Deceptive eBay Sellers - Update

The list of eBay Sellers (that sell sportscards) that have ripped people off keeps getting longer. We're going to bestow an award to the most deceptive/greedy eBay Seller for 2007. The Nominee's are:

BMW Sportscards
markssportscards
escards
sjscout
lebrju
jercole17
nolansport
intergalactic
manana1024
cotuit-kettleers
$stuff4less$
kevino35
uncanned_heat
(555)
dnadomue
fritschcardsauctions

Not all of the nominees are crooks, but all of them are guilty of doing something that's not right. They do things like take a picture of the card from a foot away, take a bad scan on purpose, incorrectly describe the card (or lie), use too many exclamation points, tell you the Book Value of the card without also telling you the BV refers to a Near Mint condition card, and other practices designed to sell the cards. Some Sellers will go on and on about how great they are, some Sellers will send nasty or rude emails after the auction, and some Sellers will be very skimpy with the card's description, relying on the Bidders to "trust" them because they have a high Positive Feedback count.

If you have a deceptive eBay Seller that you would like to nominate, then send me an email or make a comment on this blog post.

Have fun out there!
But be careful...

What Do I Collect?

Collecting cards is so appealing because you can collect what you like, and you don't have to necessarily spend a lot of money on it. Personally, I've always been attracted to "subsets" or the set within a set. What I like the most are cards that cover the World Series which Topps produced in the 60's and 70's. Usually there was a recap or boxscore on the back of the card. And they're not expensive to buy, even in NRMT or Mint condition, unless Mickey Mantle is on the card. Pictured on this Post #16 is a 1961 Topps card #312 showing Bill Mazeroski coming to home plate after hitting his walk-off homerun to win Game 7 and the World Series against the Yankees. In NRMT condition this card goes for about $20, but I've bought them for less sometimes. Now a 1965 Topps card #134 'Mantle Blasts 2 Homers' goes for about $80 in NRMT condition. Card #138 of the same set, which shows Bob Gibson winning Game 7 of that '64 Series, is priced at only $12. That's what I mean about how Mantle being on a card can make such a difference in price, even though he was on the losing team that year.

I also like to collect vintage All-Star cards, Team Cards, Record Breakers, and Season Highlights. Some of those vintage cards can be pricey, especially All-Star cards from the 60's because they were usually issued late in the season and were part of the last Series, or 'High Numbers.' In 1969 Major League Baseball went to a Playoff format to determine the American League & National League Pennant winners. So the following year Topps started to produce cards that showed the Playoffs, and I like to collect those cards too, mainly because you can get a Hall of Famer depicted on the card for a very small price.

Have fun out there!

Non-Sport Collectibles Are Hot!

Non-Sport cards & collectibles are just as prized as baseball cards and sports collectibles. The only difference is the number of collectors, with baseball cards being #1, football cards have taken over the #2 spot, with non-sports cards at #3 now. Rounding out the top five are basketball and hockey. But I will say this about hockey card collectors- they have to be the most avid, intense, and die-hard collectors out there. They're a tough breed!

The vintage non-sport cards- Star Wars, Star Trek, Elvis, and anything from the 60's & 70's is a big part of the boom now, thanks to the "Baby Boomers." The same group of Americans that has fueled sportscard collecting and pop-culture collecting. You can tell that non-sports cards are getting hot because more & more of those cards are being professionally graded, just like the old Mickey Mantles & Johnny Unitas' are.

When I was a kid in 1962, the Topps cards of that year didn't thrill me too much, except for their great subset of Babe Ruth. It just so happened that in'62 Topps came out with a non-sport set of cards that I couldn't get enough of- Civil War News. I became very interested in U.S. History because of those cards, a great learning experience. Sadly, for me, I didn't save those Civil War cards, and now they're worth almost as much as the old baseball cards. Oh well...

Have fun out there!