What would you do?

[mrmopar]

I am not going to disclose too many details here, so hopefully I can create a scenario that allows you to step into my shoes and make a choice, but at the same time not give away the real situation I found myself debating.

You find an item that you want to bid on and hopefully own. It is a multiple player signed item. You watch it and wait until the last day before deciding on your snipe bid you hope will win it while you are at work. As you prepare for the next days bids, you look over the listing a bit closer and discover that the item is signed by a popular HOF player who was NOT listed in the title of description. The scan shows you plain as day that it is the player you think it is and you can hardly believe the seller didn't mention it. You wonder if they just missed it, didn't recognize the signature or left it off for a reason (fake?).

What do you do?

I will disclose my real situation and what really happened once there has been time for some answers to register.

 

[gitarst182]

Mistake. Bid for a reasonable price you are willing to pay just in case that signature is a fake. Pay what you want for the other players in question and half of what you think the other player unmentioned is worth.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[mrmopar]

Interesting. Fairly small sample size here, but nobody was willing to message the seller and let them know in the scenario. I know that would not favor a buyer and I placed you in the position as the buyer. Had I not already had the featured signature, perhaps my answer would have differed.

When I wrote this thread last night, the item was around $15 and it had 9-10 bids. That was odd to me because normally scorecards like this with random autos don't so all that well. It was apparent to me that some of the bidders likely saw the "secret" Koufax. I bid it up to around $19 and became high bidder before I shut down for the evening. I ended up messaging the seller to let them know that they had missed Sandy Koufax completely. I mentioned that I was setting a snipe, but if they decided to pull the listing, that I understood. They ended up updating the listing to include Koufax and it ran for about 15 hours with that additional information. I don't know if it really affected the end price much at all. Impossible to know for sure.

They let the chips fall so to speak and I ended up winning it for $51. That was near my max bid and more than I probably normally would have paid, but I wanted the scorecard and figured the Koufax was clean and would make a nice cut, should I decide to do that some day.

 

[WCTYSON]

I have often contacted people who have a listing incorrect, as I would want someone to do so for me.

 

[RStadlerASU22]

Nice win. Def odd they left off the SK originally. And yes, it would be a great cut piece if you go that route unless its to long.

Ryan

 

[AnthonyCorona]

Good honesty! People like u make the entire hobby better. It seems like so many people are vultures who just want to get over and profit without actually enjoying cards,autos etc. Great piece, glad you got it

 

[predatorkj]

Good honesty! People like u make the entire hobby better. It seems like so many people are vultures who just want to get over and profit without actually enjoying cards,autos etc. Great piece, glad you got it

Granted! However, what are your thoughts on this if the OP decided not to tell the seller as it's not his duty to do so? And more so, let's say he is a collector and only a collector. Never sells anything. Not even to further fund his collection. So getting a good deal on the item only helped his collection? What would you think about that?

Not trying to corner you here. I'm actually interested in hearing from anyone who wishes to reply.

 

[mrmopar]

I did debate as to whether or not I would say anything. I don't necessarily feel as though anyone owes a seller this kind of information. The seller is in a position to have all of the knowledge they need to make that sale work for them, should they choose to put forth the effort. You expect them to know exactly what they are selling and take the time to thoroughly inspect it for condition, content, etc.

Had this been something I really, really wanted. I may have not said anything in hopes of having a better chance to win it though. As I said, I have a Koufax autograph already, several in fact, so telling the seller was certainly easier, especially since I was not looking for a Koufax when I found the item.

It reminds me a little of a similar, yet completely opposite situation I was in several months ago. I was watching a scorecard with signatures that I took a chance on. Seller explained that the item had something like 12 signatures and only showed/described about 8 of them, leaving 4 a complete mystery. Given the time frame (1977), I took a chance that one or more would be a good one and it paid off with one being Glenn Burke. I got that one for a steal and only because the seller failed to mention Burke. Oddly enough, it was a signature right next to his photo/name, so who knows why the seller didn't just take the time to add a few more names to the description regardless? no way to warn them, but I could have asked who the other 4 were and then said something, but I left it to be a complete mystery.

 

[David K.]

Voted. Best regards, David

 

[AnthonyCorona]

Granted! However, what are your thoughts on this if the OP decided not to tell the seller as it's not his duty to do so? And more so, let's say he is a collector and only a collector. Never sells anything. Not even to further fund his collection. So getting a good deal on the item only helped his collection? What would you think about that?

Not trying to corner you here. I'm actually interested in hearing from anyone who wishes to reply.

I applaud the honesty but if he hadnt, I wouldn't fault him. Its on the seller to do the research

 

[predatorkj]

I applaud the honesty but if he hadnt, I wouldn't fault him. Its on the seller to do the research

And there have been times where people here were ready to start a lynch mob when someone got a really good deal on an item because the seller did not either know what they had or didn't list it right.

The way I look at it, if it's somebody you know good and well doesn't know anything about cards, it's best to tell them. I'm not talking about you buying a $20 for $10 here. But if it's worth a nice chunk and you know they don't have any clue, I believe you should fess up.

 

[mrmopar]

The gold standard is the case in Chicago where the shop employee sold the Ryan RC for $12 instead of $1200!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi...yan-rookie-card-was-mistakenly?urn=mlb,253959