I feel like I am back in 1994!

[mrmopar]

This reminds me of a shop i used to frequent. They wouldn't price anything until a Beckett came out. Anything new had to have a comparable price. People these days appear to be the same. Not one of these has sold yet, but everyone wants $60+ for a common auto. I want one, but maybe at 1/4 of the price.

Now, Darwin is a tougher auto, but he obviously signed cards for this issue and the more time that passes, the more that will show up. I get that everyone wants to take the first buyers for as much as they can get, but this reeks of stupidity. I also saw someone on FB doing a private signing with him. This is not a $60 card sorry to say.

 

[finestkind]

A lot of dealers would do the price guide game back in the 90's too. Some would check Beckett then the Sports Collectors Digest big book price guides. I would just walk away.

 

[nosterbor]

They should just ask $60,000 and be done with it.

 

[Dilferules]

I think I've told this story before but my favorite "wait for the Beckett to come out" story involves Josh Beckett. I used to sell at small shows 20 years ago and set up at one in late 2003, right after Josh Beckett won the World Series MVP for the Marlins. Every buyer at the show was asking for Josh Beckett cards, and of course I didn't have any. The guy at the table next to me whispers "Hey check this out" and shows me a 1999 Ultimate Victory Josh Beckett RC, which was the hottest card in the hobby on this particular weekend. Except he didn't have it out on his table...I was like, uhhhh, why aren't you selling this? His response was that he was waiting for the next Beckett to come out so the price would go up. The dude could have named his price but he was so afraid to sell it without Beckett telling him how much it was worth. I don't think that worked out too well for him. Exactly the same as all the wimps who are too afraid to sell without COMPS nowadays.

 

[banjar]

Wow. That is so dumb. And self-defeating.

I'm always amazed at how people will do the stupidest things, and then create these weird belief structures in their own heads to justify why their actions were correct.

I think I've told this story before but my favorite "wait for the Beckett to come out" story involves Josh Beckett. I used to sell at small shows 20 years ago and set up at one in late 2003, right after Josh Beckett won the World Series MVP for the Marlins. Every buyer at the show was asking for Josh Beckett cards, and of course I didn't have any. The guy at the table next to me whispers "Hey check this out" and shows me a 1999 Ultimate Victory Josh Beckett RC, which was the hottest card in the hobby on this particular weekend. Except he didn't have it out on his table...I was like, uhhhh, why aren't you selling this? His response was that he was waiting for the next Beckett to come out so the price would go up. The dude could have named his price but he was so afraid to sell it without Beckett telling him how much it was worth. I don't think that worked out too well for him. Exactly the same as all the wimps who are too afraid to sell without COMPS nowadays.

 

[MrMet2.0]

Wow. That is so dumb. And self-defeating.

I'm always amazed at how people will do the stupidest things, and then create these weird belief structures in their own heads to justify why their actions were correct.

You’d enjoy David McRaney’s book “You Are Not So Smart”


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[banjar]

Hmm, that looks interesting. Yeah, I probably would enjoy that. One of his main ideas seems to be that the more we understand how our brain works, the better we are at dealing with the dumb shi*t that it does.

You’d enjoy David McRaney’s book “You Are Not So Smart”


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[mrmopar]

I think I've told this story before but my favorite "wait for the Beckett to come out" story involves Josh Beckett. I used to sell at small shows 20 years ago and set up at one in late 2003, right after Josh Beckett won the World Series MVP for the Marlins. Every buyer at the show was asking for Josh Beckett cards, and of course I didn't have any. The guy at the table next to me whispers "Hey check this out" and shows me a 1999 Ultimate Victory Josh Beckett RC, which was the hottest card in the hobby on this particular weekend. Except he didn't have it out on his table...I was like, uhhhh, why aren't you selling this? His response was that he was waiting for the next Beckett to come out so the price would go up. The dude could have named his price but he was so afraid to sell it without Beckett telling him how much it was worth. I don't think that worked out too well for him. Exactly the same as all the wimps who are too afraid to sell without COMPS nowadays.

This is the mentality of the majority of flip for profit card dealers it seems. Every low numbered Garvey Heritage card (25 copies) listed so far has been $300+. I don't think I have seen but one sell and that was a redemption for the Burroughs/Garvey dual auto. I think that is 25, but not sure. That is another story itself. I tend to trust Topps more than anyone for redemptions, but after all the reaming I have taken with redemptions, I wouldn't touch one unless it was pennies on the dollar. So tired of redemption cards for stuff that shouldn't need them. Golden rule should be if you don't have the cards, DON'T include them in your product and DON'T use them in your marketing, period.

Every once in a while, you see threads talking about how people actually hope other "collectors" are hurt when prices drop severely. This is the root of those feelings. Those same "collectors" who are hoping to gouge and mistime the market and take a bath. Yes, I enjoy seeing those kinds of "collectors" take huge hits and lose money.

 

[mrmopar]

Can't help but wonder if your thread helped sell one...timing is right, but it's eventually bound to happen regardless. The prices tend to start to dip quicker once the first one sells. It was the cheapest of the 4 I showed, so that makes sense too.

 

[Therion]

I think I've told this story before but my favorite "wait for the Beckett to come out" story involves Josh Beckett. I used to sell at small shows 20 years ago and set up at one in late 2003, right after Josh Beckett won the World Series MVP for the Marlins. Every buyer at the show was asking for Josh Beckett cards, and of course I didn't have any. The guy at the table next to me whispers "Hey check this out" and shows me a 1999 Ultimate Victory Josh Beckett RC, which was the hottest card in the hobby on this particular weekend. Except he didn't have it out on his table...I was like, uhhhh, why aren't you selling this? His response was that he was waiting for the next Beckett to come out so the price would go up. The dude could have named his price but he was so afraid to sell it without Beckett telling him how much it was worth. I don't think that worked out too well for him. Exactly the same as all the wimps who are too afraid to sell without COMPS nowadays.

Completely different scenario, but another crazy thing I saw happen at a card show about two months ago.

A customer walked up to a table and asked about the price on a base mid-level rookie (I can't remember who it was a card of) and the dealer asked for $1.50. Reasonable, I'm sure. The buyer, very respectfully, said that it was more than he wanted to pay for it. The dealer asked for a price and the buyer said, "I love the guy. How about $1.25?"

The dealer said no.

Over 25 cents.

On a base card rookie.

The cost of holding the card and potentially negotiating with someone else in the future is going to FAR outweigh 25 cents.

The buyer was a little silly for it too, but he had no skin in the game. In retrospect, I should have just put a quarter on the table between them.

 

[mrmopar]

It is interesting to see where negotiations break down on cheaper items, but a line has to be drawn somewhere, on both sides. If you use the justification of it's only $0.XX cents, then your final price can continue to move more and more in small increments. I have walked away from deals over a small difference, mostly in principal and less about what I would have to pay if I caved. Of course, those are usually items I have less interest in to begin with.

You sometimes never know why someone is a buyer or what they are willing (or not willing) to pay.

 

[mrmopar]

First one I have seen that actually was posted in auction format (that could be a topic in itself, ebay and the vast over usage of BIN/BO now!) and it sold for $27. Getting closer to what I feel the card is worth. Maybe I can still snag one eventually.

 

[zyceoa]

This reminds me of a recent ebay search where the sellers club wants thousands for a Prizm color blast of Jasson Dominguez. Which is way more than what a high grade of someone like Ohtani sells for.

 

[Therion]

It is interesting to see where negotiations break down on cheaper items, but a line has to be drawn somewhere, on both sides. If you use the justification of it's only $0.XX cents, then your final price can continue to move more and more in small increments. I have walked away from deals over a small difference, mostly in principal and less about what I would have to pay if I caved. Of course, those are usually items I have less interest in to begin with.

You sometimes never know why someone is a buyer or what they are willing (or not willing) to pay.

Oh, on the buyer's side, I get it. It's the seller and the fact that this was not a high-moving rookie card. If it was Wander or Albies, sure. But it was more of a Matt Carpenter player (I really can't recall exactly who it was, but that should actually help my point that it wasn't a card with a huge number of people seeking it out)