Welcome to our community

Be apart of something great, join today!

Topps Blacks WTF!!!!!

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

JVC

New member
Aug 24, 2008
1,499
0
Boston
If you've ever sold a Topps black parallel on ebay then you've probably encountered this problem before. There is a guy in Alhambra, CA who wins just about every Topps black parallel on ebay and never pays. The guy makes a new account every week so when one goes NARU, he can still keep on winning them. I've sold about a dozen of these cards in the past 6 months and he's won every single one of them and I havent't seen a dime. The reason why he's able to keep making accounts is he switches the letters in his name around when registering. I guess ebay's registration software isn't sophisticated enough to catch that even though the rest of his registration info is the same, the name isn't quite identical. Because he snipes all of the auctions and you can't block an ID that you don't know, he may just end up doing this forever.

/rant
 

markakis8

Active member
Oct 31, 2008
12,081
2
Why would someone want to snipe cards from a specific set and not pay? Doesn't make any sense....
 

JVC

New member
Aug 24, 2008
1,499
0
Boston
markakis8 said:
Why would someone want to snipe cards from a specific set and not pay? Doesn't make any sense....

It really doesn't. Here's the guy's latest ID: alhscatman. Check out the bid history. I GUARANTEE that this ID will be NARU within 7 days.
 

richezOne

New member
Aug 11, 2008
580
0
BAY AREA, CA
JVC said:
markakis8 said:
Why would someone want to snipe cards from a specific set and not pay? Doesn't make any sense....

It really doesn't. Here's the guy's latest ID: alhscatman. Check out the bid history. I GUARANTEE that this ID will be NARU within 7 days.

DAMN! this the same guy that just won Half of my blacks that just ended last night!! hella weak!
Glad he was out bidded on the black pujols that also ended..
Still though.. if he doesnt pay (and its sounding like he wont) what a complete waste of time..
 

markakis8

Active member
Oct 31, 2008
12,081
2
great, i just listed about 5-6 tonight...although only one from 2011. hopefully player collectors outbid him.
 

twcbjr

New member
Aug 8, 2008
231
0
They have been doing this for years. It really sucked back when the black commons would go for $20+ for the first few, then drop while you were tied up with this guy. I will say (if indeed the same person), they are a model in persistance. Six years minimum of screwing around with Topps black auctions just might be insane.
 

JVC

New member
Aug 24, 2008
1,499
0
Boston
twcbjr said:
They have been doing this for years. It really sucked back when the black commons would go for $20+ for the first few, then drop while you were tied up with this guy. I will say (if indeed the same person), they are a model in persistance. Six years minimum of screwing around with Topps black auctions just might be insane.

I can't even imagine the amount of time wasted doing all of this. They have to make a new account every week and then go and set snipes on hundreds of cards during that week.
 

bouwob

Active member
Administrator
Aug 7, 2008
4,612
0
rehmus said:
this is fascinating.

someone trying to drive up the value on these?


sounds more like a collector tying to drive people out of the market. Does the buyer ever pay for anything?
 

JoshHamilton

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
12,205
320
I'm confused. I got banned from Ebay one time in 2002 for not paying for several auctions. To get back on I had to get a new email addy, new bank acct #, new debit card #, and new mailing address.

I'm sure Ebay has tightened up security since then

How in the hell can this guy keep creating new accounts?
 

JVC

New member
Aug 24, 2008
1,499
0
Boston
bouwob said:
rehmus said:
this is fascinating.

someone trying to drive up the value on these?


sounds more like a collector tying to drive people out of the market. Does the buyer ever pay for anything?

Of the dozen or so auctions he's won from me, he's never paid. I have however seen positive feedbacks on some of his accounts before they went NARU so I don't know if he's paying for some or that some sellers have left feedback without actually receiving payment.
 

cstmleather

Active member
Jan 14, 2009
1,134
1
I feel like listing some blacks now. I'm 10 minutes away from Alhambra. Get his contact info if it's not on the transaction page before it's NARU'd.
 

G $MONEY$

New member
Feb 8, 2009
14,156
1
Calgary
This is a crazy story.

I still dont understand why he is doing this, unless he is selling a bunch of blacks all the time as well and is trying to drive up the market.

So what happens when he doesn't pay and the person re-lists the cards? He creates another account and wins them again or what?
 

twcbjr

New member
Aug 8, 2008
231
0
bouwob said:
rehmus said:
this is fascinating.

someone trying to drive up the value on these?


sounds more like a collector tying to drive people out of the market. Does the buyer ever pay for anything?


That is what I always assumed. In 2006-2008 "he" got me a few times with different ID's, and each time the account had multiple pages of wins all on Topps blacks before being booted.
 

markakis8

Active member
Oct 31, 2008
12,081
2
G $MONEY$ said:
This is a crazy story.

I still dont understand why he is doing this, unless he is selling a bunch of blacks all the time as well and is trying to drive up the market.

So what happens when he doesn't pay and the person re-lists the cards? He creates another account and wins them again or what?
This was my thought process. It doesn't make sense. I believe it is happening but how can you just keep winning auctions, not pay for them, keep creating new accounts, and do that for FUN? I mean if this has been going on for years, this has to be a hobby to the person.

I wonder what the advantage is that he thinks he has.
 

boomo

Active member
Sep 14, 2008
4,298
2
this is simply no different then people who hoard or eat
30 ice cream sandwiches a day, the guy is mentally ill and at this
point cant stop himself. I imagine it is just a serious case of OCD,
just a bit unusual compared to others.
 

Card Magnet

New member
Jan 24, 2009
33,557
2
Pennsylvania
Has anyone ever tried contacting ebay's Trust and Safety department to report him? They should be able to do something more than the automated system.
 

Codasco07

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
1,960
0
DC/StL
As a potential buyer of these cards, this is good to know. I'd gotten frustrated with the crazy ending prices but it looks like they're a false front.
 

Members online

Top