Posted By:
will watsonDan,
no offense taken. i didn't mean to come off as a jackass. to me, paying ridiculous prices for for the sole purpose of increasing your Registry points is silly. if you want to pay 6 grand for a card because you collect ultra high grade prewar, then fine. but buying the holder, or the grade weight, in my opinion is stupid.
however, i disagree with your argument about it's $1100 book value. it annoys me to no end when people use price guides as a bible. they're guides, and they're often terribly inaccurate. for example, i still have boxes and boxes of modern insert/game used/autographed cards. the "book value" is probably somewhere around $5000. several months ago, i decided to list the entire lot on ebay with a $500 starting bid. it closed unsold. i couldn't even get 10% of the book value for em. granted, this was modern, overproduced junk, but it still shows how far out of touch price guides really are. on the flip side, i'm about to purchase an N162 Caruthers PSA 3 for $700. i had no idea what to offer, so i glanced at the SMR- it told me commons in PSA 4 booked for around $250. didn't turn me off of the card at all, i'm happy to pay $700 for it, even though the SMR price guide is telling me i'm paying way too much. and this isn't even a "low pop" card.
i think ebay is probably the most accurate way to gauge card values. why? because ebay is the great equalizer. everyone is on ebay, and it's the most visible auction site in the world. i still look at major auction house results (Mastro, Lelands, et al) with a grain of salt. i think oftentimes, closing prices will be inflated because of the "glamour" that comes with buying something from a prestigious auction house. similarly, (and i'm kind of guessing here, as i have no clue about the jewelry industry), i bought a silver necklace for an ex girlfriend for $100 bucks from one of the mall dealers, i think Zales. the EXACT same necklace was being sold at Tiffany and Co. for $400. i guess the prestige and honor that comes with buying a necklace from Tiffany's is worth the extra 300 bones. that's how i view auction houses vs. ebay.