Received the following message from an eBayer this weekend:

[loftlife]

It just doesn't matter any more the lines were blurred long ago... people buy what they want to buy, and if they have an issue knowing in their mind the card is or isn't what the title is... then they just need to move on instead of playing RC Cop.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

That's not true at ALL. The only "constant" about rookie cards is that they must be released in pack form, be MLB licensed and be a part of the base set, ie no parallels, inserts or the like. It's been this way since 1933 and has never changed. What HAS changed is people's PERCEPTION of the rookie card.

As I was saying the only way for a RC to be constant and NOT be arbitrary is if the player actually is in the MLB.

What you wrote - indeed YOUR OWN perception here - may or may not be true.

There were licensed MLB cards in 1933?

 

[matfanofold]

Obviously the ebayer was being anal...

Having said that, there seems to be a decided difference between a minor leaguers prospect card and a actual (RC) card. To incorporate this difference in listings can not hurt.

 

[All The Hype]

Obviously the ebayer was being anal...

Having said that, there seems to be a decided difference between a minor leaguers prospect card and a actual (RC) card. To incorporate this difference in listings can not hurt.

Yeah, I just figure that as a seller, the likely buyer for my card is someone who wants a Rookie Card (or at least a form of a rookie card, whatever this card actually is) and RC/Rookie Card is the common name for basically any card from a player's first card year through their rookie year in the Majors, which makes it the obvious title for the card.

As for the guy who sent it, I believe I've actually sold to him before and it was a great transaction. I don't block people over them sending messages like this, I think that's a silly way to lose yourself potential business. That said, I disagree with his message and don't really think we need an eBay RC Police Force messaging sellers at random to tell them how to list their cards.

 

[sportscardtheory]

As I was saying the only way for a RC to be constant and NOT be arbitrary is if the player actually is in the MLB.

What you wrote - indeed YOUR OWN perception here - may or may not be true.

There were licensed MLB cards in 1933?

I was talking about the 1933 Goudey set. The first RCs.

And if what I wrote is only "my own perception", then so is yours and we can only talk in circles. What I wrote are the commonly accepted RC "rules" that have been followed for a long time. It's not just "my own perception." I have never in my life heard anyone reference the "rule" you stated was a "constant" in the hobby.

To clarify, my point is that a TRUE RC has to be licensed by MLB, not simply based on the fact that the player is in the MLB. I don't care what people call their cards, but there is definitely a few very simple widely accepted rules for a card to be considered a TRUE rookie card.