Anyone else collect a player who has fallen off the face of the baseball earth...

Darin Erstad. His stuff has bottomed out... not seeing much and some high end is still listed but for many many X what it would sell for at auction.

There are a handful of players in all sports that I collect that are ridiculously priced or go for ridiculous amounts based on their professional career. Jerry Stackhouse is a prime example in basketball. He hasn't been relevant since the early 2000's yet his stuff can still be bonkers.

There are a few others just like that. I mostly look for patches or autos and it's like every seller on eBay still wants $20 or more. Even though nobody would pay it. I'm kind of hoping Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow stuff comes down a little but it's still a bit high.

michaelstepper said:

Let me know when you locate a sweet spot ball auto under $50

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He's totally right about Vlad. I paid $14 for this one, numbered to /45.

gracecollector said:

He's totally right about Vlad. I paid $14 for this one, numbered to /45.

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I'd gladly pay twice that! Can't find a similar one under $65 obo now and I offer up to 15% off and get denied

michaelstepper said:

I'd gladly pay twice that! Can't find a similar one under $65 obo now and I offer up to 15% off and get denied

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Because soooooooo much of ebay now is ridiculous bin/bo or auctions with stupidly high starting bids.

Sports card sellers are some of the most stubborn people on the planet.

I see guys at my local shows here that have had some of the same cards in their case for 3+ years. I have offered them going ebay sales prices for several of them, and I always get the same response..."Sorry, I've got $XX into it, so I can't let it go for less than that.". So it makes more sense economically to drag it around for years, have it take up room in your display, and never sell it. It's as if they think a long retired/dead/irrelevant player is suddenly going to become twice as collectible, or someone (even though its been YEARS) will come along who's willing to drastically overpay...:benson:

[MENTION=2520]ChasHawk[/MENTION] charlie I am unfortunately sitting on several Rich Hill A&G autos ugh

George_Calfas said:

@ChasHawk charlie I am unfortunately sitting on several Rich Hill A&G autos ugh

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You have had my address for a long time now

It just goes to show you don't have to be an immortal first echelon HOFer to have die-hard fans. Or even an all-star. Or even an actual major leaguer.

I still try to pick up rarer D.Lee's, Vladdy Pimp Daddy's & Robert Q. Abreu's. I've had the most luck with Abreu. Picked up his '96 Flair Wave of the Future for $5 dlvd (use to be, what, a $30 card) and then the '95 SP Top Prospects auto for $11 dlvd (a former $80 booking card).

I had a nice Wes Swackhamer collection, and I think he is a car salesman now.

ChasHawk said:

Because soooooooo much of ebay now is ridiculous bin/bo or auctions with stupidly high starting bids.

Sports card sellers are some of the most stubborn people on the planet.

I see guys at my local shows here that have had some of the same cards in their case for 3+ years. I have offered them going ebay sales prices for several of them, and I always get the same response..."Sorry, I've got $XX into it, so I can't let it go for less than that.". So it makes more sense economically to drag it around for years, have it take up room in your display, and never sell it. It's as if they think a long retired/dead/irrelevant player is suddenly going to become twice as collectible, or someone (even though its been YEARS) will come along who's willing to drastically overpay...:benson:

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This is where we get into the dilema with buyers and sellers. Buyers accuse the sellers for being stubborn because of the price that they want for their cards and sellers accusing the buyers for being unreasonable and cheap. If we all can come to the understanding that a seller can ask whatever they want for their merchandise and a buyer can either accept or reject that price according to what they want to pay. Trying to justify to the seller(count me in 100%) why he should sell you his card which you feel is overpriced doesn't matter. To me, all that matters is what I am willing to accept for my card.

Example 1: If I pay 50.00 for a card and list it for 80.00 and you tell me that other cards sold for 50.00 and I should sell you the card for that price(you justifying according to past ebay sales), it doesn't matter to me. I might have been the one who bought the last card on ebay for the 50.00. Even if I was not, it still doesn't matter.

Example 2: If I want to carry in my showcase my Reggie Bush cards(ebay worth 100.00) around with me(which I paid 400.00 each for), why are you(not anyone in particular) bent out of shape if I choose to sell it for 250.00 or take it back home with me? I am not trying to be unreasonable, I just want what I want or will not sell the card. I will not force you and vice versa. No harm no foul, we can still get along... BTW I don't carry those cards around because I don't want this type of headache. I get enough of that because I am not a blowout artist...FWIW. A common thread in the card world You are the greatest in the world if you blow out merchandise and not so great if you try to maximize..

Just 2 more cents.

Bryan

Weekend warrior-type dealers with relatively small, stable, and stagnant inventories are usually the hardest to get to sell a card for ebay prices, or whatever gauge you use. They'll hold onto it forever rather than sell it for a loss. The only way to get them to do it, usually, is to buy a bunch of other stuff that they profit on enough to balance out that loss. Otherwise, what's the point? Yes, they very well might sell that card for the price they want, if stars align. There are several cards on my wantlist that I'd pay a shocking amount for, if ever I was to find them. That stubborn dealer out there might have one of them.

smapdi said:

It just goes to show you don't have to be an immortal first echelon HOFer to have die-hard fans. Or even an all-star. Or even an actual major leaguer.

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Nope, not talking about players with die hard fans.

More taking about sellers like [MENTION=4788]Kennesawsportscards[/MENTION] :lol:

ChasHawk said:

You have had my address for a long time now

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Well I have a bunch of money tied up in them so send me paypal :wink:

George_Calfas said:

Well I have a bunch of money tied up in them so send me paypal :wink:

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:lol:

This'll be the reason I never get rid of my JJ's. Too much into it ...

... that and nobody would ever want them, lol.

I get what Kennesaw is saying. But on the other hand, you just admitted you don't drag Reggie Bush stuff around that you have too much money into to recoup. The problem is a lot of sellers do drag it around or relist it a 1,000 times over and over. So wouldn't it be better for you as a seller to sell at somewhat of a loss, move the stale inventory, and move on than just hold the card forever? That's room another card could be taking up that might sell at a profit.

Plus, you can't expect buyers to want to pay more than going rates. If you do, like you say you already do with your Bush cards, you might as well just leave them at home.

Juan Pierre. He was never on the earth to have fallen off.

Kennesaw's point is reasonable. And as we all know, much of ebay is collectors displaying items that they would theoretically sell if offered above market value for them, which is their right and prerogative.

However, when the marketplace is dominated by sellers like this, things stagnate. Successful singles dealers are those who know that they need to turn over their inventory quickly and constantly, and this in turn creates better deals for buyers, so of course buyers prefer that dynamic.

In other words --

You can say that if a card is worth $100 to 2 bidders, than it is worth $100, even if it is worth $5 to everyone else in the world.

But a card that is worth $10 to fifty bidders is has a more robust and sustainable value. More transactions like this create a healthier marketplace.

predatorkj said:

I get what Kennesaw is saying. But on the other hand, you just admitted you don't drag Reggie Bush stuff around that you have too much money into to recoup. The problem is a lot of sellers do drag it around or relist it a 1,000 times over and over. So wouldn't it be better for you as a seller to sell at somewhat of a loss, move the stale inventory, and move on than just hold the card forever? That's room another card could be taking up that might sell at a profit.

Plus, you can't expect buyers to want to pay more than going rates. If you do, like you say you already do with your Bush cards, you might as well just leave them at home.

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I just choose to leave the Reggie Bush cards home. Just a personal choice, but I don't begrudge a seller if he wants to try and recoup as much of the money that he has invested into a card, even if that price appears to be unreasonable. Maybee someone is a die hard collector and is happy to pay the so-called unreasonable price. We hear it over and over again with alot of folks here who are happy to pay triple,quadruple the last ebay or beckett price for a card if it rarely shows up. Once again, if, as a buyer you are uncomfortable with paying the price, just politely move on or wait if need be. As much as people rip on Burbank, VSM and Griffey24 they serve somebody's need....BTW I personally admire the business model of Burbank!!