOW AUTO in this lot. I was very clear in my description that it was either Tebow, McCluster, or Earl Thomas. I changed the format hours ago and only guaranteed at least $30 in book value (which there is more value than that in book or street in the set). FRAUD would be to promise someone that there is something in the set that I know damn well isn't there. I was VERY upfront in the description and said you might not be happy with the outcome. It was not my intention to be shady/fraud that's why I asked you guys if it was bad on me as a seller or would it be ignorant on the buyer. If I'm upfront in saying I don't guarantee a Tebow auto and someone buys any way because they want to take a chance regardless of the results, I don't see how that's fraud. At the end of the day I was just looking for a different approach to selling a lot of cards, I came here to get advice from experienced ebay sellers not to get bashed for being honest. If anyone can't respect that, oh well my life will go on. As I said before I was/am VERY UPFRONT in all of my ebay sales. $30 bucks for a lot of 75 cards that typically retail for $3-4 bucks a pack, with a guarantee on the auto is not a bad deal at all. Sorry if anyone sees it as fraud.

GarkoCollector said:

TexasHiro said:

deceptikon1978 said:

TexasHiro said:

J-Rod said:

Dumb idea to begin with but really dumb to have a picture of a sealed topps chrome box as the auction

Click to expand...

I noted pretty well as to what EXACTLY what the buyer was getting. The picture is a conduit more than anything else. I've seen people put pictures of Bradford 1/1's up who were selling factory sealed boxes. I think I did everything I could to let a buyer know that chances of a Tebow are slim, but hey if your feeling lucky be my guess. In theory it's not a typical way of selling but some people get off on taking a gamble. So like I said, at this point I guess I'm selling the mystery of what the auto is more than the cards it's self.

Click to expand...

C'mon be real, there IS NO CHANCE at getting the Tebow auto. Why be shady and misleading? With only 2 feedbacks on ebay, I would think you would try to be more honest. The negative you will probably get for that is going to crush your account.

Click to expand...

Your right bro, I think I'll figure out a diffrent way to sell this lot. I mean everyone here read it and was pretty much well aware there was no Tebow there, as I'm asking nowhere near Tebow auto money for the lot. I think the buyer would have been happy with the outcome either way, but I don't want to risk the negative feedback from someone unaware they are taking a risk and nothing is promised.

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So youre admitting to being a fraudulent seller and lying about the contents of your auctions.
I'll have to remember to block your ID so I dont have to interact with you in the future.

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Fine by me sir, I did nothing fraud. I was upfront about everything and guaranteed only one card in the lot. If you don't want to do business with me in the future I understand, no hard feelings.

Look up the legal definition of fraud.

If you know there is no chance of a Tebow auto (or any major auto) yet you knowingly omit said information from the listing how could it not be fraud?