Yes, it is a common problem for collectors of variants, like me
. If I find what I think I am looking for on ebay, I usually send the seller a note asking specifically if I am getting the card in the listing scan. I have had decent experience in using COMC, especially for back variants, and Rich and others have helped by getting many variants separately listed from their common counterparts. And, pricing aside, Dean is pretty good and identifying and selling variant cards separately