Player collectors- ebay bidding competition avoidance?

[carrsallstars]

It seems fairly obvious that when you have at least 2 player collectors they can end up costing each other a lot of $ when placing competing bids in ebay auctions. If you removed one of the bidders then the seller would often be bummed at the great "bargain" that would result from removing the second highest bidder. Sometimes this can be the difference between a $5 and $20 ending price, or for rare card the difference between a $25-30 and a $75 ending price.
So I'm curious if other player collectors that have traded and otherwise become friendly have a system for avoiding direct ebay bidding competition that saves them both $$? Either by alternating which cards they will go after hard or some other system? of course there are no guarantees that someone else won't step in and bid up the price but those are the breaks. Or do you just continually bid each other up on rare cards and tip your hat to the guy that wins it?

 

[ChasHawk]

There is another Dawson collector who has WAY more money than me, yet he and I have talked on occasion.

He has backed off on a few cards for me, and vice versa. Doesn't work anymore as we now have to deal with
all of the band-wagon HOF collectors. :evil:

 

[allstarauction]

I have tried this with a few people and it never works in the end because there always ends up being "the card" that you both want. Then the relationship goes away...

I still have a few O's collectors I do this with on the non-rare stuff... But trying to carry it over to the rare cards is a tough task.

 

[Fandruw25]

Me and AndruwHRJones do this to an extent. There was a couple sets we were both working on where either I or he backed off the cards the other needed. I know with the 98 tek he backed off until I was almost complete (still at 89/90 :evil and the 07 M&M Blacks that I didn't have and I backed off on the 05 studio cards and documentary gold until he had his copy.

When it comes to rare 90's inserts though, it's whoever bids the highest. If we see something the other guy might need with a bad title or mispelled name then we'll point it out.

 

[17ROCKIES12]

Superfractor and I have sent PMs regarding a few rarer Rockies cards. It's a nice gesture, and can save some money.

 

[magicpapa]

us griffey guys here usually email each other and see if were going to bid

 

[MOFNY]

I used to do this with another huge Oswalt collector. Unfortunately now everyone's identity is blocked, so I don't put in any effort.

 

[VizquelCollector.com]

I know one other Vizquel collector very well, and I always want him to win cards he needs (that I don't). I point him to things he's not aware of, tell him which stuff isn't worth the $, bargains, etc. We trade from time to time and I periodically find something he needs for cheap and just send it off. We know when we both need a card up for auction and in these cases, we know that it's just an auction, no hard feelings.

 

[Jays_Cards]

I dont really know of any other big Josh Beckett collectors, so it is whomever places the highest bid in my case.

 

[VizquelCollector.com]

The opposite of this happens as well. I told a story on here a while back of a guy that threatened to bid me up on everything I wanted, simply because I wouldn't trade or sell him anything from my collection. He got me for a while and then I discovered sniping and I avoided his shenanigans. Then the tables were turned and I bid him up on a ton. Truth be told, it didn't really feel good but he deserved to overpay for being an first-class jacka$$.

 

[dadofandrew]

I just go after whatever i need. Whoever is the highest wins. I do keep an eye out for cards I know other Ozzie collectors need and let them know if I find one. I know I have traded a few to mozzie that he needed for ones I need so if it all works in the end its all good.

 

[magicpapa]

if i see something i know someone needs, ill usually pick it up if its a BIN

 

[RudyGayExquisite]

I think this is the biggest difference between the baseball and basketball card markets, specifically in the rare 90's inserts, which I am most familiar with.

In baseball, people rarely step on each others toes when there is a rare card listed. Often, it's fairly certain who will be the high bidder and what the card will end at just based upon conversations between collectors on the message boards.

In basketball, it's a completely different world. It's more like a cat fight to the death to get the really rare stuff, specifically Jordan and Kobe. Collectors come from US, China, Japan, Europe, and Taiwan and the bidding wars are always very exciting.

 

[djrulz]

For Harold Reynolds, myself and Sly both collect him. I have PM'd him a few times to point him to an auction he may have missed. He has almost everything, so when something comes up that I need, I just look at his photobucket to make sure he won't be going for it also.

 

[rehmus]

i havent known any of my competitors, but i think if you stated what you were willing to spend on an item and they did the same, it would help save everyone money. this doesnt work for those of us who talk ourselves in to spending more in the heat of bidding, but still.

 

[1st4040]

I talk to a few other Canseco collectors.. both much deeper pockets than me. What usually ends up happening is they bid like crazy to win.. then the next copy of the card sells cheaper and cheaper until they fall to me and I pay what I can afford. They may have more low numbered or nicer looking cards but that stuff will fall to me eventually when they give up for pennies on the dollar.. I have the rest of my life to get the cards Im missing so whats the hurry? I will never have everything anyway so I can't see going crazy over ever low numbered card that hits Ebay. I have a more realistic goal of owning everything /25 or more out there and I pickup lower numbered things as I can.

I also try to do alot of trading for cards for my PC when I can to avoid the Ebay frenzy when something rarer hits. I have been able to trade for some really tough inserts, numbered cards and some decent auto's over the last two years which has saved me a ton of money at what they would sell for Ebay prices. The other Canseco guys don't really go this message board route which is a nice plus for me.

 

[wolfmanalfredo]

I do this with a few puckett collectors. I'll send them an email if something big comes up. I don't buy a bunch anymore but I still keep in touch

There is also guys like michael or magic papa who drop me a line when something nice comes up and I sincerely appreciate that

Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using Tapatalk

 

[Superfractor]

Superfractor and I have sent PMs regarding a few rarer Rockies cards. It's a nice gesture, and can save some money.

Indeed we have.



I've also communicated with Kdailey (Greg Reynolds), and Austin (Jeff Francis), about cards on the market. It has saved us some money, and - as 17ROCKIES12 said - it's a nice gesture. Especially if you don't have the funds for it, it's best that it goes to a fellow member that will appreciate the card.

 

[AmishDave]

I've never run across another die-hard Josh Johnson collector, so I don't usually have a problem. If he gets hot, a lot of people bid.

Example. When he had his complete game a couple weeks back, an '06 Ultimate Auto /180 went for $35 shipped or so. Last night, I got one for $15 shipped (copy #9).

If other collector's have questions about JJ, I'm always willing to answer

 

[Jastermereel]

I'm sure this will be a popular statement for me to make, but what you're talking about is considered bid manipulation and I believe it's illegal.